Chapter 4

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Bella stood at the doorway of the restroom, her voice shrill and piercing.

"Bella, let me explain in a minute." Jason immediately let go of me and turned to soothe her.

But Bella wasn't listening.

She charged at me and slapped me right across the face.

*Smack.*

The sound echoed in the empty restroom.

My face burned. I was already too weak to stand, and the force of the slap sent me crashing into the wall.

"You shameless bitch!" Bella's eyes were red, her voice screeching. "You're a teacher! How dare you seduce someone else's Alpha? He's my husband! We share a mate bond! You're just a pathetic human, how dare you try to steal him from me?"

"Baby," Jason pulled her back. "Calm down!"

Bella looked at him with tearful eyes, burying herself in his chest. "Why were you so close to her? Did she throw herself at you? Did you betray me?!"

I curled up against the wall, looking up at Jason.

"It hurts..." I groaned. The emotional agony and physical pain tore through me.

*Jason, can't you even help me up?*

But he only looked at me, then averted his gaze, holding the sobbing Bella tightly. "Shh, I'm yours. I'll always be yours, no one can steal me. Let's not eat here. We'll take Jay home, okay?"

Bella sniffled, turning to glare at me with pure venom.

It took me a long time to slowly crawl up, but my knees buckled again.

I saw Jason instinctively turn back, wanting to help me, but Bella grabbed his hand.

So, he froze.

But I didn't hit the cold floor. A pair of warm arms caught me.

The pain became too much, and I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed.

Nina and a familiar face were standing by my side. It was Nina's older brother, Frank.

"Grace, you've been unconscious for a whole day and night," Nina said, her eyes red from crying. "You're pregnant. Twelve weeks. It's a threatened miscarriage. The doctor said if you had arrived any later, we would have lost the baby."

I didn't notice the way Frank was looking at me because the word "pregnant" completely paralyzed me.

I actually had a baby of my own!

Tears flooded my eyes. I instinctively grabbed my phone to call Jason, but my finger hovered over the dial button.

He already had a child and a wife. Did he even need this baby?

But he was the father. He had the right to know.

I dialed his number anyway.

As the phone rang, a tiny sliver of hope rose in my chest.

Finally, he picked up. Loud, thumping music blasted from his end.

"Jason, I have something to tell you."

Jason's voice was tense and frantic. "Can it wait? Bella found out about us, and she ran off to a bar crying. I need to find her first."

It felt like lightning had struck me, but I gripped the phone, sobbing. "But this is really important... I—"

"Enough, Grace. I don't have time for your drama right now. If anything happens to Bella... Just stop throwing a tantrum. I'll call you after I find her."

The line went dead.

I held the phone, feeling like the biggest fool in the world.

I turned and buried my face in Nina's shoulder, crying my heart out as I told her everything.

She gritted her teeth, wanting to tear him apart, but I shook my head. "It doesn't matter anymore. Right now... I just want to keep my baby and raise them on my own."

Frank looked at me gently, handing me a tissue. "If you need anything, I'm here to help."