Chapter 4

Elvina’s POV

"Alpha," Felix repeated, his voice practically dripping with reverence as he gestured toward the man standing before us. "This is Elvina."

The world seemed to stop spinning. The ambient chatter of the banquet hall, the clinking of champagne flutes, the soft hum of the orchestra, it all faded into dead silence.

Arthur Thornridge.

The ruthless, legendary Alpha of the Ashbourne Pack. The billionaire tycoon whose name alone made powerful men tremble in boardrooms and pack halls alike.

And the man who had me pinned under him weeks ago.

Arthur’s intense gray eyes locked onto mine, a subtle, dangerous shift in his aura making the air thick and heavy. 

He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. His gaze swept over me, taking in my appearance, the way Felix’s hand rested on the small of my back, and the sheer terror bleeding through my composure.

"I... I need to go," I blurted out, my voice barely a whisper.

"Evina? What's wrong?" Felix asked, frowning as he turned to look at me. "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well," I stammered, pulling completely away from Felix’s touch. I couldn't look at Arthur.

 I couldn't stand under the weight of his suffocating, possessive gaze for another second. "I'm sorry. I have to leave."

Without waiting for Felix to respond or offering a proper goodbye to the Alpha of the pack, I turned on my heel and practically ran toward the exit. 

I didn't care if I looked ridiculous. I didn't care if Felix’s reputation was ruined. I burst through the glass doors into the cool night air, flagged down a waiting taxi, and threw myself into the back seat, trembling as the city lights blurred outside the window.

By the time I got home, my hands were still shaking. Half an hour later, Helena arrived with Iris, who was already fast asleep in her arms. We quietly tucked my daughter into bed, and once her bedroom door was shut, Helena followed me down to the kitchen.

"Elvina, what on earth happened?" Helena asked, leaning against the counter as I poured myself a glass of water. "Felix called me in a panic, saying you ran out of the banquet like you saw a ghost!"

"I did see a ghost," I said, my voice shaking as I leaned against the sink. "Helana, the man from the beach, he….he "

Before I could finish my sentence, a violent surge of nausea slammed into my stomach. My vision spun, and I slammed my glass onto the counter, sprinting down the hallway to the guest bathroom. 

I dropped to my knees in front of the toilet, dry heaving until my throat burned and tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

Helena rushed in behind me, holding my hair back and rubbing my spine gently. "Oh, sweetie," she murmured softly. "What is going on with you?"

I flushed the toilet and leaned back against the cool bathroom tile, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "It's nothing," I breathed out, resting my head against the wall. "I drank champagne on an empty stomach... and Agnes was wearing this disgusting, heavy floral perfume that just completely turned my stomach."

Helana went quiet. She knelt beside me, her sharp Helena eyes narrowing as she studied my pale face, my trembling hands, and the subtle way I was pressing a hand against my lower abdomen.

"Elvina," Helena said slowly, her voice taking on a strangely serious tone. "When was your last period?"

I froze. The bathroom suddenly felt freezing cold. My mind raced backward, counting the weeks, the chaos of the divorce, the beach trip, the long hospital shifts...

"Could you be pregnant?" Helena asked outright.

"No," I whispered, though my heart was pounding like a jackhammer against my ribs. "No, we... we were careful."

"Are you sure?" Helena pressed gently. "100% sure?"

I swallowed hard, the memory of that night flooding back in vivid detail. "At first," I admitted, my voice dropping to a disgraced whisper. "In the beginning, we used protection. But later... toward the morning... we got carried away. He was so intense, Helena, and I wasn't thinking..."

Helena didn't say a word. She stood up, walked over to the medicine cabinet above the sink, and opened it. 

She rummaged through the back shelf before pulling out a small, unopened white box I had bought months ago and completely forgotten about. She handed it to me.

I sat on the bathroom floor, staring down at the pregnancy test in my hands.

"Take it," Helena said softly. "Just to be sure."

With trembling hands, I unpacked the test and followed the instructions. Then, I set it on the marble counter, turned it face down, and sat back on the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest.

Three agonizing, breathless minutes ticked by. The silence in the room was deafening.

Finally, Helena stepped forward and turned the white plastic stick over.

She let out a slow, sharp breath.

Two dark, unmistakably clear pink lines stared back at us.

"Well... congratulations," Helena said, her voice a mix of shock and sympathetic awe. "The handsome stranger is going to be a father. But... how on earth are you supposed to find him now? You don't even know his last name!"

I buried my face in my hands, letting out a dry, breathless laugh that sounded border-line hysterical.

"The good news is... I know who he is now," I whispered, pulling my hands away to look at my best friend. "The bad news is... he's Arthur Thornridge. The Alpha of my ex-husband's pack."

Helena’s  jaw dropped. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Girl..." she breathed out, completely floored. "What... what are you going to do?!"

"I don't know," I confessed, pulling my knees tighter against my chest. "I really don't know, Helena. I'm already a single mother. Raising one child on my own was tough, but I did it. Having another child doesn't really change my fundamental reality. I'm strong enough to handle this."

"Are you going to tell him?" Helena asked, leaning down toward me. "Now that you know he's the Alpha? Elvina, he's a billionaire! He has resources, power,"

"And a reputation to protect," I interrupted bitterly, shaking my head. "Think about it, Helena. Why would a powerful Alpha want a pregnant, divorced woman with a child from another man? He probably wouldn't accept Iris anyway. And for all I know, a man in his position might already be engaged, or even married! I don't know anything about his personal life."

I stood up, gripping the edge of the sink as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, pale, exhausted, but fiercely determined.

"I'm not going to ruin my peace or risk my daughter's safety for a man who didn't even leave a note the morning after," I said, setting my jaw. "I'm just going to let it go. He'll never have to know."