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He frowned.
“Our whole agreement was predicated on this being uncomplicated. Easy. Mess-free. Cressida is mess. Your family is complicated. You are complicated.”
“Me?” He stared at her in disbelief, emptiness widening in his belly. “How?”
“You don’t know what you want.”
“That’s utter bullshit. What have I done to make you question my commitment to you, and the baby we agreed we’d have?”
“You can’t ignore your family. Cressida is a part of that family—and you’re going to have to grapple with what that means.”
“It means she’s married to my brother,” he said slowly, wondering why this was so hard for her to accept.
“But you still care about her.”
He ground his teeth. “Once upon a time, I wanted to marry her. We planned a future together.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“Why does it bother you that I care?”
Her lips parted. “I just think it’s all a bit sick, that’s all. She cheated on you with your brother, your parents treat her like their daughter, she clearly still has feelings for you.” Tia lifted her shoulders. “I didn’t sign up for that.”
It surprised him, how much those words hurt. “So because my family is dysfunctional, what? You want to end it?”
“I’m not pregnant,” she said, after a beat. “We can cut our losses.”
“That’s unacceptable. I’ve taken you home and introduced you as my wife.”
“So what? You can tell them we’ve broken up. It’s nothing compared to what Cressida did to your family. I’m sure they’ll move on.”
“What the hell am I missing here?”
“Nothing.” She glared at him. Pushing him away. It was so obvious, but he just couldn’t understand why. This version of Tia made no sense.
“Is this…the hormones?”
Her glare only intensified. “Oh, right. Like that’s the only explanation. You think I’m irrational and that it’s about the hormones? It can’t possibly be that I’m right?”
He shook his head with frustration. “I’m missing something, and I don’t like that feeling.”
“Tough.”
“You’re seriously saying you want this to end? You want to renege on our agreement?”
She hesitated, and he stood very still, holding onto hope. “Yes.” But her eyes were anguished, silently pleading with him, contradicting what she’d said.
“And never see each other again?”
She turned away from him, and the slight shaking of her hands betrayed the strength of her own emotion. “Yes.”
“And does what I want matter?” he asked softly.
She glanced over her shoulder at him then turned to face him again, only this time, she half-balanced on the edge of her desk, as though she needed the support. “What do you want?”
“Everything we’ve agreed to.”
Her throat shifted as she swallowed.
