Chapter 85

Drake’s POV

I had faced boardrooms full of hostile men, hostile markets, hostile takeovers. None of that prepared me for watching Chloe unravel in front of me.

She looked small sitting there on the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, eyes too bright, like her thoughts were running faster than her body could keep up with. I’d seen fear before. This was different. This was panic wrapped in exhaustion, sharpened by rage.

When the doctor said the word pregnant, something inside me had gone still.

Not shock. Not disbelief.

Certainty.

I knew the moment she started spiraling that she would see this as a curse. Chloe never allowed herself softness. Life had taught her that softness was punished. She survived by staying sharp, alert, ready to fight.

And now her own body had betrayed her.

When she said she couldn’t keep it, it felt like a blade pressed against my ribs.

Not because of ownership. Not because of pride.

Because I co