CHAPTER 3

CONFIRM IT

The car came to a slow, controlled stop beneath the private entrance of the hospital, and for a moment, I didn’t move, my eyes fixed on the glass doors ahead as the reality of everything began to settle in with a weight I could no longer ignore. The city lights reflected faintly against the polished surface, cold and distant, and I found myself gripping my bag tighter than necessary as the words from earlier echoed repeatedly in my mind, refusing to fade no matter how much I tried to push them away.

“You’re pregnant.”

It didn’t make sense, and yet the more I tried to deny it, the more a quiet, unsettling possibility crept into my thoughts, dragging me back to the one memory I had been avoiding since it happened. Three nights ago, a moment I had buried too quickly, convincing myself it meant nothing, convincing myself it was just a mistake that would never follow me beyond that night. Now, sitting here, with the hospital in front of me and a man beside me who spoke as if he already knew the outcome, I realized just how fragile that assumption had been.

“Get out.”

His voice cut through my thoughts, calm and direct, leaving no room for hesitation or argument.

“I’m not going in.”

I didn’t turn to look at him as I spoke, my attention still fixed ahead, as though refusing to move would somehow delay the truth waiting behind those doors.

“You are.”

“I said no.”

The words came out firmer this time, but even I could hear the lack of certainty behind them, could feel the control I had been holding onto slipping little by little.

“You don’t get to decide that for me.”

“I already did.”

That same steady tone again, untouched by emotion, untouched by doubt, and for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, it unsettled me far more than anger ever could have.

Finally, I turned to face him, meeting his gaze fully as the tension between us thickened into something undeniable, something that neither of us seemed willing to break.

“Why are you doing this?”

There was a brief pause, not long enough to feel like hesitation, but long enough to suggest calculation.

“Because you need to know the truth.”

“I don’t need your version of it.”

“You need confirmation.”

His eyes held mine without wavering, and in that moment, it felt like he could see through every layer I had built around myself, like he already knew what I was trying so hard not to accept.

“And if I’m right… Then this isn’t something you can ignore.”

I didn’t respond immediately, because part of me already knew he was right, and admitting that even silently felt like losing the last bit of control I had left. The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating, before he broke it by stepping out of the car without another word.

That movement alone was enough to force a decision I hadn’t been ready to make.

I exhaled slowly, then pushed the door open and stepped out after him.

The hospital air felt colder the moment I walked inside, sharp with antiseptic and too clean in a way that made everything feel clinical and distant, and as we approached the reception desk, I immediately noticed the way the atmosphere shifted. The receptionist didn’t look at me first. She looked at him, her posture straightening almost instantly, her tone changing before she even spoke.

“Mr. Cross.”

He didn’t slow his pace, didn’t acknowledge the shift, didn’t need to.

“Private consultation. Now.”

“Yes, sir.”

There were no questions, no hesitation, and that alone told me everything I needed to know about the kind of influence he carried. I followed beside him, my heels echoing softly through the quiet corridor, each step taking me further into a situation that felt increasingly out of my control, yet impossible to walk away from now.

We stopped in front of a private room, and before we could even reach for the door, it opened from the inside. A doctor stood there, already prepared, already expecting us, and the realization that this had been arranged ahead of time settled heavily in my chest.

“For Miss Serena Vale?”

I hesitated for only a moment before nodding, my voice quieter now.

“Yes.”

“Please come in.”

I stepped inside, my movements slower, more deliberate, as if crossing into that room meant crossing into something permanent. Lucien didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he remained near the doorway, watching, observing, saying nothing.

The room was quiet, filled with the low hum of medical equipment and a stillness that made every thought feel louder than it should have been. I sat where I was instructed, my hands resting in my lap, fingers tightly intertwined as I tried to maintain some level of composure, even as the weight of everything pressed down on me.

“Relax. This won’t take long.”

I nodded, though my body remained tense, my mind racing ahead of the moment, already anticipating an answer I wasn’t ready to hear.

Time passed in a way that felt distorted, neither fast nor slow, just heavy, like every second carried more weight than it should have. The doctor worked efficiently, explaining things in a calm, professional tone that barely registered, because my focus wasn’t on the process.

It was the result.

When it was over, the room fell into silence again, thicker this time, filled with anticipation that made it difficult to breathe normally.

“Miss Vale…”

His voice shifted slightly, softer, more certain.

“You are pregnant.”

The words settled into the air with a finality that made everything else fade for a moment, my thoughts going completely blank before rushing back all at once. The memory I had been avoiding came back with clarity, sharp and undeniable, leaving no room for doubt.

“This isn’t possible.”

The words left my lips quietly, but even as I said them, I knew they weren’t true.

It was possible.

It had always been possible.

My hand moved instinctively, pressing lightly against my stomach as if trying to confirm something I couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, but now couldn’t deny.

“You’re still in the early stage, but everything appears normal.”

Normal.

Nothing about this felt normal.

“Do you need some time?”

“Yes.”

The answer came slowly, and the doctor nodded before stepping out, leaving me alone with the silence.

The room felt heavier now, filled with something that hadn’t been there before, something real and undeniable. I stared down at my hands, trying to process everything at once, trying to understand how something so life-changing could happen so suddenly, so quietly.

The door opened again.

“You heard.”

I didn’t look up immediately, because I already knew who it was.

“Yes.”

There was a brief silence before he spoke again.

“What are you going to do?”

I lifted my head slowly, meeting his gaze, and for the first time since all of this began, I didn’t have an answer ready, didn’t have control over what I was feeling or what I was supposed to do next.

“I don’t know.”

It was the truth, and saying it out loud made it feel even more real.

“You don’t have time not to know.”

My brows pulled together slightly.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He stepped closer this time, his presence more noticeable, more deliberate, as if he was no longer observing from a distance but stepping directly into the situation.

“Because now… you’re carrying something that people will want.”

My heart skipped.

“What people?”

He didn’t answer immediately, his gaze dropping briefly before returning to mine, his expression unchanged but his words heavier when they came.

“The kind of people your ex-husband has been dealing with behind your back.”

The room went completely still.

“What?”

“You didn’t know.”

“No.”

The answer came slower this time.

“I didn’t.”

He exhaled quietly, as if confirming something to himself.

“That’s a problem.”

My chest tightened again.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your divorce wasn’t just about another woman.”

The words landed carefully, deliberately.

“It was about protection.”

My heart pounded harder with every second.

“Protection from what?”

This time, he didn’t pause.

“From something that could get you killed.”