(Alaric's POV)
"What," I ask Gianna. I don't think I heard her correctly.
"I lost the baby," she says again.
I still can't believe the words that she's spoken. I don't know how to react or what to say. Should I say anything at all?
I never wanted kids or intended to get Gianna pregnant, but I know she was excited about having a kid and it kind of made me excited too. I was actually looking forward to raising a kid, even if it was with Gianna. I know I would have been a great dad because I know how it feels to have a dad that doesn't care for you.
I know Gianna must be devastated. Her whole family was very supportive. Arsenio didn't care, but he also never gave me a hard time. As long as I did what he said, meaning marry Gianna and be the alpha he wanted me to be, he didn't cause me much trouble. Gianna being pregnant actually helped with getting him off my back a little.
I went to every doctor's appointment with Gianna and I felt just as connected with the baby as she did. But I'm sure she was even more attached than I was. The baby was inside of her and she's been the most excited throughout this whole journey.
Now, I can see that something has died inside of her.
"You don't have to say anything or be here to fake comfort me. I know you never wanted to be a father this soon anyways," I hear her mumble. It's like she's speaking, but she's not really present when she speaks.
"You're right. I didn't want a baby, but these past couple of months changed my mind," I tell her, my voice soft and quiet. I didn't want to say more because I didn't want her to feel bad about losing the baby.
A couple of seconds of silence pass by before I hear a chuckle come from Gianna.
"Goodness, you're an idiot, Alaric," she says and finally turns her body to look at me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How could you have never questioned it," she asks with a big grin on her face.
It's like the more confused I get, the more she laughs.
"It's okay, Ric. You don't have to fake being sad. The baby wasn't even yours." She says it so calm and straightforward that I think my mind is playing pranks on me.
"What?" I feel like I've been asking this all day.
"You really think I'd have sex with my dead mate's brother," she asks. I can hear her starting to sob. Her dead mate's brother? What the hell is she talking about?
"Wait. Zedem was your mate?" I mutter the name of my deceased half brother. Is it possible?
"Your the reason I can never have happiness." Tears fall down her face. "You killed my mate. You killed my father. You killed my baby." Her voice sounds strangled as hot tears stream down her face and she stares me in the eye.
A pang goes through my heart at her words. I know I wasn't the one who killed any of these people, but it still makes me feel guilty when she says I am the reason.
"I have been depressed since the age of nine. I was never able to shift after my mate died. After you lose one half of you, there's no way to get it back. I've tried so hard, but there's only one thing that gives me joy." She smiles throughout her whole declaration.
I don't interrupt her. I just listen to her as she rambles on. I see it now how hard she always hides her madness, insanity, and pain.
"The only thing that gives me joy, is seeing you suffer. Not physically, but emotionally. It's really fulfilling."
"So, you lied about me being the father of the baby to hurt me," I say. I don't show any emotion on my face and restate what she said. She laughs even harder hearing me say it.
"It was really easy to drug you. Maybe you should get a bodyguard 'future alpha.' You couldn't even remember if we had sex or not. You just accepted that the baby was yours. You made it way too easy."
I can't stand her laughing anymore. It's making my blood boil. So, I got up from the hospital bed and decided I was going to leave before I exploded.
"It was an awesome plan. I knew you were so in love with that bitch and you lost your virginity to her. So, what better way to break you than to make you think you cheated on her and break her heart. I wasn't going to do the whole pregnancy thing, but once I found out Anne was pregnant, it just gave me another great idea. Why don't I let some random guy get me pregnant and say you're the father? I had to make sure I told you I was pregnant before she told you she was. It all went so perfectly."
I couldn't stop myself anymore. My hands wrapped around her neck, but not hard enough to kill her. My anger only seemed to give her more joy.
"Oh, sweety. Are you feeling it now? That pain from your heart twisting? That pain when you feel like your being suffocated and can't catch air?" I can't stand how much she's enjoying this.
"Stop," I tell her, making my grip tighter on her neck.
"You're not going to kill. You don't have the guts. If you do succeed at killing me, I won't mind. I'm already dead inside." She slaps my hands away from her neck and sits up in the hospital bed, her attention still on my flaming face.
"It's better if you don't kill me. You don't want to end up like Chris. Poor girl is stuck down there in a cell."
I felt like snapping her neck, but the next second, someone opens the door.
"What are you doing sitting up, Gia? You have to rest. They're releasing you today. I don't want you passing out before we leave." Giovanni comes in like the worried brother he is and lays Gianna back down.
I've never felt this much rage in my system before. The urge to kill.
"You should leave now, Alaric. My sister needs her rest," he says. Gianna is the last person in this room who needs rest. I tried to feel sympathy for her after losing the baby, but we're past that.
She's not sad because she lost the baby. She's sad she doesn't have anything to hold me on a leash with anymore. She has nothing she can break me with anymore.
My hands clenched into fists and all I see is red. My body is shaking and I swing, not knowing where my fist is going. My hand is stopped and I'm shocked into seeing what's going on around me again.
Gio is looking at me coldly. He looks smug at the fact that he was able to stop my punch.
Asshole!
Before I can try again, another fist comes from someone behind me and connects with Gio's face. The force snaps his neck backwards and his nose bleeds. He doesn't yell in pain, trying to stay strong, but I know it had to have hurt. I can tell he's caught by surprise by the person who punched him in the face.
I turn around and see Anne's dad behind me. He looks pissed and almost foaming at the mouth. A bruise is starting to form on his knuckles, but I'm sure the adrenaline in blocking out the pain.
"You're going to let Chris out of that filthy cell, find my daughter, and give them a proper, fair trial. They are innocent and you are blinded," Greg says and all Gio does is listen. Maybe we'll finally get things under control.