CHAPTER 4

Elena's POV

The moment I opened my heavy eyes, I realized I was lying in a completely unfamiliar room. The very last image in my mind was being trapped in the bedroom with Raven's mother.

The sharp, clean smell of bleach and the constant beeping of medical monitors instantly brought back painful memories of the endless times I had visited fertility clinics with Raven, desperately searching for answers as to why we couldn't conceive a child.

But I hadn't actually been hospitalized in years. My thoughts raced wildly with a million questions about how I had even ended up here.

Finally, the heavy door clicked open, and a female doctor walked into the room holding a clipboard in her hands.

“Mrs. Calloway, I'm so glad to see you're finally awake,” she said, offering me a warm, wide smile as she walked over to my bedside.

I wanted to immediately correct her and tell her that wasn't my name anymore, but I didn't want a stranger knowing that Raven had forced me to sign divorce papers just a few hours ago.

“Who exactly brought me into the clinic?” I asked, trying to push myself up into a sitting position, but the doctor immediately reached out to gently stop me.

“You need to stay completely flat and rest for a bit,” she instructed softly, easing me back onto the pillows. “A worried young woman was the one who checked you in.”

She was definitely talking about Martha, because I knew there was absolutely no way Raven's Mon would have helped me. She would have gladly watched me suffer on the floor. “I see.” I nodded weakly.

The doctor’s smile grew even wider as she looked down at me. “Congratulations.”

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. I had absolutely no idea what she was congratulating me for. Instead of celebrating, she should have been offering me condolences since my marriage had just been destroyed, but then again, she had no clue about my personal life.

“Congratulations for what, exactly?” I asked, my voice filled with confusion.

“You are going to be a mother,” the doctor announced clearly, and my entire body completely froze.

I had absolutely no idea how to process the words. I didn't know whether I should jump for joy or burst into tears. I had spent years believing my body was completely broken, so I never imagined I would ever see the day I got pregnant.

“I'm actually pregnant?” I whispered, trying to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

“Five weeks along, perfectly healthy!” the doctor confirmed, leaving me completely stunned and speechless.

A massive wave of pure joy washed over me because this proved I wasn't barren after all. I felt incredibly happy because this meant Raven would surely take me back now.

There was no way he would cast me aside when I was literally carrying his flesh and blood, his true heir. I gently pressed my palms against my flat stomach, realizing that I was finally going to be a mother.

I had spent my entire life dreaming of the moment I would carry my own baby. The words of the fertility doctors echoed beautifully in my mind: ‘There is nothing wrong with you, Elena. You just have to be patient.’

“Could you please send in the person who brought me here?” I requested, and the doctor stepped out to bring Martha into the room.

“Martha, can you please call Raven's cell phone and tell him he needs to get to the hospital immediately? Tell him it's a massive emergency,” I instructed her the moment she walked through the door.

She tried calling Raven's direct line, but his phone was completely out of service, so she decided to dial his mother's.number instead. She made the situation sound incredibly serious and she promised she would get a hold of Raven and head over right away.

“Are you feeling any better?” Martha asked gently once she hung up the phone. “I am so incredibly sorry you had to endure all of that stress.” She looked at me with deep sympathy, and I managed to give her a small smile.

“Yes, I'm going to be fine,” I answered softly. “You can wait out in the hallway until they get here.”

As I waited alone for Raven to walk through the door, my mind spun with thoughts of this unbelievable twist of fate. I couldn't stop wondering how Raven and his family would react when they found out I was pregnant.

After a few tense minutes, the heavy door swung open, and Raven’s mother stepped into the room.

“What exactly is this big emergency?” his mother demanded, casting a cold look at me as I lay helpless on the hospital bed. She was the absolute last person on earth I wanted to see or talk to right now.

“I should have just gone out to lunch instead of wasting my time driving over here,” She added with a sigh.

She turned around and was about to walk right back out the door, but she froze when I spoke up. “I'm pregnant,” I said clearly. “Five weeks pregnant.”

I didn't miss the look of absolute shock that instantly washed over her face. “Pregnant by whom?” Raven’s mom asked, her voice dripping with complete disbelief.

What kind of a disgusting question was that? Who else could I possibly be pregnant by if not my own husband?

“I am pregnant with Raven's baby.”

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “My son divorces you first thing in the morning, and you magically get pregnant a few hours later?” she asked, pacing angrily across the room.

“If you think this pathetic lie is going to force him to stay with you, it's not going to work,” she added, her tone turning low and menacing.

I was in complete shock that she actually believed I would fabricate a pregnancy. “Is Raven on his way here?” I asked, completely ignoring their cruel remarks.

Before she could utter a word, the door swung wide open. Raven walked in, but he wasn't alone, Tracy was right by his side, holding the hand of a little boy. That boy had to be the secret son he had told me about.

I had never actually seen Tracy in person before, but when I had searched into Raven's past relationships years ago, I had found an old photograph of her, so it was incredibly easy to recognize her.

My stomach twisted in pure disgust as the three of them walked into my hospital room together. He didn't even have the basic decency to show up alone. He had to bring the exact woman he was leaving me for.

“What is going on here?” Raven asked loudly as he approached my bed. Tracy held tightly onto his arm, throwing a sharp, warning glare my way.

“She is claiming that she is pregnant with your child,” his mother announced, her voice filled with pure disdain.

Raven's eyes went incredibly wide, and he cleared his throat nervously before speaking. “I don't understand… how can you possibly be pregnant?” he asked, turning his gaze to me with a completely confused expression on his face.

That was absolutely not the reaction I had envisioned. He was supposed to be thrilled about the news, but looking at his face, it seemed as though I had just completely ruined his entire life.

“I was just as shocked as you are when the doctor broke the news to me,” I said, my voice cracking under the weight of my tears.

Raven took several sharp, deep breaths and turned around to order everyone else to step out of the room. The moment the door closed, his face darkened. “You honestly think you can trap me with a baby? You think you can just lie about being pregnant?” he hissed out, his voice incredibly low and venomous.

I blinked rapidly as heavy tears spilled over my eyelashes and ran down my face. Even if his toxic family didn't believe me, I never in a million years thought Raven would accuse me of lying about something so sacred.

“ Raven, I am not trying to trap you,” I sobbed out, my body shaking. “You can go ask the doctor yourself. I would never, ever lie about having a baby.”

Raven let out a cold, mocking snort. “You have enough money to easily bribe a doctor to forge a medical report.”

My lips parted in absolute shock, and I stared at him, completely unable to believe my ears.

“What? No,Raven, I am telling you the absolute truth!” I said, forcing myself to sit up straight in the bed. “I didn't bribe anyone! I am carrying your baby, which means we don't have to go through with this divorce anymore.”

“Of course!” Raven burst into a loud, mocking laugh. “This was your desperate plan all along, wasn't it? Do you honestly think a baby is going to keep me chained to you? And don't think for a single second that I won't make sure that doctor pays for lying for you. She is going to lose her medical license and everything she owns.”

I tried to speak, but he completely cut me off, not giving me a single chance to defend myself.

I desperately wanted to convince him that I was telling the truth. But I knew he possessed the immense wealth and social influence to easily ruin that innocent doctor's career, and I couldn't let an innocent person suffer because of my messy life.

“I am with Tracy now, and absolutely nothing you do is going to change my mind,” he continued, looking down at me without a single ounce of human pity. “If you truly are pregnant, you need to go find the real father of that child, because it certainly isn't me.”

A painful, suffocating lump formed in my throat as those words left his mouth. I had been completely loyal to him every single day of our marriage, even though I knew he didn't love me back.

It felt like a brutal slap in the face to hear my own husband claim that he wasn't the father of my unborn baby. I was left completely speechless, with absolutely no words to say.

I had never seen this dark side of Raven before; he had become a completely different person.

“The moment the doctors discharge you from this bed, you are going straight to your parents' estate. All of your luggage will be waiting for you on their porch,” his cold voice broke through my thoughts.