Chapter 6

The room smelled like bleach.

I slowly opened my eyes. The harsh white lights made me dizzy.

"Aria! You're finally awake!"

Killian grabbed my hand and buried his face in my palm.

His eyes were completely bloodshot, his hair a mess.

His handsome face was written with pure terror and relief.

"How could you run out alone? And pass out in the storm!" His voice was horribly hoarse. He carefully wiped my sweat with a warm towel while frantically kissing my fingers. "The doctor said your fever was off the charts. Your body almost shut down! Do you know you drove me insane?! You are my life!"

I looked at him quietly.

I looked at the seemingly pure panic and love in his eyes.

If this were yesterday, I would have hugged him tightly to soothe his fears.

But now, I felt nothing but absolute numbness and exhaustion.

Just then, his encrypted phone on the nightstand vibrated aggressively.

Killian frowned, glanced at the screen, and hesitated.

"Go," I said considerately, my voice weak. "Family business is important. I'm fine."

"I'll be right back." Relieved, he kissed my forehead and hurried out of the room.

The second he left, my phone under the pillow buzzed.

A text from Tessa.

[Wow, Boss is so nervous about our baby. I just told him the baby kicked, and he dropped you instantly to run to me.]

Then, a photo.

In the photo, Tessa's hand rested on her slightly swollen belly.

And on her middle finger was a massive emerald signet ring!

The highest ring of authority. The ring of the Mafia Donna!

[Aria, if you come to my ward right now, you'll see a lot of familiar faces.]

I ripped the IV out of my hand. Dragging my weak body, leaning against the wall, I walked step-by-step toward the VIP ward at the end of the hall.

The door was slightly cracked open.

Outside stood two rows of fully armed elite guards.

Inside, Killian's mother, and several high-ranking elders sat on the sofa.

"Killian, since Tessa is carrying your flesh and blood, just divorce Aria and marry her!" His mother, the Family matriarch, sneered. "Aria hogged you for five years and can't even produce an heir. What use is she? Are you really going to let our Family die out?!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Killian's furious roar echoed from the room.

Through the crack, I saw his dark face. He pulled his gun and slammed it on the table.

"I only have one wife in this lifetime, and that's Aria!"

"But Killian, you need an heir..." an elder tried to persuade him.

"Tessa can have the baby, but don't ask for anything else!" Killian was absolute.

The elders looked at each other and finally compromised.

"Fine. We won't force a divorce," the old Don sighed. "But you can't mistreat Tessa. She's carrying the future of this Family."

"The whole Family will cover it up. Aria will never know."

"This child is too important to the syndicate."

Listening to them, the world spun around me.

It wasn't just his men.

The highest authorities of the Family, his own mother—they were all in on this sickening lie!

He wanted to play the devoted husband with me, while keeping his mistress's heir.

He treated everyone as pawns, trampling my dignity into the dirt!

I panicked and turned to run.

I backed away, my chest heaving.

I slid down the cold hospital wall, burying my face in my hands.

A series of desperate, suffocated laughs escaped my throat.

Completely alone.

I was reduced to a pathetic joke, kept in the dark by the entire world.

Late at night.

My room was pitch black, except for the beeping monitors.

My phone screen suddenly lit up, burning my eyes.

Tessa sent a video.

In the dim lighting, Tessa's long legs were wrapped tightly around Killian's abs.

They were moving together rapidly. Skin against skin. No protection.

[The doctor said the baby is three months old, so we can have sex now. He pinned me to the hospital bed the very same night.]

[Sex feels different now that I'm pregnant. He doesn't have to pull out. Don says he loves the feeling of finishing completely inside me.]

[Aria, have you ever felt that? Your man belongs entirely to me now.]