Chapter 16
I nodded truthfully. “He wants a divorce. If I tell him about the baby, he might think that I’m using it to keep us married.”
Jared raised a brow, clearly intrigued. “But he already knows. What will you do?”
I was taken aback. My heart sank at his words.
Trying to gauge his thoughts, I hesitated before asking, “Do you think Ashton would want this child?”
Jared exhaled slowly, his gaze unreadable. “I’m not Ashton,” he stated matter-of-factly. He slipped his phone into his pocket and regarded me briefly. “But he’s thirty. There’s no reason for him to refuse one.”
With that, he turned and left, leaving me lost in thought.
Does that mean Ashton would want me to have the baby?
My optimism was short-lived. Just as I was beginning to process Jared’s words, the hospital room door burst open. Rebecca stormed in, her eyes bloodshot and wild. Before I could react, her hands clamped around my throat.
“Why?” she demanded, her voice shaking with fury. “Why did you get pregnant? Scarlett, you killed my baby. I won’t let yours live!”
She was trembling, but her grip was unnervingly strong. My airways constricted, and I struggled to pry her fingers away. She had completely lost control.
“I won’t let you give birth!” she shrieked. “You won’t use this baby to tie Ash to you!”
I gasped for breath, my vision blurring at the edges. Rebecca was frail, but her sheer rage gave her the strength of someone much stronger.
Desperately, I choked out, “Kill me… and you’ll pay… for it…”
Her lips curled into a deranged smile. “If I get to kill both mother and child, it’s worth it!”
“Rebecca, what are you doing?” A deep voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Rebecca’s body went rigid. The menace in her eyes flickered out as she turned toward the door. The moment she saw Ashton standing there, she crumpled, her legs giving way beneath her.
Ashton strode forward and caught her effortlessly. Freed from her grasp, I collapsed back against the bed, gasping for air.
Rebecca sobbed against his chest, her voice quivering. “Ash, you promised me! You swore that no other woman would ever give birth to your child. You gave me your word!”
I watched the scene before me, my stomach twisting into knots. I didn’t say a word, but my nails dug into my palm as I waited for Ashton’s response.
He didn’t even look at me. Instead, he gently wiped Rebecca’s tears away, his voice low and soothing. “Stop crying. You’ve just recovered.”
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. At least he wasn’t demanding that I abort the baby.
“No!” Rebecca cried out again, clinging to his shirt. Tears streamed freely down her face as she looked up at him pleadingly. “Ash, you promised to take care of me. After my brother died, you were the only one I had left.”
Sniffling, she pointed a trembling finger at me. “If she has your child, you won’t divorce her, will you? You’ll have a family, and I’ll have nothing! I don’t want to be alone!”