Chapter 5

Camilla.

The room became quiet again, and none of them could believe the words that I just uttered.

Grey stared at me, his fingers pressed against his temple as if he was trying to keep himself from losing his mind. Bryce, shifted uncomfortably beside him. The two of them exchanged a look.

"I’m sorry," I heard Grey mutter, more to himself than to anyone else. He sighed heavily, then glanced at Bryce. "What are you thinking?"

Bryce leaned forward. "You might be right about this claim of sleeping with him," he said, looking at me with a strange kind of detachment. "But Mr. Grey made it clear that you both used protection that night. So I seriously doubt you’re pregnant for him. You can check your other customers. Who knows? Maybe luck might be on your side today."

I could feel my stomach churn at the insinuation. My breath hitched in my chest. Was he really suggesting what I thought he was suggesting? I opened my mouth to protest, but the words caught in my throat as I stared at him. "What do you mean by that?" I blurted out.

"Exactly what you understand," Bryce replied, his tone flat and cold.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A part of me wanted to get up, walk out, and never return to this nightmare, but my feet felt rooted to the floor. Anger, disbelief, humiliation—each emotion fought for dominance inside me. 

But before I could say anything else, Grey spoke up. His voice was calm, almost disinterested, but the finality in it was unmistakable. "Camilla," he said, "if you're not going to take our word for it, then maybe it’s time you leave." Before I could protest, Grey had already reached for his phone.

I watched, heart sinking, as he dialed something on the screen. His finger hovered over the call button. Without a second thought, he pressed the call button and spoke into the phone. "Get two security guards in here. Now."

The pit of my stomach turned into a void, empty and cold. "You’re throwing me out?" I managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Grey didn’t even spare me a glance as he put the phone down.

Moments later, two massive security guards appeared at the door. I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. I tried to stand my ground, but the two men were already closing in on me.

"Come on, Miss," one of them said, his tone cold and unyielding. "Time to go."

I jerked back, shaking my head in disbelief. "No," I snapped, standing firm. "I'm not going anywhere."

I didn’t care how much they towered over me, I wasn’t leaving without Grey admitting to be the father of this child.

One of the guards grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly toward the door. "Let go of me!" I yelled, struggling against their grip, but it was useless. They were too strong. My feet scraped across the floor as they dragged me toward the exit.

"Stop it!" I screamed, the frustration boiling inside me. The anger in me flared, and I grabbed the first thing I could find.

It was one of his bracelets—the one I had stolen from him the night I left. I hadn’t meant to take it, but it had slipped into my bag during the chaos of that morning.

Grey’s eyes widened in surprise as I slammed it onto the desk in front of him. He blinked, disbelief flashing across his face. "What the hell?" he muttered. "How did you—"

I could see the shock in his eyes, but I didn’t care. "I guess you recognize it?" I spat, my voice trembling with fury. "I know it's yours because I took..."

Grey cut me off, his expression darkening. "I didn’t know you were also a thief, Camilla," he said. "Because how else could you have gotten this?"

The words cut deeper than I expected. I felt a lump in my throat as the frustration built up in me. I regretted every moment I had spent here, trying to talk to him, trying to reason with him. This man, who had the power to change everything for me, couldn’t even give me the decency of understanding. He couldn’t even acknowledge the reality that I was carrying his child.

I wanted to cry, to scream at him, to demand he listen. He was my last hope, my last chance to fix everything, to get back the life I had lost—if I could only get him to help me. 

The room spun around me as the weight of my thoughts pressed down on my chest. I could feel the tears threatening to spill, but I forced them back. This wasn’t the time.

I was about to walk up to him, to throw myself at his feet and beg for help, when Grey’s voice cut through my thoughts. "Take this." He tossed something onto the desk, and I glanced down to see a check. It was open—just a blank piece of paper with a sum that could set me free.

I stared at it for a moment, a numbness settling over me. My mouth went dry as I tried to process the gesture. I could take this money, but how do I get back my companies from Benjamin and my stupid sister?

"No," I said, my voice breaking as I stood my ground. "I don’t want your money."

Bryce, standing off to the side, finally spoke up. He seemed almost too eager, too pleased with himself. "I think you need to look at this, Camilla." He handed me a document, and my heart skipped a beat.

I looked at it, my eyes scanning the words before I could fully comprehend what they meant. My stomach churned as I read it again, the words beginning to make sense in the worst way possible.

The medical diagnosis.

Grey was impotent. He could never have children.

The shock hit me like a punch to the gut. I staggered back, the paper slipping from my fingers as the room seemed to tilt around me. I could feel the world shattering as I realized the truth. He couldn’t have been the father of my child. No. There had to be some mistake. There had to be.

"But... but I’m sure you’re the..." I started to speak, but my voice faltered, the words caught in my throat.

Before I could finish, Grey erupted. His eyes, once cold and distant, now burned with unbridled rage. "Shut up!" he snarled. "And get the hell out of my sight. Leave this place before I make you disappear, and not even your body will be found in the streets of Havilla!"