Chapter 33

(Ronan’s POV)

I was out of the house and in my car before I could even think about it. My hands flexed around the steering wheel as I broke every speed limit to get to Julia as fast as I possibly could. She had sounded so scared on the phone, and when she said, “I need you,” it was like all of the hurt and bad feelings between us over the last few days disappeared.

Is she hurt? Is she in danger? Has something happened to the baby? I hit the wheel, furious at myself for not running after her as soon as I had realized she was gone. After several threats of firing, my house staff told me she had left a few hours earlier, taking only a small bag.

I had told myself that she had been called away for some emergency, work or family, and that was why she hadn’t taken everything, or told me where she was going or why. It was easier than realizing Julia had had enough of my behavior and decided she was better off on her own.

I can’t believe you let this happen. Tyler sounded just as upset as I was, but I tried to ignore my wolf. Still, he kept scolding me. You should have been watching her every single second of the day! If anything should happen to her or the child, you’ll never forgive yourself. Nor should you.

“Don’t you think I know that?” I yelled, pressing the gas pedal even further. “Now, shut up and let me concentrate!” It felt like hours, but a glance at my watch told me I was pulling up to Julia’s family’s house six minutes after we hung up.

I raced through the front yard and up the steps, slamming the front door open. “Oh, my God, who—” her father stopped short when he saw me. “Ronan! Um, hello! We — we weren’t expecting you this evening, but I’m so honored to welcome you to our home.”

Sandy appeared behind me, smiling in that sharp, hungry way she always did when she laid eyes on me. “Ronan,” she said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” I glared at her. “Where is she?”

Something in my voice must have let Sandy know now was not the time to mess with me, because she just wordlessly pointed towards the stairs. I ran up the steps, opening every door I saw in the hallway. I was absolutely desperate to find Julia and make sure she was alright.

Finally, I slammed open a door to find Julia, sitting on a bed, her cheeks stained with tears. She gasped when she saw me. “Oh, Ronan!” She was at my side in a second, throwing her arms around my neck. “I was so scared,” she whispered into my chest.

My arms encircled her waist, pulling her as close as possible to me. The horrible sick feeling of worry that had been rolling through me disappeared, and now all I could feel was the warmth and comfort that her presence always brought me.

She needs me, I thought, dazedly. No matter what happens, no matter how much we fight, or how mad we get at each other, she needs me. I never want this to stop. I never want to stop feeling like this.

It was a strange realization, and one that I was not prepared to deal with right now. Instead, I shook off my feelings and I gently pushed Julia away from me. She looked hurt, until she realized I was only putting space between us so I could make sure she was alright.

I looked her over, taking in the sight of her. Julia was clearly upset, which bothered me greatly, but other than that, nothing seemed to be physically wrong. “Julia, what happened?” I asked quietly. I didn’t want to scare her, but it was taking everything in me not to punch a hole in the wall.

“Um,” she said slowly, taking a shaky breath. “Well, I…I guess you noticed I left the house.” I just nodded, which Julia took as a cue to go on. “Okay, well, I decided to move back home. My parents called, and they seemed to be sincere about wanting to see me and help me through the last stages of the pregnancy.”

“It was nice,” she continued. “It was…they were the kinds of things I always dreamed of them saying to me. So, I came back, but it was all just a lie.” Julia laughed sadly. “They only wanted me here so they could start criticizing me.”

“Criticizing you?” I was confused. What was there to criticize about Julia? “They said my recent behavior had been reflecting poorly on them,” she said. “They said I was humiliating them in public, flaunting my pregnancy and my infidelity, and,” she hesitated, but I squeezed her shoulders lightly, urging her to go on.

“They want me to get rid of the baby!” Julia cried out. She buried her head in my chest again, sobbing. “They said my life was too unstable right now and — and that I should just abort the baby and try again!”

I couldn't help the growl that erupted from my lips, but other than that, I did my best to stay calm. Julia was already scared and upset; she didn’t need my fury making the situation even worse. I ran my hands over her back, trying to soothe her.

Finally, I said, “We’re leaving. Now.” I took Julia’s hand in mine and led her down the hall and back downstairs. I needed to get her out of here. I needed to take her and the baby somewhere safe. I needed Julia to be alright.

(Julia’s POV)

I held on to Ronan’s hand like it was a safety raft in a stormy sea. I couldn’t believe he had gotten to me so fast, but part of me knew Ronan would move heaven and earth to come to me. He had proven that time and time again, and now, all our fighting seemed so silly.

As we came down the stairs, my parents’ voices overlapped, both of them apologizing for what they said and begging me to stay here with them. “We were just thinking of what’s best for you, but we would never want to hurt you!” my mom said. “Please, please don’t go.”

But I was done listening to them. I was done being the dutiful daughter, done shrinking myself on the slim chance that my family would finally love me the way I wanted them to. “No,” I said, surprised by the steel in my voice. “I’m leaving. I should’ve left years ago.”

“You might call yourself my parents,” I continued. “But you’ve never loved me. Not the way you love Sandy. “You might have adopted me and agreed to be my parents, but you have never been a true mother and father to me. I don’t want to speak to any of you, ever again.”

My father’s face twisted with fury. “We might have known you’d bring ruin on this family,” he spat out. “We never should’ve adopted you in the first place! We knew who your parents were. We should’ve known what you’d become!”

I blinked in confusion at his words, but my mother pulled on his arm, silencing him before he could say anything more. I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, Ronan swept me out of the house and into his car.