Chapter 3
"Because the baby isn't mine," I said.
That one sentence dropped like a bomb in the room.
Gabriella nearly lost her balance. She stood there, completely frozen.
Then she whipped her head around to Ariana.
Her eyes locked onto Ariana, searching her face for any sign of the truth.
It was like she was trying to read the answer right off Ariana's face.
"What did he just say?" Gabriella asked. "Ariana. What does he mean by that?"
Ariana buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Mom. Please, don't ask."
Gabriella's face went completely pale.
The realization struck her. I wasn't just upset. This wasn't some petty drama.
I was never the kind to blow things out of proportion.
Ariana and I had been married for six years.
Whenever something happened with us, I was always the first to step up.
When she was hospitalized, I was the one who stayed by her side.
When Gabriella ended up in the hospital with a broken leg, I was the one running around, handling everything for her.
All these years, Gabriella had always treated me like half a son.
That was exactly why she knew if I was saying something like this, it had to be serious.
"I'm asking you one last time," Gabriella said, her voice getting heavier and heavier. "So whose kid is it?"
Ariana lay on the hospital bed, burying her face even deeper. She stayed completely silent.
Gabriella's hands started to shake.
Suddenly, it hit her. All the color drained from her face.
"Is it Kennedy?" Gabriella blurted out.
The air in the room went dead still.
Ariana's body gave a visible shudder.
Right then, Gabriella's heart sank. She dropped into a chair, totally defeated.
She stared, completely stunned.
Gabriella knew that name all too well.
Kennedy was Ariana's first love back in college. They were inseparable back then.
But then Kennedy went abroad to build his career, and that's when they broke up.
After that, Ariana met me.
Soon, we were talking about marriage and starting a family.
Years went by, and now, that guy had suddenly reappeared.
Gabriella gripped the armrests of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white.
Her chest heaved with every breath.
"Are you out of your mind?" Gabriella shouted. "Have you completely lost it?"
She looked at Ariana lying on the bed. Her eyes were full of disappointment.
"What did Colton ever do to deserve this?" Gabriella demanded. "Tell me."
Ariana was crying so hard she couldn't even get a word out.
The tension in the room was so thick.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
A man walked in fast. He was dressed in a dark suit.
He was holding a bouquet. He looked worried sick.
"Ariana, are you okay?" he called out.
The second his voice hit the air, every head in the room snapped his way.
I recognized him instantly.
It was Kennedy.
I'd only seen his photo before. But I could never forget that face.
He had a sharp nose. His hair was slicked back, not a strand out of place, and he had that polished, big-shot vibe.
He looked totally caught off guard by the crowd in the room.
And when his eyes landed on me and Gabriella, he froze.
His worried expression turned to stone.
The room was so quiet.
Kennedy was rooted to the spot in the doorway. He couldn't step forward. He couldn't turn back either.
He looked at Ariana first.
Then his gaze shifted to me. Our eyes met for a brief moment.
In that instant, I caught a flash of panic and guilt in his eyes.
Gabriella wasn't stupid. She immediately sensed something was off between us.
"Kennedy?" Gabriella blurted out. She shot to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
Kennedy managed a stiff smile. "Gabriella, I heard Ariana was in the hospital, so I came to see how she was doing."
"See how she's doing?" Gabriella snorted coldly. "You really do keep up with Ariana's business, don't you?"
Kennedy was just about to explain himself. But then a nurse suddenly spoke up.
"Looks like everyone's here," the nurse said. "Great, that's settled then.
"When the patient's condition got worse, we've been trying to get in touch with the baby's father.
"Now that the baby's father is here, it makes things a lot easier for us."
Her words dropped like a bomb, and the whole room went dead silent.
Kennedy's face went ghostly pale.
The nurse kept going, totally oblivious. "The patient was in so much pain earlier, she kept calling out for Mr. Crawford.
"She kept insisting we had to call the baby's dad."
The room exploded.
Gabriella's eyes went wide as saucers. Her whole body started shaking.
She whipped her head around to Ariana. Then her gaze snapped to Kennedy.
Everything clicked into place. There was no need for any explanation. The truth was right there, plain as day.
Smack!
Gabriella slapped Ariana hard across the face.
The sound was sharp and clear.
Ariana's head snapped to the side. Her cheek instantly turned red and swollen.