Jane POV
“So you’re just going to hide my child from me?”
Carter’s voice was sharp—cold, but shaking slightly. He stood in the doorway like a storm, tall and furious and heart-stopping. I had barely opened the door, and already, my chest felt like it was caving in.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out at first. Then I finally found my voice.
“What?” I whispered.
“You heard me,” he said, stepping into the apartment before I could stop him. His eyes scanned the small room, taking in the cracked walls and secondhand furniture. “Were you planning to tell me? Or were you just going to raise our kid alone?”
I blinked at him, wide-eyed. “I wasn’t hiding anything,” I said quietly. “I tried to tell you.”
He scoffed. “When?”
“The day I showed up at Empire,” I snapped, my voice shaking now. “You weren’t there. Your sister made sure I never show my face ever again.”
“Rosie?”
“Yes,” I said bitterly. “She threw me out before I could even say your name.”
His expression darkened, but he didn’t respond. He just kept staring at me, arms crossed.
“Are you even sure it’s mine?” he asked suddenly. “Or was this part of the plan? Trap the billionaire, ruin the King name—just like your father tried to ruin mine?”
My whole body turned to fire.
I stepped back and pointed to the door. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“Jane—”
“No,” I said, louder this time. “If you’re going to accuse me of trapping you or playing games, then you can walk the hell out right now. Because that’s not who I am.”
I could feel the tears rising, but I refused to let them fall.
“I wasn’t planning on this,” I said. “Any of this. Not sleeping with you. Not getting pregnant. Not ending up in this shitty apartment with nothing to my name.”
He stayed quiet, but his jaw clenched.
“I wasn’t trying to ruin your life,” I continued. “That night at the club, I was angry. At my father. At the world. I just wanted to piss him off.”
Carter’s eyes narrowed. “So that night was a setup?”
“No,” I said quickly. “It wasn’t a setup. Not like that.”
He looked at me like he didn’t know whether to trust me or not.
“I went to Empire to make a statement,” I said, voice softer now. “To hurt my father. He hates the King family. I thought… if he saw me with you, it would make him lose his mind.”
“Which it did,” Carter muttered under his breath.
I nodded. “But it wasn’t supposed to go further. I was never supposed to end up in your bed.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “But you did.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I did.”
Silence filled the air between us. The weight of everything we weren’t saying pressed down on my chest.
“I thought we used protection,” I whispered. “I thought I was being careful.”
He sat down on the edge of the couch, running a hand through his hair.
“Why didn’t you come back?” he asked.
I let out a tired breath. “Because I didn’t think you’d care. I’m an Ellis. You hate my last name. You probably hate me.”
His eyes flicked up to mine. “I don’t hate you.”
“Well, I sure don’t feel welcome.”
I crossed my arms and looked away. “You think I wanted this? I just wanted my father to suffer a little. Lose a deal or two. But instead, he cut me off. He threw me out like trash.”
Carter said nothing.
I swallowed hard. “Now I’m alone. No money. No support. And a baby I didn’t plan for.”
He stood slowly and stepped toward me.
I tensed.
I didn’t know what he was going to say. Part of me still expected him to leave. To tell me it was too much. That he didn’t want any part of this.
But instead…
“I’ll step up,” he said softly.
I blinked.
“What?”
“I’m here,” he said. “For you. For our child.”