Scandalously Expecting His Child(62)
He struggled not to sag to his knees before her, not to beg her to forgive him for not being there for her, for being oblivious, for not giving her everything she deserved. He choked out his words. “It went spectacularly for the most part. You did save me from Medvedev, did escape The Organization.”
“Not because my plan was masterful or anything. The one reason I pulled it off and I’m not dead is because Medvedev underestimated me and underestimated what I’d do to protect you. It was all touch and go and the price was our—” Her face seized, as if she’d caught herself in a terrible faux pas. “The baby. Now I’m unable to have any other.”
Before he insisted she’d always call it “our baby,” before he convinced her she was already having another one, there was one more poison he needed her to purge from her system. “It was Medvedev’s stab that aborted our baby.”
Her throat worked as she nodded, confirming his statement, her face that impassive mask he now realized she’d tailored to obscure enormous emotions and suffering.
“They told me it was the baby that saved my life, taking most of the damage for me. But the damage to my uterus was too extensive. They told me I’d never have children again.”
He was unable to find words to express his pain and regret and rage and frustration that he couldn’t change the past, couldn’t give of his own life and flesh to defend hers, to wipe away her scars, mental and physical. And that he couldn’t punish Medvedev a thousand times over. But he promised himself again he’d punish everyone who had a hand in Medvedev’s existence, and in her suffering, past and present.
But now he had to dispel at least one of her agonies.
Producing the proof from his pocket, he took her hand and placed it in her palm. “This is a blood-testing chip that our resident medical genius in Black Castle Enterprises has patented. He says it yields one hundred percent results in diagnosing a variety of conditions, one of which is pregnancy. He came to my rescue when you fainted and performed the blood test, and his diagnosis is unequivocal. You are pregnant.”
Scarlett dazedly looked down at the credit card–size transparent plastic chip. The slot for HCG, the hormone detecting pregnancy, was a bright positive red.
Shaking her head, she raised disbelieving eyes to him. “It must be a mistake. I—I can’t be pregnant.”
“Antonio doesn’t make mistakes, Scarlett. The ones who made a mistake were the doctors who gave you that verdict.” When she shook her head again, she swayed and he surged to steady her, taking her by the shoulders. “We’ll redo the test just to put your mind to rest. But we always trusted Antonio with our very lives. If he’s certain, so am I. He believes you’re eight weeks pregnant.”
Still shaking her head, looking punch-drunk, Scarlett whispered, “That’s how long ago our first night was.”
Poignancy tightened his hands, bringing her beloved body closer. “I do have a feeling you got pregnant that night.”
Tears suddenly welled in her reddened eyes, then flowed down her cheeks, cutting streaks into his heart. “But I saw the CT scans. The damage was too extensive. Even if I’m pregnant...it can’t be possible I’ll carry the baby to term. Or it’s even worse, and it’s an ectopic pregnancy. That would still yield a positive test result.”
The thought that she could be right about either possibility gripped his heart in crushing dread. He ran to call Antonio.
At his barked order to come back at once, Antonio only asked if Scarlett was awake. Raiden affirmed that, and Antonio only told him to put him on speaker.