Amara kept rambling, her voice cracking as the devastating reality of his injuries hit her all over again, fresh tears threatening to fall.

Keith watched her closely, his heart softening at the overwhelming mixture of profound guilt and terror etched across her features.

He let out a helpless, affectionate laugh. “Ama, seriously, I’m absolutely fine. Cut it out with the waterworks.”

“But hey—if the guilt is really eating you alive,” he drawled, a wicked glint in his eye, “how about marrying as repayment? Sounds fair to me.”

“…”

Marrying as repayment?

Amara snapped her head up, staring at him.

Under any normal circumstances, she would have instantly roasted him. Mocking each other relentlessly was practically their love language. But today, he had quite literally taken a bullet for her.

If he hadn’t lunged in front of her, that boiling water would have hit her dead in the face, completely destroying her life.

For the first time in their friendship, she was completely lost for words, having absolutely no idea how to respond.

Seeing the genuine panic in her eyes, Keith immediately backed off. “Whoa, relax. It was a joke! Has the stress completely fried your brain?”

He patted her head affectionately, a small, knowing smile on his lips.

“Look, I know I’m no saint, but I’m not some manipulating psychopath like Liliana. I’m never going to start exploiting a favor.”

“So what if I saved you? That has absolutely nothing to do with who you marry. If I want to be with you, I’ll win you over the right way.”

Amara shot him a complex look, pressing her lips together in silence.

Keith ruffled her hair, his gaze drifting down to her slight bump.

“Let’s drop it. You just need to focus on sorting out the situation with the baby.

Getting that taken care of is priority number one.”

She nodded. She had to deal with the pregnancy first; it was the massive obstacle preventing her from moving forward with anything else.

But the reminder sent a fresh wave of anxiety crashing over her.

Finnian was watching her like a

hawk. The fact that he had somehow immediately known about the attack today just proved how incredibly far his reachrextended.

How in the world was she supposed to terminate the pregnancy without him finding out? Was it even possible?

gret

Seeing her spiral into her own thoughts, Keith patted the back her hand. “Oh, and one more thing. Do not let my parents get into your head. made the choice to jump in

Amara looked up, meeting his unwavering gaze in silence.

He flashed her a reassuring grin. “No one forced my hand, and you certainly didn’t hold a gun to my head. So I don’t want you carrying an ounce of guilt over this. Got it?”

“From now on, if my mom tries to weaponize this against you, I want you to fire right back.”

“She’s practically feral anyway. She’s used to people fighting back. She’ll survive.” Despite everything, a small laugh escaped Amara’s lips.

“Are you insane? I can’t just scream at her. Her son just took a hit for me. She has every right to be furious.”

“But… if she crosses the line again, I promise I won’t just stand there and take it. I’ll defend myself.”

Keith nodded in approval. “Good. I just don’t want you letting people walk all over you.”