“Rid of it? You mean—?”
“Yes, of course I mean an abortion. Let me be very clear, Shanal. I won’t tolerate you continuing this pregnancy for a moment longer than necessary. Remember what you have at stake here. If you insist on going through with this pregnancy you can forget about the money you need so very much to help your parents, and you can forget about your position with Burton International. And let’s not forget your restraint clause. I will invoke that if I have to. And you can be certain that once those two years are up, I will make sure you never get work in this field again into the bargain.
“Ask yourself, what do you really want? Hmm? The choice is yours. But if you choose me, then you do so without that man’s brat inside you.”
Fine tremors rocked her body. She couldn’t believe what Burton was asking of her. Every particle within her vehemently rejected his ultimatum, but what other choice did she have? Her father couldn’t work anymore. Her mother was now his full-time caregiver, and besides, she’d never worked outside the home. Even if she could find a job it would be unskilled and the pay would hardly make a dent in their living costs. For her entire married life her sole focus had been her husband and Shanal. If they could sell their home, sure, their debts would be cleared, but where would they live? What would they do to cover their living expenses? It was likely a moot point, anyway, with the mortgage that Burton now held over the property. They’d never be able to sell it with his interests registered against it.
Burton’s stipulation was an all-or-nothing deal. If she married him, she continued with her work and provided the necessary security for her family, but that meant she’d have to give up the child of a man who’d done everything she’d asked of him without question, but who could do nothing to save her now.
“What’s it to be, Shanal?” Burton pressed relentlessly.
Could she do what he asked? She swallowed against the lump in her throat and lifted her head to look at this man she’d agreed—not once, but twice—to marry.
In a voice that sounded foreign to her ears she replied, “I’ll marry you.”
A smile stretched across Burton’s face and Shanal watched in horror, wondering how she’d ever thought him handsome.
“Don’t you worry about the details, darling,” he said with that crocodile smile. “I’ll arrange everything. Besides, we can’t have a baby ruining that pretty little figure of yours, can we?”
His words sent a chill through her. She could understand he wouldn’t want Raif’s child, but from what he’d just said, he didn’t ever want to see her pregnant. “Burton, are you saying you don’t want children at all?”
“When we’re ready we can use a surrogate. I don’t want anything to mar the perfection of you, Shanal. Not now, not ever. I remember the first time I saw you. I knew you had to be mine. I couldn’t believe my luck when you interviewed for the position at the lab eighteen months ago. There was no way I was letting you go. Ours will be the perfect marriage and together we’ll make Burton International the number-one research facility in the world.”
Two things locked into her mind. First, that he’d planned to marry her all this time. And second, that she’d earned her role in the lab based on her looks rather than her qualifications. She’d never felt more trivialized in her life. The knowledge heightened her loathing of him.
Oblivious to her distress, Burton continued. “So, tell me, you are going to wear that exquisite gown again for our wedding, aren’t you? I can’t wait to see you in it once more.”
By the time Shanal left his apartment she felt bruised inside. Through everything they’d discussed, she couldn’t help feeling she was making the worst mistake of her life. Raif had tried to warn her months ago and she hadn’t been prepared to listen. But then again, she had never seen the side of Burton that she’d seen today.
It was as if he were two distinct people—the charming, urbane, smiling gentleman boss on the one hand, and a calculating, controlling despot on the other. And she was linking herself to him, in marriage, forever. He didn’t even really see her as a person, but more of an asset. This wasn’t what she’d mentally signed up for when she’d first agreed to marry him. Although maybe, somewhere along the line, she’d subconsciously realized who Burton Rogers really was when she’d chosen to run away from the cathedral that day. If only that instinct had taken over before she’d agreed to his proposal in the first place.