the door shut and turned to me with an expression of Can you believe that asshole? And I burst out laughing.
"Okay," I said with a chuckle. "I can see how those boys are all so enamored by you. I think even I have a bit of a girl crush going right now."
She just grinned and came over to sit on the side of my bed. "They just need to be called on their bullshit every now and then, girl. Don't forget that, or you'll be swallowed up by all that alpha-male crap."
I gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to be a huge problem. I can't exactly see Dylan and I having a happy little family together; I'll be fine with just amicable shared custody or something."
I rubbed a hand over my belly and swallowed back the tears. This was so freaking far from how I'd dreamed my life would turn out.
So, so far. But I had options now. I had freedom, and I would not waste it.
Riley gave my leg a comforting squeeze. "Don't count your dead chickens too soon, Brooke. I've got a good feeling about you two." She shot me a wink. "Now, let me sort out some travel arrangements and clothes for you. Unless you want to stay a few more days? You could have Christmas here with us."
It was tempting, but I already felt so uncomfortable with my whole situation. Despite what Riley seemed to think, Dylan and I weren't some kind of romance novel. His noble actions now were stemming from only one emotion, and it wasn't love. It was guilt.
I never wanted to be that girl, the one trapping her billionaire fuck buddy by getting knocked up—intentionally or not. Nope, I was walking away with my head held high and my dignity intact. We could co-parent without forcing a romance, and honestly, what were the odds of a relationship surviving when the man was only in it out of obligation?
Not fucking great.
"I just want to go home," I told Riley in a soft voice.
She nodded and gave me a sad smile. "I get that. I'll sort it all out, okay?"
Only after she’d left the room did I let the tears fall. And they continued falling as I departed the Delta house an hour later in the car service Riley had ordered.
I didn't see Dylan on my way out, and he’d never returned with that orange juice Riley had sent him to get. He was just... not there. Probably for the best, too. If I'd seen him, if he'd made another attempt to make me stay... yeah, I would have cracked.
But he didn't. So I left.
28
Mary didn't ask me questions when I arrived home.
I was bruised, exhausted, and still crying, but she just gathered me into her arms and pulled me inside the house. It wasn't until hours later that I was able to find the words to tell her Blake was dead.
Her reaction was exactly what I needed.
"Good," she spat. "I hope it was a painful end. He deserved it after all he'd put us through in the last years."
My jaw dropped at the viciousness in her voice. "Mary!"
She just shrugged. "It's true. Wait here a moment, sweetheart; I need to tidy some things up." She gave me a squeeze, then left me on the sofa to head into the kitchen.
Curious, I strained to hear what she was doing, but all I heard was the low murmur of her voice as she spoke on the phone to someone. She returned just a few minutes later with a smug smile on her face.
"What..." I started, trailing off with a shake of my head as she pulled me up from the couch.
"Just cleaning up the staff, my girl. Blake's no longer the head of this house; you are. You don't need anyone lurking around the estate who can't be trusted." She clicked her tongue as she ushered me through to the kitchen. "I’ve been here long enough to know who’s to be trusted or not. The bad eggs will all be getting their dismissal notices, if that’s okay with you?"
That thought hadn't even occurred to me, so I was speechless as she gestured for me to take a seat at the island. But she was right. Most of the staff had been hired by Blake and were generally pretty awful people who’d turned a blind eye to his abuse of me. One of the few that had always seemed okay to me