chapter tem
1099 Words
Chapter Ten
Killian’s POV
“You’re going to be a father.”
The words sat in the room for barely two seconds before laughter escaped me because there was absolutely no way Vanessa just stood there trying that nonsense with a straight face. Meanwhile, she looked personally offended by my reaction, like I had somehow ruined a heartfelt moment instead of reacting normally to insanity.
“You think this is funny?” she snapped while folding her arms tightly across her chest.
“No,” I replied calmly while rubbing my jaw. “I think you’ve finally lost your damn mind.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes dramatically before tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder like she belonged inside some overproduced romance movie. Honestly, she always did enjoy turning simple situations into emotional warfare.
“Well,” she huffed, "believe it or not, it will happen, well, after we get married, obviously.”
I stared at her slowly, genuinely trying to understand how we somehow jumped from surprise visit to imaginary babies and marriage in under five minutes. Relationships were exhausting enough without adding delusion into the conversation too.
“You broke into my room,” I reminded her carefully. “You attacked my mouth in front of guests, insulted my family, started a fake pregnancy drama and somehow your final plan is marriage?”
“When you say it like that,” she muttered, “you make me sound crazy.”
“You are not just crazy… you are a woman.”
“Call me whatever you want,” she corrected immediately while stepping closer again. “I will forever be madly in love with you.”
God; that word again.
Love made people desperate, emotional and painfully stupid, which honestly explained why Gabriella irritated me so much already. That girl looked at affection like somebody starving outside a locked restaurant, yet still kept pretending she didn’t want it.
It was a dangerous combination.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes at me slowly like she was trying to solve a puzzle that kept frustrating her. Unfortunately for her, Gabriella’s existence had already started infecting every conversation inside this packed house whether I liked it or not.
“That redhead changed you,” Vanessa accused quietly.
A low laugh almost escaped me because somehow every road in my life lately kept leading back to Jerold’s daughter. Honestly, it was becoming annoying how often she occupied space in my head without permission.
“You’re jealous,” Vanessa added.
“No,” I corrected lazily while leaning against the dresser. “I’m irritated.”
“That’s worse.”
“Trust me,” I murmured. “It really isn’t.”
Vanessa stared at me for another second before her expression softened slightly, and immediately I knew emotional nonsense was coming next. The problem with people who loved them too hard was that eventually they started sounding pathetic without realizing it.
“Didn’t you miss me even a little?” she asked quietly.
I sighed slowly before going into the room to grab her clothes from the bed and threw it at her because, honestly, this conversation was already draining my patience. Meanwhile, the bathroom door inside my room remained shut while the sound of running water filled the space softly, reminding me Gabriella was still in there.
“Vanessa,” I said calmly, “go home.”
Her eyes widened instantly while, hurt flashed across her face fast enough to almost look genuine. Unfortunately for her, I was far too irritated to care right now.
“You’re serious?”
“Painfully.”
“Wow.” She laughed bitterly while clutching the jacket tighter. “You really are throwing me away because of your step sister.”
I leaned my head back slightly before exhaling through my nose because somehow Gabriella managed to become the center of every problem in this house without even trying. Honestly, it would’ve impressed me if it wasn’t actively ruining my peace.
“You’re giving her way too much importance,” I replied.
The funny part was that Vanessa wasn’t completely wrong. It wasn't because I liked Gabriella.
God no.
Jerold’s daughter was still a problem, a weapon and a mistake all wrapped into one annoyingly attractive package. Unfortunately, the little fox was starting to crawl under my skin in ways I didn’t entirely enjoy admitting yet.
Vanessa stormed closer again while frustration practically radiated off her body now, and judging from the look in her eyes, she was one sentence away from throwing something at my head.
“You know what?” she snapped loudly. “Fine. Stay obsessed with your little stepsister.”
“She’s not my…”
“I don’t care!” Vanessa cut in immediately. “You look at her differently, and it’s honestly creepy.”
That almost made me smile, if only she knew the truth.
Gabriella wasn’t a love story; she was nothing but a revenge plan.
The sound of water shutting off inside the bathroom instantly pulled my attention toward the door before I could stop myself, and judging from Vanessa’s expression, she noticed it too. A slow dangerous grin pulled at my lips automatically at the thought of Gabriella standing behind that door listening to this entire disaster while probably pretending she didn’t care.
Cute.
Vanessa looked genuinely horrified now. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “You were literally thinking about her just now.”
I grabbed her shoes from beside the bed and tossed them toward the door without even bothering to deny it anymore because, honestly, I was too tired for another dramatic conversation.
“Out.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“You’ve already said that.”
“You’re acting like some arrogant villain in a toxic romance novel!”
“That sounds expensive.”
Vanessa looked seconds away from throwing one of the shoes at my head before finally storming toward the door in frustration. Unfortunately for her, my patience officially died the moment she entered this room uninvited.
I tossed the rest of her things straight into the hallway while she continued glaring at me like she wanted to commit murder.
“Killian!”
“Goodbye, Vanessa.”
“You’re a jerk!”
“You’ll survive.”
I slammed the bedroom door shut directly in her face before locking it, and finally silence settled across the room again while I breathed out slowly. The bathroom door remained closed for another few seconds before another dangerous thought crossed my mind almost immediately.
Oh, little fox.
You really picked the worst possible room to hide from me.
- Writer
