Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 207

Randal rolled onto his side to face her. "Why the sudden question?"

Willa didn't dare meet his eyes. She lay flat on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Just wondering. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He took her hand in his, his voice slow and deliberate. "The Yates family rules have zero tolerance for illegitimate children. My grandfather set it in stone years ago—every Yates child must be legitimate. An illegitimate child can't take the Yates name, they won't be recorded in the family tree, and they absolutely won't see a dime of the inheritance."

Her fingers twitched slightly. "But what if... someone had one anyway?"

"Even if they did, the Yates family would never acknowledge them."

Willa's heart plummeted.

What about the baby growing inside her?

If the Yates family would never accept the child, why had Randal constantly coaxed her into having one?

Were all those promises just meaningless pillow talk, entirely void of any real commitment?

Sensing the sudden shift in her mood, Randal asked softly, "Willa, where is all this coming from?"

With the pregnancy hormones kicking in, a sudden wave of irritation flared within her, turning her voice sharp and cold. "I told you, I was just curious."

He tightened his grip on her hand, the comforting warmth from his palm slowly smoothing out her frayed nerves.

"You don't have to worry," he assured her, sounding intensely serious. "I'd never let that happen."

Willa blinked, startled. "What?"

"I will never have an illegitimate child."

Willa's heart leapt into her throat.

She couldn't parse what Randal really meant by that, but she had no idea how to press him for answers.

Randal waited for a moment, and when she didn't speak, his thumb began rhythmically stroking the back of her hand, as if soothing a frightened kitten.

"Willa, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

He lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Then get some sleep."

Willa closed her eyes, but sleep was a million miles away.

His words had completely scrambled her brain. She had absolutely no idea whether she should tell him about the pregnancy now.

So... it really was just meaningless pillow talk.

She had been so devastatingly stupid and naive to believe it.

She had even secretly fantasized about how thrilled he would be when he found out.

In the end, it was nothing more than her pathetic, wishful thinking.

Then again, with the toxic state of their relationship, how could a baby possibly be arriving at the "right time"?

The last sliver of pathetic hope in her heart was instantly drowned in crushing disappointment. Her chest ached so intensely it went numb, sending a sharp, cramping pain shooting through her lower abdomen.

She instinctively curled into a ball, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as if she could shield the tiny life inside.

"Willa?" Noticing the sudden tension in her body, Randal tightened his arm around her waist. "What's wrong? Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

A fierce sting pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she ruthlessly choked back the tears.

Willa squeezed her eyes shut, forcibly burying every raw emotion raging inside her.

This entire relationship had been entirely out of her control from day one; she had been a fool to hope a baby would somehow change that.