Ariana’s POV

It’s been two days since I got the news, and two days of torture; I couldn’t wrap my head around the truth.

Asher isn’t ours.

The words played over and over in my head like a broken record. A nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

But whose baby was he? Where did he come from? Who swapped him?

I thought about the birth.

The twins.

The hemorrhage.

The two days I was unconscious. So much had happened while I was asleep.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, there were tears on my cheeks. I wiped them away and took a deep breath.

"Ariana." Dante’s voice snapped me out of my train of thought as he walked in. His face broke into a smile and relief. "Thank God. I’ve been calling you. Where were you? I was so worried."

I remained numb, unable to say anything.

He saw my face and his smile faded. He put his phone down and swung his legs out of bed. "Baby? What’s wrong?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What was I supposed to say? I just found out that our son isn’t ours? I know my real baby is dead.

He crossed the room in three long steps. His hands cupped my face. His thumbs brushed under my eyes, wiping away tears I didn’t know were there.

"Hey," he said softly. "Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me."

How would Dante take the news if he knew?

Would he ask to give Asher up? 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

No!

I can’t let that happen.

"I’m fine," I whispered. The words came out wrong.

"You’re not fine." He pulled me into his arms. Held me tight against his chest. "You’re shaking. What happened? Did something happen to the kids? Is it the baby?" he asked with his hand on my bump.

I shook my head against his chest. "The kids are fine."

"Is it your father? Did he call you?"

"No."

"Then what? Ariana, you’re scaring me."

He pulled back and looked at my face. His hands were still on my cheeks. His thumbs kept wiping away tears that kept coming.

"Please," he said, his voice cracking. "Please talk to me. Whatever it is, we can fix it. Just tell me."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come. They were stuck in my throat, choking me.

Instead, I reached up and touched his face. His stubble was rough under my fingers.

"I missed you," I said. The words were true. Even in the middle of all this pain, I missed him.

His face softened.

He pulled me close again, his arms wrapped around me, and his chin rested on top of my head.

"I missed you, too," he murmured into my hair.

"You were gone for hours. The kids kept asking when you’d come home."

"I’m sorry." The words came out muffled against his chest.

He pulled back and looked at me. His eyes searched my face. I could see him trying to read me.

Trying to figure out what was wrong.

"I know you’re lying," he said quietly. "I know something happened, but I’m not going to push you. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here. I’m always here, baby."

Those words.

They should have been comforting.

They should have made me feel safe.

Instead, they felt like a knife.

Dante would never accept Asher as his heir or blood after finding out... he is a principled man who believes that blood is thicker than water, and if he finds out that our blood doesn’t run in Asher’s veins, then I don’t know what he’ll do.

He took my hand and led me to the bed.

He sat me down gently, then knelt in front of me with his hands holding mine.

"Look at me," he said softly.

I looked at him with his eyes so full of love and concern that he had no idea.

He had no idea what I knew.

What I was carrying.

"I love you," he said. "Whatever is going on, I love you, and I’m not going anywhere. You know that, right?"

I nodded.

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, soft and gentle.

Then he kissed each of my cheeks.

Then my lips.

The kiss was sweet.

I kissed him back.

My hands went into his hair. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer, pulling me onto his lap on the bed.

"I was so worried," he murmured against my lips. "When you didn’t answer your phone, I thought something had happened to you."

I closed my eyes as his lips moved to my jaw, my neck. I wanted to lose myself in him. I wanted to forget. I wanted to be the woman who didn’t know.

Who believed her life was perfect.

"I’m here now," I whispered. "I’m okay."

He pulled back and looked at me. "Are you? Really?"

I forced a smile. It felt like it was cracking my face. "Really."

He studied me for a long moment, then he nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay, baby. I trust you."

I needed to tell him; he deserves to know, but I don’t want to lose my son.

He kissed me again, deeper this time. His hands moved to my back, pulling me closer. I let him. I let myself fall into the kiss.

When he pulled back, he was smiling that smile. The one that always made my heart skip. "I love you," he said again. "I don’t say it enough, but I love you more than anything. You and the kids, you’re my whole world."

My eyes burned.

The tears came again.

I couldn’t stop them.

"Hey," he said softly, wiping them away. "Why are you crying?"

"Happy tears," I lied. "I just... I love you too. So much."

He pulled me into his arms again and held me tight. I buried my face in his neck.

Asher is my baby, whether by blood or not, and I am not giving him up.