Chapter 4
1034 Words
Another wave of agony ran through her, and her knees gave way. She clamped her teeth together, supporting herself with a hand against the wall.
She needed to get to a hospital.
Taking in a trembling breath, she forced herself to take action. She moved step by step, not noticing the shaking of her body, not feeling the stinging cold that penetrated into her bones.
She needed to ensure that her baby was safe.
By the time Aria arrived at the hospital, her breathing was shallow pants. She ran through the doors, her words struggling as she spoke to the nurse at the desk.
"Please—" she gasped. "I need to see a doctor. My baby—"
The nurse's face changed, eyes widening in alarm. "Right away, miss. Come with me."
She was swiftly led into an exam room, where a doctor came just a few minutes later. He performed a couple of tests, the gel of the ultrasound against her lower abdomen as the machine hummed to life.
Aria took a deep breath.
Be okay. Be okay.
The doctor's expression did not change as he looked at the screen. Finally, after what seemed like an endless time, he spoke.
"The baby is fine," the doctor assured her, his voice calm yet professional.
For a moment, Aria couldn't process the words. A ringing noise filled her ears, blocking out everything else. Then, like a dam breaking, relief crashed over her. A shaky breath left her lips, and before she could stop herself, hot tears spilled down her cheeks, sliding silently onto the thin hospital gown clinging to her skin.
Her baby was fine.
The terror that had encircled her heart like a clamp relaxed, but not much.
She sniffed, wiping away her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "Are you sure?" Her voice was little more than a whisper, as if speaking too loudly would break the tenuous reassurance the doctor had just provided her.
"I'm sure," the doctor said softly. "Your baby is healthy. But—" His voice changed, becoming stern. "You need to watch yourself. Emotional stress isn't good for your pregnancy. Your body is already stressed out, and if this keeps up, it can harm the baby."
Aria swallowed.
Stress.
Her whole life had been nothing but stress lately.
The betrayal. The humiliation. Luca’s cruel words. The slap. The way he had looked at her, not with love, not even with anger—just pure disgust.
The pain flared again in her chest, a different kind of ache.
"I strongly advise you to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally," the doctor continued. "You need rest, Aria. And if possible, a peaceful environment."
She let out a soft, bitter laugh. Peaceful? That was a luxury she hadn't had in a long time.
"I understand," she murmured, but deep down, she knew it wasn’t that simple.
Even if she took care of herself physically, how could she heal the wounds inside her? The ones no doctor could see?
Her fingers trembled as she rested a hand on her stomach.
You’re still here, she thought, rubbing the small swell gently. You’re still fighting.
And for the first time that night, she realized—so was she.
She couldn't keep this a secret anymore.
Luca needed to know. He had to know.
Her fingers tightened around her phone as she pulled it from the bedside table. Her heart pounded, her thumb hovering over the screen as she typed the message.
Aria: Luca, we need to talk. I’m at the hospital.
It’s about our baby.
She hit send.
Then she waited.
Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths as she stared at the screen, willing it to light up with a response.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
Nothing.
A lump formed in her throat, heavy and suffocating.
He wasn’t going to answer.
Before she could dwell on it, the door to her hospital room creaked open.
Her head jerked up, hope blossoming in her chest.
"Luca—?"
But the name withered on her tongue.
It wasn't Luca.
It was her.
Emily.
Aria's gut twisted into a burning knot.
The woman strode into the room, a self-satisfied smile creeping across her lips, her arms folded across her chest. Her perfectly coiffed hair and tailored designer coat contrasted starkly against Aria's hospital gown and tear-streaked face.
"Well, well," Emily drawled, resting in the doorframe. "Didn't think I'd catch you here so early."
Aria's hold on the bedsheet tightened. "What are you doing here?"
Emily c****d her head to one side, pretending innocence. "Oh, didn't you get the message?"
Aria scowled, fear sliding up her back. "What message?"
Emily drew a deep breath, moving further into the room, her heels clicking on the tile floor. "Luca sent me. He wanted me to make something very clear to you."
Aria's whole body stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
Emily's lips curled into something nauseatingly sweet—a predator before the kill.
"He doesn’t want you," she said simply, taking her time with each word as if savoring the way they cut. "And he definitely doesn’t want your bastard child."
The words hit like a slap.
Her breath caught. "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "You’re lying."
Emily let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Am I?" She pulled out her phone, swiping a few times before holding it out.
Aria hesitated, but her eyes were helplessly drawn to the screen like a moth is drawn to fire.
Luca: Get rid of it. I have nothing to do with her or that child.
The walls seemed to close in on her.
She was ringing in her ears.
Her eyes began to blur over.
She barely registered the phone slipping from Emily’s hand onto the hospital bed. The room felt smaller, suffocating, as if all the air had been sucked out.
Her heart… it hurt.
She had known Luca was angry. She had known he believed Emily and Sophia’s lies. But this?
This was final.
This was cruel.
Emily smirked, satisfied with the devastation painting Aria’s face. "I guess that settles it, huh?"
Aria's mouth opened, but no words came out.
Something in her cracked inside.
- Writer
