Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

FIONN

It’s been five days since the doctor told us the pregnancy news, and it has finally hit me.

This is really happening. We’re gonna have a baby.

I glance down at Amara’s stomach, wanting to see it grow with our child. I missed out on so much with Fia. I won’t ever let that happen again. I’ll be here for every single moment.

“I can’t believe I’m going to have another grandbaby. Lucky man, I am,” Dad says, with Fernanda beside him.

I wasn’t going to have the family over with Amara just starting to feel better, but she insisted.

“Congrats.” Tynan smirks. “Poor kid.”

“Yeah, yeah. Shut up.” I chuckle. “If you can do it, so can I.”

I won’t admit it to him, but I’m nervous I’ll screw up this kid. I’ve wanted her knocked up from the moment she came back into my life, and now that she is, I’m fucking terrified.

What do I know about being a dad? I like kids, and I know I’m good with them, but it’s different when it’s yours.

What if he hates me? What if I’m not good with newborns? I’ve never even changed a diaper before.

Fuck me. I don’t know shit, do I?

“I think he’ll be great. He’s been amazing with Fia.” Amara gazes up with those adoring eyes, a hand on my chest, and everything snaps into place.

Every insecurity about fatherhood washes away in an instant. Because if she believes in me, then maybe I should too.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Elara gushes, looking over at Amara. “How are you feeling, by the way? Any morning sickness?”

“I feel okay.” She shrugs. “Nauseous some mornings, but nothing too terrible.”

“Well, you know if you ever need anything at all, you just call me.”

“I’m always available too,” Fernanda adds. “We’re all here for you.”

Amara practically radiates with happiness. With the shit of a mother she’s had, I can see why. We may have our flaws, but we’d do anything for family.

“Do you think it’s a boy, Uncle Fionn?” Brody asks, sitting across me beside his mother while the girls play.

“I don’t know, kid. We’ll find out soon.”

“I think it’s a boy.”

“I think so too.” I wink, and he hits me with a grin.

Sometimes I look at him and remember the boy he once was when Tynan first adopted him. He didn’t talk for a while after his parents’ death. But when Elara appeared in his life, he got better. It’s damn good to see him doing so well.

“Lunch is ready,” Louise announces.

“Alright, how about we eat?” I tell them. “Thankfully, I didn’t cook.”

Tynan scoffs. “Yeah, you’d burn the house down.”

“Whatever, man.” I shove at his chest.

“Well, I, for one, thought the baklava you made was very good.” Amara winds her arm around me.

“Thank you, my beautiful wife.” I kiss the top of her head, glaring at my brother. “At least someone in this family appreciates my culinary skills.”

Tynan bursts with a dry laugh. “Have you actually looked up skills in the dictionary?”

Elara sighs. “Aren’t they awesome?”

AMARA

Staring at my poli-sci paper the next day, I’m filled with dread.

He gave me a C.

There are barely any marks on the paper. I don’t understand why I can’t seem to do well in this class. Every time I think I’m heading in the right direction, I just do worse. I did everything he said. My arguments were rock solid.

As he dismisses the class, I descend down the stairs toward him, while the voices of my classmates dwindle down until they disappear.

“Professor?” I call.

He peers up, pushing at his glasses. “Ms. Quinn. How can I help you?”

I don’t miss the fact that he called me Ms. again, but I don’t correct him.

“It’s just, I don’t understand this grade. I did everything you told me to do, and I did worse.”

He sighs. “Okay, how about you come to my office and we can see what we can do? I don’t want you to stress about this.”

My body deflates with a heavy exhale. “Of course I’m stressed. This is the only subject I’m doing terribly in.”

He flings the strap of his brown satchel over his shoulder as he starts up the steps, me following beside him.

“There’s still a chance for you to save your grade, so don’t worry too much.” He gently pats my forearm.

I grow uncomfortable, but manage to push those thoughts back. He’s just being nice. That’s all.

Was he nice when he touched your ass?

That was clearly an accident.

When we exit the room, Roy is there, following us as we make it to the professor’s office. Roy stands offside as we enter, the professor shutting the door before dropping his satchel onto his desk and taking a seat.

“You can sit down, Ms. Quinn.”

“Mrs. Quinn.”

I don’t know why he keeps doing that. Is he just not used to calling his students Mrs.? But this strange part of me thinks he’s doing it on purpose.

A smile spreads before his expression turns stoic, almost angry.

I recoil.

“Your paper lacked depth, Mrs . Quinn. There was nothing in there that gave me an idea of how you truly felt about the polarizing views. Instead, you gave me both sides without choosing one. I wanted you to choose.”

“I thought I did.”

“No.” His eyes turn to slits. “You did not.”

His gaze slinks down to my chest before returning to my face. Suddenly, I feel naked, stripped bare. I need to get out of here.

“If you want to redo the paper, I’ll see if I can bump up your grade.”

“Really?” My eyes widen with hope. “Thank you so much. I won’t disappoint you.”

“I hope not.”

I start to get up, and he follows after me…standing too close.

Goose bumps spread across my nape, a sense of fear taking hold. He presses his body into me as he grabs the doorknob—so close, I can feel him hard against my behind.

My heart races, nausea crawling up my throat.

This can’t be an accident. How can I even consider that it is?

Just open the door and go!

But it’s like I’m frozen, unable to move or do anything, my heartbeats pummeling faster and faster.

His hand slithers out, fingers feathering over my hip.

“You have three days to get that paper to me,” he husks into my ear, and my body shivers from absolute dread.

Go! Just leave! What’s wrong with you?!

His fingers roll down my leg before they disappear completely, opening the door.

Panic. Pure panic rolls through me.

When Roy catches my eye, he moves at lightning speed, glaring in front of the professor’s face. I reach out a hand for his chest and quickly shake my head, my gaze widening for him to stop. The last thing I want is for him to start a fight at school and get me kicked out.

The corner of the professor’s mouth lifts at Roy before he snaps his attention to me. “I’ll speak to you next week, Mrs. Quinn. Keep up the good work.”

I don’t say a word, rushing away, needing to get as far as possible, while Roy follows me.

“Mrs. Quinn? What happened in there?”

“Nothing, okay? Nothing at all. And don’t say a word about this to Fionn. I don’t want him to overreact.”

My heart flutters so fast. If Fionn finds out, he’s gonna kill him. I just know it.

Sure, the man’s a creep. That’s obvious. But I don’t think I want him dead for it. Maybe I should just accept the C and ignore him for the rest of the semester.

Then a thought hits.

How many other girls have there been? And what has he done to them?

FIONN

“Daddy, can I have chocolate milk?” Fia gazes up at me, while I’m unable to stop thinking about the text Roy sent a bit ago.

That fucking professor.

He did something to her. He did something to my wife . And he’s gonna fucking pay for it.

But first, I’m gonna get the truth out of her before I decide what sort of punishment Mr. Wright deserves.

I did my digging on him. Married with no kids. Nothing to indicate he’s been inappropriate with his students. But that doesn’t mean shit. He could easily hide all that.

“Daddy?”

“Oh. Sorry, princess.” I glide a hand down her hair. “I’ll get you some milk.”

My chest tightens with this immense sense of devotion I have for her and her mother. No one will survive if they ever do anything to harm them.

I pour some into a paper cup and place it before her on the kitchen counter. She sips on it, watching a show on her tablet.

Staring at her, I wonder if I’m her father. Her biological father. Because shit, I wanna be. I deserve to be. She’s mine.

This strange feeling gnaws at me, though. Like it’s telling me the paternity results won’t be good. It’s why when Troy called today telling me he has them, I told him I don’t wanna know yet. I’m not ready.

When I register the front door opening, I know it’s Amara.

“Can you keep an eye on Fia?” I ask Louise, who’s cutting up some zucchini for dinner later.

“Of course.” She waves me off. “Take your time.”

“I’ll be right back, baby.” My mouth falls to the top of Fia’s head before I’m marching to the foyer, just as Amara removes her backpack and shoes.

“Hey, little rabbit. Did you have a good day?”

Her lips tremble. She can’t even fake a damn smile.

That son of a bitch. If he touched my wife, I’m gonna string him up and cut off every single one of his limbs before I kill him.

“Yeah,” she says rather enthusiastically. “Absolutely great.”

My jaw clenches. “Don’t lie to me.”

“What?” Her eyes round, gaze bouncing between Roy and me.

“Yes, he told me.” I stalk closer, tugging her chin in between my fingers. “Roy doesn’t keep anything from me.” My thumb rolls over her mouth. “We’re gonna go upstairs and have a talk.”

Her bottom lip quivers. “Okay.”

That voice comes out so small, I can’t help but hold her to me, breathing in heavily.

“I’m not mad at you, baby. I just wanna know what’s been going on.”

“Okay.” Her small fists clutch the back of my shirt.

Pitching back, I stare into her eyes, palms cupping her face. “I want you to know you can tell me anything. You’re safe with me, baby girl. I’ll always protect you.”

Tears fill her gaze. Taking her hand in mine, I bring her fingertips to my lips, kissing each one before we climb the stairs and enter our bedroom. When I shut the door, she wipes tears from under her lashes.

When I lead her to the chaise, she sinks into it, running a hand down her face, while I stand there waiting for her to start talking before I lose my fucking mind, imagining the worst.

“I shouldn’t have gone into his office that second time. I didn’t know if what happened the first time was even on purpose.” She shakes her head, blinded by her tears. “I wanted to think it was a mistake and?—”

“Amara…” A pulse pounds in my head, a fist curling at my side. “I need to know what the hell he did, because I swear, baby, the shit that’s going through my head right now isn’t healthy.”

“He touched me…”

The rest flashes like a blur, every detail just making me grow infuriated.

“I’m so sorry!” She grabs my wrist, her face ashen, body visibly shaking.

“What are you sorry about? You didn’t do anything wrong. You know that, right?”

He’s the only one who’s going to be sorry.

“I just feel like it’s my fault. I must’ve given him some kind of wrong impression, but I swear I told him I was married more than once!”

“Hey.” I clasp a palm over the side of her nape. “He won’t get away with this.”

She sucks in a breath. “What are you gonna do?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Just know he’ll never hurt you again.”

“Please, Fionn. Don’t do anything crazy.”

Has she met me?

“I’m your husband, mo ban dia, and it’s my job to protect you. What he did to you, he’ll never be able to do again.”

“Just promise you won’t hurt him. I don’t want that on my conscience.”

“I won’t hurt him.”

I’m gonna kill him instead.