Chapter Six: What Must Be Hidden

Camille's POV

I couldn't get the words twins out of my head. Even when the rooms was quiet again, even when the sounds of the machine keeps beeping, even when I closed my eyes to sleep, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. There was two lives, inside me.

I placed my hands on my stomach slowly, it felt the same as before, it was still flat and ordinary, yet everything about me had changed.

i wasn't just a broken, abandoned and humiliated women anymore. I was responsible for taking care of these kids. Tears slipped down from the corner of my eyes and soaked into the pillow. I didn't wipe them away. I was tired of pretending that I was strong.

Marcus didn't want me anymore but I know this kids are what he wants, but he will never know about them. I will make sure both him and Fiora never finds out. But I don't know how to do that.

The door opened softly, Adrian came in. I wiped my face quickly, but it was useless and I know Adrian could tell that I have been crying. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He was no longer wearing his suit jacket, he wore his shirt and his sleeves were rolled up. He didn't look like a powerful man, he looked like someone who had also been awake all night.

"They runned other test and they confirmed it." He said quietly.

I nodded, my throat felt so dry and I couldn't talk.

He sat down beside the bed but kept a respectful distance from me.

"They asked if I should inform your husband," he continued

"No." I said immediately with all my strength and the word came out sharp. My fear made it louder than I expected.

Adrian didn't look offended, he only nodded once. "I told them not to."

I exhaled slowly, like I had been holding my breath for hours.

"He cannot know," I said "Even Fiora shouldn't know about this pregnancy."

"Do you want to tell him later?" Adrian asked carefully.

I shook my head. "Never."

He watched me for a moment. "You understand what this means."

"I do," I said. "If they finds out, Marcus will come for them and not for me. Fiora will find a means to harm me and the babies."

The word them made everything real.

My voice broke. "I cannot protect myself, how am I supposed to protect two children?"

He was quiet for a long time.

"you don't have anyone," he finally said. It wasn't a question.

"I'm an orphan." I replied. "No parents, no relatives and no home." Saying it all out made it worse.

"When Marcus threw me out, I had no where to go." I said, tears slowly clouding my eyes.

"Everything will be fine," Adrain assured me.

"I need to hide this pregnancy," I said suddenly. The words came somewhere deep and sharp inside me. "I can't register it. I can't let my name appear anywhere."

"That's dangerous." He said.

"I know," I replied. "But being found is worse."

He studied my face. "This isn't fear talking. This is a decision."

"Yes." I replied him. "I have mede my decision."

He leaned back in his chair. "Then we do it properly."

I looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I will arrange a private doctor for you," he said. "Someone who doesn't report to Valmont systems, I will make sure he is so discreet and no information about the babies will be leaked out. Then this particular doctor that confirmed this pregnancy, I will warn him to keep this a secret."

My heart pounded. Flickers of hope beaming in my eyes. "Can you do all that?"

"Yes." He said calmly.

"And a place." I added quietly. "Somewhere no one will look."

"I will handle that too."

I stared at him, my disbelief was missed with relief. "Why are you helping me?"

He didn't answer right away.

"Because I know what it feels like," he said finally, "to realize that your marriage was only built on lies."

That was enough.

A nurse walked walked past the door and glanced inside. Immediately I got tended and I remembered we are still in the scandal and the rumors are still spreading.

"If we stay here any longer, the news will spread." I whispered.

Adrian followed my gaze and his expression hardened. "I will move you out of here before discharge papers go through the system," he said. "I will make sure we do that quietly."

Fear rised upon my spine again. "What if they are already watching?"

"Then they will see nothing and learn nothing." He replied. "I will make sure of that, do not worry."

I swallowed hard. I had trusted Marcus once, fully and blindly. Now I was trusting Adrian with my life and my children. That scared me more than the accident.

But when he stood up and adjusted the blanket around me carefully, like I was fragile and not broken, I felt something else too. I felt safe, just a little. Enough to survive the day.

I closed my eyes again, my hand still resting on my stomach. I will protect you, I promised silently, even if the whole world turns against me.

And somewhere deep inside I felt determined.

"Before we do anything successful, we have to do one important thing first." Adrian said after going through his phone for a while.

"what's that?" I asked, my head raised.

"You have to change your name first," he said. "So that everything will run smoothly and non of them will be able to trace you or harm you."

"I will go with Veronica Thompson." I said without thinking about it, or arguing.

If I was ready to change my life, it should start with my new name first.

Adrian studied me for a long moment.

“Once you leave as Veronica,” he said quietly,

“Camille Hale no longer exists.”

“Yes.” I said.

With the new name and a new place, I will fight for my kids and come back to Valmont to deal with the people that humiliated me.