If things weren’t real before, they are now.

I’m surprised that I got the drop on Silas, but he probably wasn’t expecting me to actually attack him. As soon as I hit him though, I knew I was going to win the fight. I think that if I have to go up against him again, it will be much harder, but I got lucky this time.

I’m not sure how long our luck is going to last. I love having Sadie around my apartment, living with me, but her family is getting more aggressive. They haven’t actually come to the apartment again or gotten in touch with either of us, but her father has stepped up his attempts at sabotaging my business.

I’m practically leaking money and resources. I still have a lot, and I’m not in any serious danger yet, but I’m not sure how long I can last. Maybe six months, maybe a year, something like that.

Despite the problems with my business, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I spend half my days in the office and half my days at home with Sadie. Two weeks pass like that, two fucking blissful weeks. We have sex as much as possible, and Sadie is an eager learner. She loves when I push her limits, test her, see what she likes and doesn’t like. She’s intense in a way that surprises me, and she even pushes my boundaries a little bit right back. It’s so impressive. When I first met her, she was a virgin, but after only weeks of having sex, I feel like she’s learned as much as I can possibly teach her.

I won’t say that to her, of course. Because I want to keep trying to come up with new ways to make her feel good.

After two weeks and one doctor’s appointment, its pretty clear to me that we need some sort of plan. Early Saturday morning, I get up and make her breakfast like I always do, but this time I have something of an ulterior motive.

She comes out into the kitchen, smiling. “You know, I’m pretty spoiled by this.”

“Didn’t have you a chef back home?”

She grins and nods. “But you’re much better.”

“Oh, I’m sure I am.” I give her a plate and a cup of coffee before serving myself and sitting down across from her.

I watch her eat for a second, sipping my coffee. She’s so goddamn beautiful and she makes me so happy, which is why I hate that I feel like I have to have this conversation with her. I wish we could just keep going like this as she gets more and more pregnant, and then we’d raise our child together, and just live in bliss.

But the real world is still out there, and the real world is very unhappy.

“What?” she asks me with a little smile.

I smile back. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Uh oh,” she says. “You have your serious face on.”

“I don’t have a serious face. All of my faces are serious.”

“Well, that’s not true,” she says, laughing. “Your come face isn’t too serious.”

I grin at her. “That’s the most serious of all faces, Sadie girl.”

She sighs and leans back in her chair. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“First I want to tell you something.” I grab her hand and hold it tightly. “Having you here these last two weeks… they’ve been the happiest two weeks of my life. Do you understand that?”

She nods, smiling, and squeezes my hand back. “I feel the same way.”

“Good. So now you understand why it’s so hard for me to say that I think you need to go home.”

She pauses, very surprised, and slowly pulls her hand away. “What?” she asks. “Why?”

“Not permanently,” I say quickly. “Hell, not even for very long. But Sadie, you need to tell your family that you’re pregnant.”

She lets out a sharp breath. “I thought you were kicking me out.”

“I’m not,” I say. “I promise. But you do need to tell your parents, and I think it’ll be best if you do it in person.”

“I don’t want to go back there,” she says quietly. “Do you have any idea how they’ll react?”

“They’re probably pretty fucking mad already,” I say, grinning. “I did beat the shit out of one of their workers.”

She bites her lip and looks down at her place. “I know that. My brothers have been calling me every day since I left.”

“Peter too?” I ask.

“Peter too,” she confirms. “Not answering has been hard. But it’s the right thing for me.”

“You can’t hide this forever,” I say. “We don’t need their support or their blessing. But we do need them to understand.”

“Why?” she asks suddenly, almost pleading. “You know they’ve treated me like a dog for years, right? This is the safest I’ve ever felt. This is the most free I’ve ever been.”

“I know,” I say softly, and it breaks my heart just a little bit. “And so far, they haven’t really tried to bring you back. But they will, sooner or later, and they’ll try hard.”

“You can keep me safe,” she says.

“You’re right, I can. And legally speaking, you’re an adult, so you can do whatever you want. But we both know your family doesn’t need to follow laws.” I sigh, leaning back in my chair to look at her. “If they understand why you’re here, why you’re with me, we may be able to stay together.”

She looks at me quietly for a second and I can tell that she’s been wrestling with this ever since she came to me. Despite everything with her family, Sadie does love them, or at least she loves her brother Peter. Her parents haven’t treated her well, but she was raised to take pride in her family and to believe that the family’s best interests were more important than her own.

So it must be incredibly difficult now to go against all of that. Frankly, maybe it’s easy to think she’s just a silly rich girl with nothing at all, but I see so much more.

She’s strong. Just getting away from her family takes strength. She gave up so much by running away. I know I’ll never fully understand. Not only will she likely be removed from the will and the family, leaving her with nothing financially, she also lost her identity as a Tillman. Her family is more than just a family, it was her whole life, the person she was born and bred to be.

And yet she saw how unhappy it all made her, and she ran away. She figured it out, and now she’s here.

It’s impressive, no matter what people might think. I admire her.

Now it’s time to go back, which is probably the hardest thing she’ll ever have to do.

“I know you’re probably right,” she says finally. “But I’m afraid to go back. I’m afraid they’ll force me to stay. I’m afraid they’ll make me do something that I don’t want to do.”

I nod slowly, looking at her seriously. “I won’t let them keep you if you don’t want to stay,” I say softly. “And if you decide that’s what you want, then I’ll support you. They’ll never lock you up again, Sadie. I promise you that.”

She sighs. “We really need to do this, don’t we?”

“We really do,” I say.

“Okay.” She sits up and nods her head, “Fine, alright. We’ll do it. We’ll go see my parents. How hard can it be, right?”

“It’s the simplest thing in the world,” I say.

“Right. I’ll just look at them and say, ‘Hey guys, this man you hate, he got me pregnant. And I’m keeping it. And I’m staying with him now. Bye!’ It’ll go over well.”

I grin at her. “I think your dad might have a heart attack. His pure, virginal, perfect daughter is sullied by a commoner like me.”

“You joke, but he really does think that.” She makes a face, “It’s like because you were born without money, you’re somehow… evil? Or not as good, at least. Like only the chosen people are rich.”

“It’s a mindset I’ll never understand.”

“Makes it easy for him to hate poor people. And to do things that don’t help them. I don’t think he sees poor people as actual humans.”

I sigh and shake my head. “Come on, Sadie. Don’t dwell too much. We’ll go, break the news, and then leave.”

“Simple,” she says, and she’s quiet for a second. Then she looks up at me and grins. “Better hope Silas isn’t there.”

I grin right back. “He better hope he’s not there.” I flex a little and she laughs.

But beneath that laugh, I can already see a hint of fear, creeping in beneath her strong exterior.

* * *

She fidgets the whole elevator ride up to her parents’ apartment. I hold her hand the whole time, trying to help keep her calm, but there’s only so much we can do.

After our conversation in the morning, she went right into her room and called her father. She told him that we want to meet, but wouldn’t say more, and he agreed to have us back at the apartment.

We both agreed that it’s better not to wait. And so just a few hours after making the decision, we’re riding in the elevator up to her family home, the place she grew up.

“It’s going to be okay,” I say to her. “I’m here with you.”

“I know.” She takes a deep breath. “It’ll be fine. My father can’t do anything.”

“No, he can’t. Not with me here.”

She nods her head, but looks uncertain. It’s okay though. I’m going to be strong for both of us. Maybe she’s afraid and nervous, but I promised her that I won’t let them take her or hurt her anymore, and I’m going to keep that promise.

The elevator dings when it reaches their floor. I glance at her.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Nope,” she says as the door slide open.

We walk forward down a short hallway to their front door. Sadie pauses, then knocks softly.

“Feels weird to knock,” she says.

I don’t say anything, I just squeeze her hand. A few seconds later, a man opens the door. He’s in his late forties, maybe early fifties, and I don’t recognize him.

“Hey, Thomas,” Sadie says.

The man smiles with genuine pleasure. “Miss Sadie, I’m glad you’re back.” He gestures for us to step inside. I assume Thomas is a man that works for her family. He gives me a nod, though his smile isn’t as genuine when he turns it on me. That doesn’t matter. These people probably all think I’m the devil or something, here to steal away their pure little girl.

Too bad their little girl isn’t pure at all, and probably never was. I got a taste of what’s inside of her, and now I know that she’s a dirty, filthy girl, and she likes it that way.

“Your father is waiting in his study,” Thomas says to Sadie.

“Thank you.” She gives him another smile. He doesn’t follow as we head off into the house.

I can’t help but grin a little bit. Sadie gives me a weird look. “What?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I say. “Just never met a girlfriend’s dad before.”

She pauses a second. “Girlfriend?”

I shrug. “What else would I call you?”

“Illegitimate baby momma,” she says.

I grin. “You’re that, too.”

She squeezes me hand and suddenly she seems less nervous.

We head down the hall and I can’t help but look around. The apartment looks like it was decorated at the turn of the century. Old oil paintings cover the walls, and priceless statues sit on pure marble pedestals. It’s a far cry from the place where I grew up. I can’t even imagine living in this apartment. It’s more like a museum than a home.

We pass a few other doors and other staff members before finally stopping outside a pair of big double doors.

“Dad’s study,” she says. “You ready?”

I nod. “I’m ready. Are you?”

“Nope,” she says, and she pushes open the doors.

Hans Tillman, Sadie’s father, is a severe man. I don’t know any other way to describe him. He has thinning blond hair turning gray, which makes it look almost white. His light blue eyes turn instantly onto his daughter but no smile or any outward sign of recognition flashes across his face.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was looking at a stranger.

“Hello, Sadie,” he says. “I was hoping you’d come alone.”

“I needed Gavin to be here for this,” she says.

Tillman raises an eyebrow. “For this? I assumed you were just coming home to apologize for running off with that man.” He doesn’t even bother to look at me.

“Father, this is important. Is mother home?”

He shrugs. “She’s here somewhere.”

“Can you call her? It’s important.”

He looks at her for a second before pushing a button. “Thomas, bring Regina down here, please.”

We stand there in an awkward silence. Tillman turns back to whatever he was doing on his computer. I glance at Sadie and she rolls her eyes. She’s probably used to these stupid little power games.

Regina Tillman appears moments later. She sweeps into the room and instantly goes to stand next to her husband. Unlike Hans, Regina glares at me, openly hostile and not trying to hide it.

“Mother, father,” Sadie says. “I have something important to say.”

Regina glares at me. “Does he need to be here?”

“Apparently so,” Hans says. “Regina, please. Let the girl speak.”

Sadie clears her throat. “I don’t know how else to say it, so I’ll just say it. I’m pregnant, and Gavin is the father.”

A stunned silence falls across the room. Her father doesn’t react, but her mother’s face contorts into a mixture of agony and pure anger.

“How could you?” she hisses. “With this, this, low-class trash?” Her mother looks like she might pass out from rage.

“It just happened,” Sadie says. “And I’m keeping the baby. I just wanted you two to understand why I left.”

“I’m going to support her,” I say. “And the baby.”

Regina Tillman’s gaze falls upon me and I can tell she wants my head to explode. “Do not speak, you gutter rat,” she says.

I smirk at her. Hans puts a hand on his wife’s back. “Regina, please,” Hans says. “Calm yourself.” He turns back to Sadie. “Are you certain this is what you want?” he asks.

She nods once. “I’m sure.”

Hans sighs. “You stupid little girl,” he says.

I clench my fists. I can handle them insulting me, but I can’t take it when they talk to her that way.

“I’ve given you everything,” Hans continues. “I expected only a modicum of loyalty and some poise. Instead, you’re unwed and pregnant by some upstart rat nearly twice your age.” Hans shakes his head. “I am disappointed in you, Sadie. I always thought you were a pathetic little girl, but now I see that you’re stupid as well.”

“Don’t talk to her that way,” I say, unable to stop myself. “You pompous ass.”

His gaze turns to me and a smile spreads across his face. “How’s business, Gavin?”

I keep myself calm as Sadie looks at me, horrified. “Business is fine, Hans.”

“Good, good,” he says. “I wouldn’t want it to get bad for you.”

“Threats won’t work,” I say to him softly. “I’m respecting Sadie, something you’ve never done. This is her choice.”

“Her choice?” Hans barks a single laugh. “She’s a child, Gavin. She’s too stupid to know what’s best for her. I want her to marry someone appropriate who can take care of her and give her what she needs, someone with good breeding so that her children may also be quality people. But you? You’re just trash. And your child will be trash as well.”

The look on Sadie’s face tells me everything. It’s pure horror and loathing.

This was a mistake. I don’t know what I expected, maybe something like this. But her parents are nastier, more horrible than I ever could have imagined. Her father’s insane eugenics-like idea of breeding the rich with the rich is just shy of insane, and most certainly it’s sick.

I take Sadie’s hand in mine. “Come on,” I say softly to her. “Let’s go.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Regina says, coming around the desk.

“Dear,” Hans says sharply. “Stop it. Let the girl go.”

Sadie lingers for a second. “Can I see Peter?”

Her father shakes his head. “If you want to go, then go. If you want to stay, you will do as I tell you. This is your choice.”

She pauses for a second, and I can see the pain so clear on her face. I wish I could protect her from this too, but I can’t.

Finally, she turns. We walk together back through the doors, her mother and her father disappearing behind us.

We go straight back out the front door, and she doesn’t cry until we get into the elevator.