Chapter 34: Watch me!

We got home from the hospital in silence.

Clara held my hand the whole ride, and Brayden kept stealing glances at me through the mirror. My belly felt smaller. Lighter.

When we walked into the house, I froze.

Alessia.

Lounging on the couch, a glass of wine in hand. Leonardo beside her. Their legs touched, too close. Too intimate.

Brayden’s voice snapped. “What the hell is this?”

Alessia looked up, all fake surprise. “Oh, welcome home. I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

He stalked forward. “You have the nerve to sit here after what you did?”

Her brows lifted. “Oh please, Brayden. It was an accident. She’s fine.”

“I lost a baby.” The words ripped out of me before I could stop them.

Silence.

Alessia blinked. “What?”

“I lost one of my babies!” I screamed. “Because of you!”

Clara gasped. Brayden froze. Leonardo shifted awkwardly.

Alessia scoffed. “Don’t be dramatic. Miscarriages happen all the time…”

Brayden roared, “Shut up!”

She glared. “You’re really defending her now? You haven’t touched me in weeks, Brayden. But you’re out here attending prenatal classes with her?”

“I don’t owe you anything,” he bit out.

“Everything was fine until she came back!” Alessia yelled. “She’s manipulating you!”

“She’s carrying my children!” Brayden snapped back. “The only thing that ever mattered to me!”

My chest tightened. Alessia’s face twisted. “You’ll regret saying that.”

Clara stepped between us. “Enough. Zoe, come on…”

But Alessia sneered, “Look at her. Crying again. Playing the victim.”

I took a shaky step forward. “You pushed me. You killed my baby.”

Alessia’s smile faltered. “You provoked me.”

That was it. “You murdered my child!” I screamed. My voice broke, my vision swam. “You think this is a game?”

Brayden slammed his hand into the wall. “Get out, Alessia! Get the hell out of my house!”

“You can’t just…”

“I said out!”

His voice shook the walls. Leonardo grabbed Alessia’s arm, pulling her back as she hissed, “You’ll regret this, Brayden. Just wait till I tell my father.”

“Try me,” he growled. “And if you ever come near her again, I swear…”

“Brayden,” Clara cut in, her voice trembling. “Please. Not here.”

Alessia’s glare flicked to me. “You think this changes anything? He’ll get bored of you again. He always does.”

“Out!” Brayden roared, pointing at the door.

Leonardo tugged at her arm. “Come on, Alessia.”

She wrenched away but finally stormed off, her heels clicking violently against the marble. The door slammed hard enough to rattle the chandelier.

Silence.

Then it hit me, the smell of antiseptic still clinging to my clothes, the hollow ache in my womb. My breath caught in my throat, and the dam broke.

“I lost a baby,” I whispered. “I lost my baby because of her.”

“Zoe…” Brayden stepped closer.

“Don’t!” I snapped, tears spilling down my face. “Don’t you dare touch me right now!”

He stopped cold, guilt shadowing his face. “I didn’t protect you. I should have…”

“Stop talking!” I screamed. “Just stop!”

Clara hurried to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go upstairs.”

I let her guide me away, sobbing so hard my chest burned.

“Zoe, please.”

I didn’t turn back. I couldn’t.

For the next few days, I stayed in my room.

Brayden knocked every night.

“Zoe, please open the door.”

“Just let me see you.”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

I pressed a pillow over my ears. I had two lives left inside me. I couldn’t lose them too.

Clara came in quietly, setting a tray down. “He hasn’t slept,” she said softly. “You should talk to him.”

I shook my head. “Talking won’t bring my baby back.”

Three days later, I still hadn’t looked him in the eye.

Every time Brayden knocked, I turned away.

But that morning, I heard her.

Alessia’s voice drifted up from downstair. “You can’t ignore me forever, Brayden! I made one mistake!”

My blood went cold.

I rose from bed, pressing a trembling hand against my belly. The remaining two were still moving, fragile proof that not everything was lost.

“She lost a baby, Alessia!” Brayden shouted. “Do you even understand what you did?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” she snapped. “You’re acting like I shot her!”

That was it.

I stormed out before Clara could stop me. My bare feet hit the marble stairs, the sound slicing through their argument.

Both their heads turned.

Brayden’s eyes widened. “Zoe, you shouldn’t be up…”

“I’m fine,” I said flatly. “Continue. I want to hear how she’s the victim now.”

Alessia scoffed. “You’re still here? I thought hospitals kept the unstable ones longer.”

I stepped closer. “You think this is over, don’t you? You think you can drink your wine, lie next to Leonardo, and pretend nothing happened.”

Alessia stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t,” I hissed. “I saw you. In his arms. In this house.”

Leonardo, hovering near the doorway, paled.

Brayden’s head whipped toward him. “What?”

Alessia stammered, “That’s…That’s not what you think…”

“Oh, I think it is,” I cut in. “And I’ll make sure everyone knows what you both did. I’ll destroy you the same way you destroyed me.”

Alessia’s mask cracked. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” I said coldly. “I’ve already started gathering everything I need. Every secret. Every transaction. Every lie.”

The silence was electric.

Brayden finally stepped forward. “Get out. Both of you. Now.”

Alessia’s eyes filled with fury. “You’re choosing her over me? Brayden I know you lost parts of you memory but do you know what my father could do to you and this…..pregnant wench”

“He’ll do what?” Brayden cut her off, voice low and dangerous. “Send his goons here? Break into my house? Try to buy my loyalty with threats?”

She sputtered. “You’re being dramatic! You think you can kick me out over one push? Over a misunderstanding?”

“A misunderstanding?” I barked. “You shoved me. I fell. I lost one of my babies. That’s not a misunderstanding. That’s murder!”

Alessia’s lip curled. “You’ll never prove it. No one will believe a washed-up auction prize over my word.”

I felt the shape of something heavy in my pocket, my phone, the video still warm. I let them feel my silence for a beat, then I smiled, slow and calm. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe they won’t. But maybe someone else will.”

Leonardo bristled. “What are you doing, Zoe?”

“Posting it?” Alessia scoffed. “You wouldn’t…”

“I wouldn’t?” I answered, and I reached into my pocket, thumb already on the screen. “Watch me.”