Chapter 4

"I said we're breaking up, and I canceled the wedding. Whether you heard me or not doesn't change my mind."

My voice rang out clear across the quiet street. The bodyguards and guests around us went dead silent, every eye snapping to me.

Cassian frowned, his dark eyes locked on my face, though his left thumb still instinctively pressed the button on his earpiece.

When I finished speaking, he held up a hand, signaling me to wait a second.

The sheer absurdity of it hit me, and I let out a laugh.

It took me until today to finally figure out how to get his attention.

Then I looked straight at Paige.

"What, getting a little too comfortable in my seat?"

Cassian immediately pulled out his earpiece. "Why are you bringing her into this?"

His face darkened, his voice low and edged with warning.

"She's been working around the clock for two days to put this wedding together. She did all this to take the load off you. Why are you still picking on her?"

Paige opened the door and got out of the car. With red eyes, she came over and grabbed my arm.

"Forget it. It's my fault. I'll move to the car behind us right now. Please get in. Don't let the capos laugh at us."

I coldly shook her off, but she grabbed my arm again, yanking me toward the car door.

"Get your hands off me!"

I turned and headed back up the steps toward the lobby. Paige came after me, crowded my side, and subtly stuck out her foot to catch the heel of my stiletto.

Tangled in the long train of my dress, I lost my balance and fell backward.

In the scuffle, Paige let out a gasp and tumbled backward with me.

Cassian bolted from the car on instinct and caught Paige as she fell.

I hit the stone steps hard. A sharp pain tore through my lower stomach, and my vision went black.

A few seconds later, my sight cleared just enough to see him looking down, nervously checking Paige's scraped wrist.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Irene, I was just trying to get you into the car. Why did you push me..." Paige sobbed. I tried to speak, but darkness swallowed my vision, and I passed out cold.

When I woke up, the sharp smell of antiseptic filled my nose.

Cassian was sitting by the bed, his large hand holding mine. A rare smile actually warmed his dark eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

My head was still groggy. He leaned down, pressing his warm lips gently against my knuckles.

"Irene, we're having a baby."

The private doctor standing nearby explained that I was still early in my pregnancy. Between my lack of sleep, poor diet, and the fall, I was at risk of a miscarriage. I had to stay in the clinic on strict bed rest.

Cassian reached out and tucked the corner of the blanket around me.

"You heard the doctor. Keep your temper in check from now on. Stop throwing tantrums and making a scene."

I stared coldly at his hand resting so close to mine. All I could think about was the moment I fell. He'd been just a step away from me then, too.

The doctor closed my chart. He told them to bring me a change of clothes and give me some broth or soft food once my appetite came back.

Cassian nodded. Then his gaze shifted, landing on Paige in the corner.

"You've been running around since this morning. Have you eaten anything at all?"

Paige pressed a hand to her stomach right on cue, shaking her head weakly and saying she wasn't hungry yet.

His brows immediately pulled together. "Every time you get busy, you stop taking care of yourself. What if your blood sugar drops?"

Only after he finished did he turn back to look at me.

"Be good. Close your eyes and rest for a bit. I'll go to the restaurant and get you something to eat."

The two of them walked out of the room side by side.

I stared at the white ceiling, my mind crystal clear. I could never let my unborn child stand in front of him one day, asking over and over, "Daddy, are you listening to me?"

It was over an hour before they came back.

Paige was carrying takeout bags, a dazzling new diamond bracelet glittering on her wrist.

"We walked past a jewelry boutique. Cassian insisted I was treated unfairly today and wanted to make it up to me."

Cassian stepped forward, raised the head of the hospital bed, and helped me sit up halfway.

"Eat something while it's hot."

I could barely keep my eyes open, so he scooped a spoonful of rich, creamy soup and held it to my lips.

"Paige watched the kitchen make this herself. Everything's pureed, so it's easy to digest."

I forced a mouthful down, and a sickeningly sweet, fishy taste coated my tongue.

"What's... in this soup?"

"Yeah, no rush. Take it slow, one spoonful at a time."

Using all my strength, I grabbed his cuff.

"Is there seafood in here? You know I'm deathly allergic."

The blue light on his earpiece flashed in his right ear. He barely listened, just nodding and saying he knew.

Paige slowly picked up the receipt on the table and glanced at it.

"The chef just drizzled a tiny spoonful of lobster bisque in for flavor. It's completely blended in. You can actually taste that?"

I swung my hand and knocked the spoon away from my mouth.

When I first started dating him, I went into anaphylactic shock and ended up in the ER after accidentally eating shrimp.

The day I was discharged, I taped an allergy list to the most obvious spot in our kitchen.

Since then, even at dinners with the other Families, I'd remind him over and over before we sat down.

Every time, he promised he remembered.

But now, even as I clutched his sleeve for dear life, I couldn't get an ounce of his attention.