Amara’s heart gave a heavy thump as she looked up at him.

Finnian was staring straight at Amara, his eyes bright and intense, his emotions clearly stirred.

“Amara,” he said, ignoring Keith standing by, gripping Amara’s wrist, “The baby-is it mine? We have a child together, don’t we?”

Amara was too shocked to speak.

Didn’t they already talk this through last night? Why was Finnian bringing it up again?

Wait, why was he even here?

It was already five thirty-the small private ceremony with Liliana should have been underway. Why wasn’t he at the reception? Why had he come to find her instead?

“Mr. Everly, what nonsense are you talking about? My child is not related to you in any way,” Amara said at once, pushing aside these questions to clarify things immediately.

But Finnian didn’t believe her. He tightened his grip, pulled her abruptly to her feet, and led her out of the restaurant.

“Mr. Everly, what are you doing? Let go of me—I’m having dinner-Finnian, let go!” Amara finally called him by his first name, growing angry at his refusal to release her.

Once outside, Keith had already caught up and confronted Finnian with a frigid glare. “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t Amara already tell you the child isn’t yours?”

“And you’re supposed to be marrying Liliana right now-what are you even doing here? Why are you harassing Amara like this?”

Keith tried to put himself between them, but Finnian’s grip on Amara’s wrist was so firm there was no way to separate them. Keith’s expression grew colder still.

Finnian shot Keith an icy glance.

As Amara’s closest friends, Keith and Elysia both seemed to know what was really going on, and that made Finnian uneasy. But now was not the time to dwell on it. He turned back to Amara and said, “Doyou remember when, not long ago Liliana was supposed to be pregnant? She claimed she was

carrying my child, but then had a miscarriage.”

Amara frowned, unclear why Finnian was bringing this up so suddenly.

The fact that Finnian and Liliana had ever had a child together still bothered her, and hearing it again now made her distinctly uncomfortable. She bit her lip and said nothing.

Finnian went on: “I only found out today that Liliana’s pregnancy was never real. She was never pregnant at all and she and I never actually slept together. But until now had no idea.”

Finnian’s face clouded with regret. “All this time, I thought she was having my child…”

66

Amara felt completely lost.

What was he even saying? How could Finnian not know whether or not Liliana was pregnant with his child? That seemed impossible.

She felt like Finnian was just making up stories, and a twinge of anger rose inside her.

Noticing her reaction, Finnian didn’t hurry; instead, he started explaining from the very beginning.

“It happened like this. Around four months ago, was at a party and someone slipped something into drink Even after I realized it, the

drug had already taken my

hold. I drove

back to my family home, hoping to find our doctor and deal with it as best I could.”

At the mention of that night, Amara’s breathing quickened a little, but she kept silent.

Finnian noticed, but continued, “But by the time I got home, the drug was at its peak. Barely conscious, I dragged a woman into the house and… things happened between us…”