Chapter 34
Astor’s Pov
The world tilted. The carefully constructed reality I’d been living in shattered into a million sharp pieces. Alice stood before me, her eyes wide, a strange mix of triumph and something I couldn’t quite decipher swirling within them.
“I’m pregnant, Astor,” she’d said. “And it’s yours.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. My gaze, unbidden, snapped to Faith. She was standing by the door, her face a mask of… what? Shock? Hurt? I couldn’t tell. My heart ached, a dull, throbbing pain that had nothing to do with Alice’s announcement and everything to do with the woman I loved.
“What?” The word was a choked whisper, barely escaping my lips. “Alice, are you… are you joking?” My voice cracked, a pathetic sound even to my own
ears.
She stepped closer, her chin lifting. “Astor,” she said, her voice firm, leaving no room for doubt. “You’re going to be a father.”
The biggest shock of my life wasn’t the pregnancy itself, not entirely. It was the implication. It was the sudden, terrifying realization that this wasn’t some cruel prank. For a few agonizing seconds, I clung to the faint hope that I’d misheard, that my brain, reeling from the initial blast, had twisted her words. But she made it crystal clear, her gaze unwavering. I was the father.
“No,” I breathed, shaking my head, the movement jerky and uncontrolled.” No, it can’t be. It’s… impossible.” My mind scrambled and the world around me was just going round and round.
Then, Alice’s expression shifted. A cunning glint entered her eyes, and she turned the tables, her voice laced with a subtle accusation. “Didn’t she tell you?” she asked, her eyes flicking back to Faith.
1/4
Chart 14
Faith,
12 Pr
The blood drained from my face. Didn’t she tell me? What was she talking
about? I looked at Faith, searching her face for answers, for a denial, for anything that would dismiss Alice’s words. My stomach churned. Did Faith know? Did she know about this, about Alice, about… this? How could she?
“No,” I blurted out, my voice stronger now, fueled by a desperate need to defend her. “No, Faith couldn’t have known. And even if she did… she wouldn’t hide something like this from me.” I looked at Faith, pleadingly, willing her to confirm my words, to erase the suspicion Alice had so carelessly planted.
Alice let out a short, humorless laugh. “Oh, she knew, Astor. I told her. Before we left.” The words landed like a physical blow. She told Faith. And Faith… Faith said nothing.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. I turned back to Faith, my voice raw with a pain I hadn’t known I possessed. “Faith? Is that… is that true? Did you know?” I needed to hear it from her, needed her to look me in the eye and tell me it wasn’t so. My world, my trust, hinged on her denial.
She didn’t answer. Her silence was deafening. She simply stood there, her gaze locked with mine, and in the depths of her eyes, I saw it. The undeniable truth. A truth that shattered me into even smaller pieces. She knew. She had known all along and had said nothing. The woman I loved, the woman I had sworn my life to, had lied to me. She had kept this monumental secret from
- me.
My soul felt like it was being flayed alive. The pain was visceral, a burning agony that spread through my chest and clawed at my throat. I trusted her. And she kept quiet about something like this.
I looked back at Alice, the words catching in my throat. “I… I can’t believe you’re pregnant. I can’t be the father of your child.” It was the truth, raw and
Chapter 31
ugly. The only thing I thought about was of Faith. Of our future, the future I had envisioned with her. I had always wanted my first child to be with Faith. She was my mate, the one woman I loved, the only one I had ever truly loved.
And now, this.
Alice’s expression softened, a flicker of something I might have mistaken for sympathy, but it was too late for that. “Listen, Astor,” she said, her voice quieter now. “Listen to the heartbeats in this house.”
I frowned, confused, but I did as she said. I closed my eyes, and strained my ears. The silence of the room seemed to amplify. Then, faintly at first, I heard it. The steady, strong thrum of my own heart. The softer, faster beat of Alice’s. And beneath it all, a new rhythm, a gentle pulse, undeniably separate. A second heartbeat. Faint, but present.
My eyes flew open. The pregnancy was real. This wasn’t a dream, or a delusion. Alice was carrying my child. The impossibility I had clung to had evaporated, replaced by a stark, undeniable reality. The moment of denial was over. The realization hit me with full force. That one night had consequences. Consequences that were now staring me in the face, personified by Alice and the life growing inside her.
And Faith. She had known. She had chosen to let me walk into this blind. She had let me believe… what? That I was free? That I could move on? What twisted game was she playing? The anger, hot and acrid, began to bubble beneath the surface of my shock. How could she?
My mate, my love, Faith, had known. She had known and had let me believe a lie. The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound. My heart, already bruised, felt like it was being ripped apart. This was a nightmare from which I couldn’t wake.
I know I made her angry and I betrayed her but at least I think I deserved to know that I was going to be a father.
#Chapter 34
I don’t understand why?
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