24. Callie

“I’m okay, really I’m okay.”

My reassurance didn’t seem to matter to Liam, who kept one arm around my waist as we climbed the stairs to my apartment.

“You’re not though. People don’t just faint like that.”

“In this heat?” I squinted at him through a few strands of hair. “It’s easily done. Especially since I’ve been so busy, and I hadn’t drunk a lot today, so it was my own fault.”

A half-truth. I was getting good at those. I couldn’t tell Liam that my word tipped from the overwhelming guilt of learning that not only had Eli already gone forward with what I stole, but Crane Enterprises needed this win more than I ever could have realized.

I thought they were fine. The rumors of needing a merger should have been exactly that: rumors. Instead, there was a hidden truth to them that I never could have anticipated.

“Callie.” Liam stopped when we reached my door. “I’m going to take care of you, for all our sakes, okay? You fainted and even if it is the heat, I’m not going to leave you alone until I’m certain, without a doubt, that you will be okay.”

In any other situation, this would have been a dream. I would have sunk into his arms and eagerly accepted every drop of care he wanted to give me. Right now though, I didn’t feel worthy but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

I had to pretend for just a while longer.

“Okay,” I relented, handing him the keys to my apartment.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor?”

“No.” I followed him inside and my answer was a little sharp. I didn’t need to see a doctor since I was already waiting for a call from one.

The possible pregnancy was the furthest thing from my mind right now though. Pretending to be okay for Liam’s sake was taking all of my energy and I didn’t even care that it was his first time seeing my apartment.

“Okay, listen.” Liam took my hand in the hallway and cupped my cheek with his palm. His beautiful eyes darted back and forth between my own. Fighting back tears, I smiled at him as strongly as I could manage.

“I want you to go and take a cool shower. Not cold, but it will help you cool down. Your cheeks are so rosy.”

His smile was gentle and the heat flaring in my cheeks increased at his comment, but it helped play into the lie.

“Then I’m going to raid your kitchen and find you something to gently replace fluids, okay?”

“Good luck finding anything worthwhile in my kitchen,” I laughed weakly. “I haven’t done a food shop in days.”

“I am a man of many talents,” Liam smiled. Then he leaned down and gently kissed me.

For a moment, it was the only thing that mattered. The softness of his lips, the fruitiness of his aftershave and the warmth of his hands. I could stay in this moment forever, captured just by his lips in a little time bubble.

Sadly, I wasn’t granted that kind of luxury. The kiss broke and Liam’s brow furrowed gently.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Positive.” I forced a wide smile. “I promise.”

“Okay. Now, go and shower.” He pressed a chaste kiss to my hairline, then I stepped away and headed to my bedroom. Liam’s eyes remained on me until I closed the door, then I sagged against the wood and pressed one hand over my mouth as a sob of grief escaped.

How could I have caused so much damage? Everything Sawyer worked for, everything Kane and Liam worked for, was going to crumble underneath them all because of me. Marie was about to start a new school, a new life with Liam here because of Crane Enterprises

God.

What have I done?

The shower did little to calm me. As per Liam’s instruction, I started with a cool shower, then turned the heat up and soaked myself in some scalding hot water straight from hell. It numbed me externally but did nothing to soothe the sharp, acidic guilt throbbing in my chest.

Think, Callie, think.

Was there a way to fix this? Even if I came clean, there was nothing to stop Eli now that he had started. I knew there would be nothing from him to back up my story either. That snake was good at hiding his tracks; knowing my luck, he’d find a way to slip out of this scot-free.

The men I cared about were the only ones that would suffer.

I stayed in the shower until I ran out of hot water, then I trudged out and dressed in some comfier clothes. All I needed to do was look fine and healthy, then Liam would leave and I could have a good cry.

I was desperate. The pressure building behind my eyes was reaching its limit, and I knew that if I cried in front of Liam, I would never get rid of him.

“Hey!” Liam beamed at me as I walked into the kitchen. He indicated to the single chair at my small table where a bowl of steaming soup sat next to a spoon.

“I had soup?” I raised a brow, unsure when I would have bought such a thing.

Liam chuckled softly. “No. I ordered in once I realized my limited cooking talents could do nothing with the crackers, ice cream, and three bottles of wine that were left in your fridge.”

“Thought you could cook anything,” I challenged lightly.

“I’m not a magician.” With no other chair to sit on, Liam leaned against the fridge and watched me. “Feel better?”

“Much.” Taking the spoon, I had a few sips of the soup and was surprised at just how good it tasted.

“If you’re dehydrated, then soup is a decent, slow way to rehydrate yourself without making the salt imbalance worse,” Liam explained, not taking his eyes off me.

“Speaking from experience?”

“A little.” His smile was easy. “I used to binge drink a lot. I know how to rehydrate on a dime.”

“Noted.” Another few spoonfuls and despite everything, I was beginning to feel calmer. However, that quickly piled on more guilt, and my hand trembled.

“Callie, I know we’ve asked you this before and you always give the same answer, but I’m not sure I believe you when you say things are fine.” The easiness faded from Liam’s face. “We’ve all noticed that you’ve been a little different this past week or so. A lot different, actually.”

“Have I given you reason not to trust me?” I asked boldly over my spoon.

“No,” Liam replied honestly. “But sometimes words don’t always match actions.”

“True,” I nodded. “I think you guys just haven’t seen me stressed, that’s all. So it feels like something is off.”

Liam nodded, although his face remained impassive so I had no idea if he was buying that or not.

“It really is just stress,” I assured him, and quickly sought a change of topic. However, I had one burning question, which was painful but necessary: “What’s going to happen now that it looks like we stole the patent from PRISM?”

Liam’s face hardened. “Honestly, I have no idea. Sawyer has to survive dealing with his father first. After that, it’s just a guess.”

My stomach churned and the soup soured in my mouth.

“Speaking of…” Liam’s attention was down on his phone, then he pushed off the fridge and moved closer. “I’m so sorry but I need to go and collect Marie. Kane is coming over to replace me, so please don’t go to sleep or do anything until he gets here.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snapped. The last thing I needed was another one here to add to my guilt.

“Don’t care,” Liam said, kissing the top of my head as he passed. “Sawyer wants you to take the rest of today and tomorrow to rest as well.”

“Alright,” I muttered, already knowing that I wouldn’t. “Thank you for the soup.”

“Any time. Eat it slowly.” His hand lingered on the back of my head and then he was gone. I remained sitting until the front door clicked closed, then I was on my feet with my phone in hand. In my hurry to dial Bianca’s number with emotion bubbling over, I accidentally accepted a call that came through at the same time as I tapped the screen.

Fuck.

“Hello?”

“Miss Everheart?”

“Yes?

“Hi there. I’m calling from the clinic about your appointment with us a few days ago.”

Oh no

“Of course.” My heart stopped. “Is something wrong?”

“As you may recall, the pregnancy test you took was positive but I wanted to wait on the blood test results before we talked about your options. Your results came back today, and I’m happy to confirm that you are indeed pregnant…”

Anything else the doctor had to say didn’t make it through the fog that descended over me. My legs weakened, and I hit the floor with a grunt. Her voice buzzed in my ear but none of the words sounded like English.

“I’m so sorry. Can I call you back?” Without waiting for her response, I hung up and stared numbly down at my phone. The screen slowly began to spot with tears that had finally found their release.

A baby? Now? It was the worst possible time. I’d been on the pill since I was eighteen but sure, there was a chance it stopped working because of the stress.

What the hell was I going to do? One of those three men that I adored was going to be the father and I was certain I couldn’t look either of them in the eye ever again.

The tears that fell were silent, despite the pain in my chest crushing my lungs with every breath. My desire to break down and sob was replaced by a quiet grief that overcame me like a wave.

I blinked and more tears spotted the screen, blurring Bianca’s name. Then I hit call.

It rang three times.

“Callie? Hey chick, how are you?”

“Bianca,” I croaked her name.

“Callie?” Her tone instantly flooded with worry. “Callie, what’s wrong?”

“It’s all falling apart. I thought it would be okay. I thought I was making the best decision with it all but I was wrong. Eli has the patent, and he’s gone public with it. I don’t know how but he’s making it look like Sawyer stole from him.” The tears continued to pour, leaking down my face like a waterfall.

“And Sawyer? His company is in a dangerous place. I thought they were fine but I was wrong. This deal was a make it or break it and now? Now I’m pregnant, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Pregnant?! Oh my god.” Bianca was silent for a few moments after that. “I’m coming over, okay? Don’t move, don’t go anywhere, just stay right here okay?”

“Okay,” I replied weakly. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how things got so fucked.”

“It’s okay chick. We’ll fix this. I don’t know how, but we will, okay? I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

The call ended when Bianca’s boss called her back to work and I remained slumped on the floor, staring absently at the patchwork tiles.

How did it come to this? All I wanted to do was get the best care for my mother.

All I wanted to do was cling to the fact that she remembered me.

Now it looked like in doing so, I had destroyed the lives of the three men I cared so deeply for. And there was a baby inside me.

I lost track of how long I stayed on the floor, utterly numb. By the time the doorbell rang, my tears had dried, and my heart had hardened. I saw no way out of this, but if Bianca had any ideas then I was open to them.

Moving down the hall, I wiped at my face and sniffled, then pulled open the door, expecting to see Bianca standing there.

It wasn’t here, it was Kane.

His dark brows pulled south the moment we made eye contact, but before he could speak, I grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and dragged him into a kiss.