The room was too small for all the heat it was holding.
Marcus sat up on the bed, face pale but clenched with frustration. He hadn't spoken much since waking up, only groaned when Tess forced him to sip water or when I tried asking if he could remember how Adrian got him. His stitched up side was heavily bandaged, and blood had already begun to seep through in some places.
Tess paced, arms crossed tightly across her chest, glaring like she was seconds away from lunging at him.
"I swear," she muttered, "if you don't start talking, I'm calling Adrian and having you dumped on the streets."
Marcus scoffed softly, wincing at the effort. "That's funny. You say his name like you trust him."
"I trust him more than I trust you," Tess fired back, stopping right in front of him. "At least Adrian doesn't pretend to be a saint... he's true to his nature."
He let out a breathy laugh. "Right. The king of the criminal underworld is suddenly your moral compass?"
Tess didn't blink. "You married my best friend's other best friend behind her back. You think we care what you think anymore?"
I sat beside the coffee table, legs crossed, staring at Marcus like he was a puzzle I couldn't solve. All the pieces were starting to make sense now, but they didn't bring peace. They brought fire.
"You said Adrian before you passed out," I said softly.
He looked at me, eyes flickering with something that resembled guilt, then glanced away.
"Why?"
Marcus clenched his jaw. "Because he's the reason I got beat like this."
Tess snorted. "And you deserved every punch. Now tell us the truth. Your family, what are they? Mafia? Drug lords? Under the table Politicians? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica joined willingly."
"Don't talk about her like that," Marcus snapped before he could think. The movement made him flinch and clutch his side, but it was too late. His temper had slipped out.
"You're defending her now?" I asked, a hollow laugh escaping my throat. "Are you serious?"
"Jessica isn't as stubborn as you," he muttered, still wincing. "She is willing to do whatever it takes to join my family. You... you never would have adapted."
My heart sank. "Adapted to what, Marcus? Living like some trophy wife in a glass box while your family pulls the strings?"
He exhaled, shaky and slow. "You could've had your old life. The easy one. Not this chaos. You could've just let me take care of everything. You didn't have to know."
Tess rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. "None of that money was even yours. You didn't work for a cent of it. You were born with a silver spoon and an excuse."
Marcus shot her a glare. "Oh, and Adrian's different? That man's been operating outside the law for years. He should've been in jail a long time ago. But no one touches him. You think he's not made of money? Serious money? Come on."
"He has a point," Tess muttered under her breath, then quickly shook her head. "But that's not what this is about."
I leaned forward. My voice came out low, sharper than I expected. "What was your family going to do to me?"
Marcus didn't answer immediately. The silence stretched between us until it snapped.
"Think Rapunzel," he said bitterly. "Locked in a tall tower. Out of sight until the baby is born. Once it is, you'll have to follow their rules if you ever want to see your child. First rule, Jessica is the official mother."
I froze but something inside me shattered.
Tess stood completely still, mouth slightly open in disbelief. Then I felt it... rage, boiling and uncontainable. My body moved before I could stop it.
I grabbed the tray from the coffee table. It had a stethoscope on it, something I must have left there after checking Marcus's vitals. I hurled it across the room at him with everything in me. It wasn't graceful or precise, but it didn't need to be. The tray clipped his shoulder hard enough to make him yell out and curl forward in pain.
"Gina!" Tess rushed to pull me back, holding my arms before I could reach for something else to throw. "Breathe! Just breathe!"
My chest heaved. I couldn't stop. The words came out in a stream of venom and hurt.
"You think I didn't know about the other women?" I shouted. "All those nights you came home late, smelling like jasmine or vanilla... I'd check myself for infections like a fool, pretending not to know the truth. You think I was oblivious? I saw more than you'll ever admit. Just because I didn't accuse you of anything doesn't mean I had no idea what was going."
"I was a fool. Everybody knew it but I loved you, genuinely. I gave you my all."
Marcus was speechless, blinking through the shock.
"I know about your brother killing that old man while driving drunk, and nothing happened. I watched you pass every year without studying, while I worked myself sick. You'd leave in the middle of the night while I pretended to sleep, after a call from your mother, and I thought it was just your family being rich and ridiculous, but now I know better. You're no different from Adrian. No, you're worse. Because at least he doesn't pretend to be a saint."
Tears blurred my vision, but I didn't care. I was past the point of holding back.
"I can't believe I gave everything to a man who couldn't even stand up to his own family," I finished, voice cracking. "I am carrying your child and you can't even be bothered to care about my well-being... a child being torn from their mother's arms. They cut off your balls when you were born and replaced them with an Amex card."
Marcus turned a shade of red I'd never seen before. His lips parted, eyes wide, furious.
"Do you even have a heart? Do you know how to love? Do those words mean anything to you? I know now that you and Jessica deserve each other."
Before he could explode, the door burst open.
Harrington stepped in laughing, holding his stomach like he had caught the whole thing from the hallway.
"I'm sorry," he wheezed. "But damn, that throw? Savage! Didn't know you had it in you babes." Harrington said.
"Now is not the time for jokes Harry." Tess scolded him. Harrington raises his arms in surrender.
Marcus turned to him with a glare that could kill. "My family is not one to mess with," he growled, ignoring the pain in his ribs.
I stood taller. "Try messing with a mother protecting her child," I replied coldly. "From this moment on, you're just a sperm donor. Nothing more."
I didn't wait for a reply. I stormed out of the room, my legs weak beneath me. I collapsed just outside the door, sitting on the cold floor, my arms wrapped around my knees and my face buried between them. My chest felt too tight, like my ribs were closing in on my heart.
"G," Tess whispered, kneeling beside me a moment later. "I've got you. Always."
She helped me up, her grip steady as she led me down the hall. I didn't know where we were going. I just needed to move.
A moment later, Adrian stepped out from another room. He was quiet, unreadable, his dark eyes flicking between the two of us.
"You don't have to worry about him anymore," he said.
"I do," I said. "His family..."
"You're moving into the Monarch today," he interrupted. "Until this threat is neutralized. The penthouse. Separate bedrooms. You're off duty until further notice."
"I'm not taking time off," I argued.
"You're getting paid regardless," Adrian said. "You need rest. And protection."
He turned to Tess. "You. Quit your job."
Tess blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I'll double your salary. I want you by her side. Every second."
Tess lifted her eyebrows, gave me a glance, then said, "Say less."
Harrington popped in again, grinning. "Shall we take my car? I promise it doesn't bite."
I wiped at my face, exhaustion beginning to creep in. "What are you going to do with Marcus?"
Adrian looked at me like the answer was obvious.
"Send him home," he said. "The bruises will do the talking."