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“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No. It was my idea. Well, maybe not at first, but I wanted it. I was… was flattered and kind of…” She blew out a shaky breath. “Stupid. Obviously. I thought… I mean, he was so nice, so sweet, and I…”

I shook my head rapidly. “No. Please. No.” I took a breath. “I can’t… please don’t tell me any details.”

“Bett, I’m so sorry.”

How could she? But more than that, how could he?

Forget that she’d been his son’s girlfriend. She was twenty-one years old. He was married.

“Fuck,” I choked out, pulling the pillow in front of my face to keep from screaming until I puked.

Then, I remembered the first part. The part where she was pregnant. Pregnant with my father’s baby. Pregnant with… fuck. A half sibling of mine?

And then I laughed. I snorted out a big, messy, snotty laugh as if… yes. My life could be this messed-up.

It wasn’t fair. And wasn’t that a childish thought?

I buried my face in the pillow and sucked in the familiar woodsy scent, which was the only thing that kept me from passing out.

“I told him. About the baby,” she said woodenly. “He… he wants me to keep it.”

I lifted my head and stared at her in confusion. “He does? Is he… what? Leaving my mom? After the election?”

“No. He says it’s not his baby. It’s yours.”

“But…”

“He wants you and me to get back together, Bett. To raise the baby together. A McNeely heir.”

My mind disconnected from my body. I couldn’t feel my fingertips. Couldn’t register whether I was still breathing.

My father’s words from earlier came back to me.

“Proud of you, son. After lunch tomorrow, come back to the house so we can talk. I may have been too hard on you with this punishment business. I’ll make it right, okay?”

He hadn’t been buttering me up so I’d make a few more last-minute campaign appearances.

He was planning on ruining my entire goddamn life. Taking my future away. Stealing my dreams to pay for his mistake.

“I’m not doing that, Arden,” I said flatly but with the utmost conviction. “I’m not taking the fall for his fuckup.” Or yours, I didn’t add.

She’d pulled her legs up and dropped her face to her knees. When she glanced back up, she looked so young.

Hell, she was. We both were.

My father was a monster.

“I’m scared, Bett. He was really mad when I told him. Told me I couldn’t tell anyone but you, and to tell you that he’d support us. Financially.” She flicked a piece of hair out of her face. “Once he decided it was your baby, it’s like he… he believed it. Talked about it like a fact. He claimed even a paternity test would say the same because you have his DNA. But I’m not an idiot, Bett. And that’s just not true.”

“He’s trying to scare you into not taking one. He’s rewriting this to better suit his narrative. I’m surprised he didn’t immediately take you for an abortion.”

She shook her head. “It’s too late in Georgia. But also… I don’t… I don’t want an abortion. I want to keep it.”

The idea of her actually giving birth to my father’s child made me seriously lose my fucking mind. But it was her choice. “Okay,” I croaked.

“He, ah… he thinks if we announce our engagement before the election⁠—”

I held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t even. I told you, that’s not happening. If you wanna keep the baby, that’s up to you. I will not be taking part in this scheme.” It felt good to say it out loud.