Chapter 3: An Unwelcome Surprise
906 Words
In the final moment before consciousness slipped away, an image of his face bloomed behind her eyes. The carefully constructed mask of indifference was gone, replaced by raw panic. And in his eyes, she saw only a reflection of herself.
Aria closed her eyes with a faint, bittersweet smile.
The instant he saw her falter, Julian was out of the car. He couldn't explain the primal instinct that made him move, the sudden lurch in his chest. By the time his mind caught up, she was already collapsing into his arms.
Her face was ashen, her lips drained of all color. Without makeup, her beauty was stark, almost startling. Julian had to admit, for all the darkness he believed was in her soul, Aria Thorne had the face of a fallen angel.
There was no time for further thought. He scooped her into his arms and carried her back to the car, his steps urgent. He tried to ignore the frantic hammering of his own heart, a traitorous rhythm that had started the second he saw her fall. He didn't dare examine the reason why.
When Aria woke, the suffocating, antiseptic smell of a hospital filled her senses.
"...what did you say? She's pregnant?"
The voice was Julian's, coming from just outside her room. It was strained, incredulous.
"Yes. The patient is six weeks along. The fetus is stable for now, but she absolutely cannot endure any more stress. There is a significant risk of miscarriage."
Julian listened to the doctor's words, a cold disbelief washing over him. He was not a man who liked being tied down, and Aria had always been smart enough to understand that. She was diligent about taking her birth control. He’d trusted Mrs. Gable to see to it, and he hadn't given it a second thought.
To think that the manipulative, scheming woman had secretly stopped taking it.
And here he was, almost believing she had genuinely decided to leave him. He saw it now. This was the real endgame.
Did she really think a child could chain me to her?
A cruel, humorless smile twisted his lips. It was the first thing Aria saw when she opened her eyes—Julian, sitting by her bed, watching her with that look of pure contempt.
So, it wasn't a dream. He really had come for her. A tiny, foolish spark of joy flickered in her chest.
It was extinguished by his very next words, a bucket of ice water that chilled her to the bone.
"So this was your master plan? Aria, if you think a child changes anything, let me be perfectly clear."
He stood, leaning over her. The proximity should have been intimate, but his voice was a blade, whispered directly beside her ear.
"It's impossible. I will never let you have my child. You will terminate this pregnancy."
He spoke of the child not like a father, but like a cold executioner.
The news hit Aria with the force of a physical blow. Pregnant? How could she not have known? And at this moment, of all moments. Of course Julian would assume it was just another one of her ploys. The initial shock gave way to a desperate need to make him understand. The ache in her heart would have to wait.
"Julian, listen to me, I didn't know—"
"I've already made the arrangements," he cut her off, his tone hard and final, leaving no room for argument. "You'd be wise to stay here and cooperate. Otherwise, I promise you, you will regret it."
Aria stared up at the man beside her, a stranger wearing her husband's face.
Julian could see the raw pain etched on her features. She had just woken up, her face pale and drawn. She possessed a beauty that was almost supernatural, and now, tinged with this fragile, broken look, it nearly made him falter.
He found he couldn't meet her eyes, which were rapidly filling with tears. He shoved the feeling down, spun on his heel, and walked out of the room.
Aria watched him go, tears finally spilling over, soaking the pillowcase. In that moment, she felt something inside her shatter—the last, stubborn fragment of hope.
This is his child, too. How could he be so cruel?
But then, something else rose from the wreckage. A fierce, unyielding resolve. No. Her child. She would not let anyone harm her child. Not even Julian. This baby was a miracle, a flicker of light in the darkness, and she would protect it with her life.
Throwing a thin robe over her hospital gown, Aria dragged her weakened body toward the door. But when she pulled it open, a figure blocked her path.
The woman was in her forties, with a severe expression and an air of unflappable authority that made Aria's stomach clench with unease.
"Who are you?" Aria's voice was barely a whisper.
"Miss Thorne. Mr. Sterling hired me to take care of you. If you need anything at all, you just let me know."
The words said care, but the woman’s dismissive, contemptuous gaze said guard. Julian, ever thorough, had anticipated her defiance.
A cold smile touched Aria's lips. She looked the woman dead in the eye.
"When is the surgery?"
The woman's expression didn't flicker. "The doctor says your body is too weak for the procedure right now. You need a few days of rest."
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