The Price of Love

Chapter 31: War

Jin

I fell back into my chair. More than surprised, I was angry. So this was the card she was going to play. It was ridiculous! I felt my jaw slide forward a few millimeters, anticipating combat.

"You must be kidding," I said, shaking my head with a bitter chuckle.

Fiona glanced around the restaurant before pinning me with her eyes. "So, then, you're okay with the colors I picked?" she asked as if that had been our conversation all along.

I closed my eyes to calm myself before addressing her again. "I had you all wrong, Miss Gettis. I owe my dear stepmother an apology. What a gifted actress! They all bought your innocent virgin act." I paused. "But I didn't. You're just another bitch in heat."

She looked shocked for a moment before her eyes flashed in anger. "How dare you talk to me like that? I'm going to be the mother of your child."

I chuckled again. "Are you really? It's not my child--if there's even a child. I thought you were smart. Did you forget about paternity tests? Besides, it's been--what?--three weeks since our supposed encounter?"

She pressed her lips together in annoyance. "Say what you want. Some doctors will say that pregnancy can be detected in a test in fourteen days."

"Yes," I agreed, "but a paternity test will very quickly reveal the truth. And I will insist," I smiled at her triumphantly, "in case you were planning to cuckoo this situation."

She frowned and looked away. She might not have gotten my reference to how cuckoo birds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. If she was pregnant, I knew the child didn't belong in my nest. "Anyway," she said with irritation, "we'll already be married by the time I will consent to a paternity test. There's nothing you can do."

I sighed. "As much as I am intrigued by your fantasy, I will be leaving now."

She turned to me. "You know, it really won't matter to your father. If I say I'm pregnant, he will accept it. When a powerful man like him gets older and his health begins failing, he will grasp at anything that will remind him that his lineage will live beyond him. Imagine how thrilled he will be when I tell him that his first grandson will be here soon. The future heir. Why, he might even start liking you again."

I scowled at the self-satisfied look she gave me. She is more clever--and more dangerous--than I thought. I hoped my underestimation of her would not ruin my plans to stop this wedding.

"Fiona," I began slowly. "Let me say this clearly: I don't love you. Right now, I don't even like you. How could you possibly want to be tied to someone who can't stand the sight of you?" I saw her grin dissolve, and I leaned over the table.

"You can be sure that if you go through with this scheme of yours, your life will be one terrible stretch of sadness and frustration," I said in a low voice. "You might think you have the upper hand, but I can assure you that regardless of what my father might want to believe, I will make sure to expose the truth behind your so-called pregnancy. Do not go to war with me." I held her gaze with mine.

She began to breathe a little faster before she broke eye contact. I was sure that I had called her bluff and that she would back down. A minute later, she pinned me with her stare, and I saw a horrible sight: determination. I struggled to keep my composure.

"Okay, then," she said briskly. "You've warned me. We'll see who wins."

I made a disgusted sound and stood up, ready to walk away.

"It really won't matter whether it's true or not," she added, "once dear Bella finds out you're going to be a daddy."

I whirled around and slammed my hands on the table causing the nearby diners to jump and exclaim in surprise.

"Leave her out of this," I hissed. "I swear, Fiona, if you contact her--"

"If I tell her," she countered, "she will never believe anything you say again. She will be lost to you forever." She sneered. "I guess this is war."

I glared at her, wishing my angry gaze alone could incinerate her and her malice, but she just stared back. With a frustrated sigh, I turned and walked out of the restaurant, feeling dozens of eyes following me every step of the way.