The familiar, intoxicating scent of her skin grounded him, instantly silencing the chaotic anxiety that had been clawing at him all day.

“I can’t let you go, Amara,” he murmured.

Slowly, he lifted his head to lock eyes with her.

Under the veil of the night, his gaze turned somber, burning with an intensity so raw it made her breath catch.

She instinctively looked away, but he caught her chin, tilting her head back to force her to meet his stare.

“Stop fighting me,” he told her, measuring every syllable. “You’re not getting away.”

Amara’s eyes flared with renewed indignation.

How could he be this stubbornly delusional? Could he really not see that she despised this?

Then it hit her. He had only become this obsessive after discovering she was pregnant. He just wanted the baby. The realization made her stomach turn.

“This is about the baby, isn’t it?” she sneered.

“You were completely fine with letting me go, but the second you found out I was pregnant, you called off your engagement with Liliana and started suffocating me. Is that it? You just want me to produce an heir for you? You think I’m just an incubator?”

Finnian looked at her in sheer disbelief.

“How could you possibly think that? That’s not it at all!” he countered fiercely.

“I don’t give a damn about having a child. The only person I care about is you!”

He didn’t even like kids, nor had he ever planned on having any.

When Liliana had told him she was pregnant months ago, his immediate response had been to ask her to get an abortion. She had refused.

Unwilling to force a woman into a medical procedure against her will, he had begrudgingly accepted the situation and stepped up to take responsibility.

But now he knew the truth. He didn’t owe Liliana a damn thing, and he certainly wasn’t legally or morally bound to her anymore.

Furthermore, witnessing Edith and Nathan West violently reject Amara’s relationship with Keith proved one crucial fact: no one else could protect her. He was the only man Capable of securing her happiness.

That was why he pursued her so relentlessly. He wasn’t going to leave her vulnerable ever again.

So why did she constantly hurl these devastating accusations at him?

Hearing the woman he loved accuse him of treating her like an incubator felt like a knife twisting in his gut.

His grip tightened slightly on her

arms. “When did I ever say I wanted a child? When Liliana said she was pregnant, I wanted nothing to do with it. 44m going to have a child only want it because it’s yours.”

“And the only reason I started pursuing you again was because that was the exact

moment I realized I had zero obligations to Liliana.”

“Not to mention, seeing how Keith’s parents treated you made me realize no traditional family is going to accept you while you’re carrying my child.”

“I’m the only one who can give you the life you deserve, Amara. You have to believe me.”

Emma had threatened to ruin Amara’s life if he didn’t marry Liliana, forcing his hand.

But deep down, he knew the blackmail hadn’t been the only factor.

He had agreed because he thought Liliana had saved his life years ago, and had sacrificed her innocence for him four months ago Guilt

and duty

had driven him to propose

Now that the truth was out, his conscience was clear. Why wouldn’t he come back

for the woman he actually loved?

Amara listened to his impassioned speech, entirely unmoved.

If Liliana hadn’t sent her those intimate photos a few days ago, she might have actually believed him.