Deandra’s POV

Daniel was waiting for me when I got back.

“Where were you?” he fired as soon as I walked into the room but I ignored him, my mind swirling with thoughts of that mystery man and just how much he knew about my life with Daniel.

“I’m talking to you,” Daniel yelled and I scoffed, rising to my feet to acknowledge him.

“You shouldn’t take that tone of voice with me, especially since you’re at fault.”

At my words, he frowned but I wasn’t going to give him time to construct words that would soothe my mood like he always did. I pulled the pictures out from my phone, thanking the stars I had bothered to save them.

“How could you do this to us?” I screamed, throwing the phone against his chest.

He caught it and stared at the screen; surprise evident on his face.

“How did you….? How long have you known?”

I scoffed and shook my head. How was that the most important question right now? “is that all you’re going to say about that?” I asked him, the disgust I was feeling evident in my voice.

I expected him to be sober, and sorry for what he had done but instead he was acting like he had done a good thing.

He sighed. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way,” He tried to look concerned for me but I was buying it. “Hope is pregnant for me and I am sorry I didn’t tell you earlier but you were already stressed with not having kids of your own I didn’t want to put that on you,”

“But it was okay to sleep with her because it wouldn’t stress me?”

Daniel scoffed and rose to his feet. “Look Deandra, I’m sorry you had to find out this way about Hope but I don’t see this as a bad thing. If anything, Hope is giving us a chance to be parents since you…” he trailed off but I heard the words he didn’t say, loud and clear. Since I couldn’t have children.

It was laughable because standing there looking at him, I was carrying his child and he didn’t even know it. The joke was on him.

“I need you to start seeing Hope as a sister. Take care of her like you’d take care of Cassie. I didn’t mean for things to happen this way but now that they have, there’s nothing I can do about it.

We simply have to find a way to coexist as one big family. Besides, the mother is so excited for her grandchild.”

I rolled my eyes, of course, Yolanda was excited.

“Where does that leave us Daniel?” I asked the million-dollar question and he stood there staring at me, his mouth opening and closing without words coming out.

“I don’t…” he started to say at the same time I opened my mouth to announce the pregnancy but we were both interrupted by a hasty knock on the door.

“Come in,”

A maid walked into the room, her steps hasty and I frowned.

“What is it?”

“I am so sorry to disturb you Luna, Alpha, but Miss Hope sent me to find you. “she spoke, turning to face Daniel.

“She’s in a lot of pain and might have to go to the hospital.”

“The baby, something is wrong with the baby,” he whispered and ran out of the room, the maid following him from a distance before I got the chance to ask any further questions.

Tears pricked my eyes but I held them at bay refusing to give in to my emotions. They would never see me weak. It’s my fault anyway and perhaps if I had just told him that I was also carrying his child then maybe he’d be just as concerned for my well-being.

Despite how badly I wanted to stay strong, a few stray tears slipped past my defences and rolled down my cheeks. I sighed and slumped on the bed, giving in to them. The sobs racked my body and my heart broke even more with each tear that fell.

I was distracted by the sound of footsteps in the room indicating that someone else had joined me. Wiping my eyes clean discreetly, I rose to my feet and frowned when I saw who it was.

“Hope? But I thought….”

She didn’t give me time to finish before she lunged at me, grabbing me by my hair and forcing me to rise to my feet so she didn’t pull my hair out. “Don’t you feel embarrassed to be living here still when you can’t even have children? Aren’t you ashamed?”

I managed to set my hair free from her clutches and stood straight, glaring at her. I didn’t want to have to put my hands on her but if she forced my hand then….

“Hope, what is the meaning of this? I thought you were in pain.”

“Leave here already, go so Daniel and I can live like a family with our child. Your presence is suffocating.”

I chuckled bitterly and glared at her. “Aren’t you ashamed that you had to get pregnant to trap my husband? Don’t you feel embarrassed that he wouldn’t have come to you otherwise?”

My words got to her and I smirked, glad I had hurt her even just a tiny bit. “I am going to tolerate you for Daniel’s sake but don’t get too comfortable, pregnancies can be lost.” I reminded her as I started to walk away.

“You bitch, did you just threaten my child?”

She tried to reach for me but I swerved out of the way in time and she missed me, her hands falling to her side. She glared at me and made a move to leave but then we heard footsteps, no doubt it was Daniel coming to find Hope who was supposed to be in pain.

“He will always pick me over you, watch, “and she fell to the ground without being pushed and screamed.

I gasped, watching the scene before me in confusion. What did she think she was doing?

“Deandra, what happened?” Daniel asked, his voice full of concern for me until he saw Hope on the ground and his countenance changed. “Did you push her?” And without waiting for a response, he continued.

“How could you do that Andra, knowing that she’s pregnant?”

I watched in disbelief as he bent down to pick her up from the ground with Hope faking an injury.

I felt tears filling my eyes again but I forced them back not wanting them to see how much their actions were affecting me.

“She threatened to harm our child. All he did was ask her to accept me as her family.” Hope cried, resting her head against his chest as she faked a sob.

I shook my head not believing the events that were playing here right before my eyes. Was Daniel falling for this? She wasn’t that good an actress.

“I am so disappointed in you Andra, so disappointed.” He whispered and the tone of his voice nearly broke my resolve but I held it in, refusing to give into my emotions no matter how hurtful his words were.

They were like little knives piercing my heart and yet I refused to give in.

“If you don’t start seeing Hope as part of our family, I will have no choice but to kick you out to protect my child.” I stared at him with a shattered heart.

Deandra’s POV

“I told you not to come here, we can’t be seen like this.”

I stopped in my tracks and hid behind a wall wondering who Hope was talking to.

“Hope, that’s my child in there and you know it.” I gasped a bit too loudly and caught myself just in time before I was discovered.

“Keep quiet,” Hope hissed and looked from left to right.

This shameless woman, I thought as I listened to their conversation. I should have known the baby wasn’t Daniel’s but he had been so confident that the child was his that I never suspected anything.

“If anyone hears you, our plan will be ruined.” She looked around again before she leaned in and whispered, “I want what’s best for this child and so do you so why don’t you just take the money and leave?”

I shook my head in disgust at that and left my position behind the wall ready to go and confront her when I heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction.

I could practically hear Hope’s heart racing loudly in her chest

“Andra, what are you doing here?” I heard Hope’s tiny gasp of surprise at the mention of my name and I smirked.

“I was just on my way to the kitchen when I thought I heard voices and decided to check. What are you doing here anyway?”

He looked around and frowned when he saw no one then sighed. “I was just going to our bedroom to get my phone. Did you see it before leaving?”

I shook my head but reached for his hand. “Can we talk?” I asked, changing the subject. I wanted to settle things between us and make sure we were back on good ground again.

“I wanted to know if we were okay. I didn’t…” Daniel shook his head and pulled his hand away.

“I can’t get past the fact that you threatened Hope and the baby, it’s my baby too Andra. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to the baby. I would never forgive…” he trailed off but I could hear the words he didn’t say. He would never forgive me.

Tears filled my eyes but I held them back as I nodded my head. “What can I do to make it right?”

“Treat Hope nicely, apologize for what you did yesterday and then we will see from there.” He walked away after speaking and I stood there rooted to the spot not believing how much my life had changed in the last two days.

“Do you know it’s rude to eavesdrop on people’s private conversations?” I jerked and turned my head to look at Hope who was standing there with a triumphant smile plastered on her face.

No doubt she had heard what Daniel said and she was happy that she was once again winning and I was losing. But not for long…

“I already told you that Daniel will always pick me over you. Why don’t you want to accept that and move on?”

I nodded and smiled. “You’re right, Daniel will never see me the same way again and I can’t blame him since I can’t give him children.”

The next thing I did shocked us both ] went down on my knees and sighed. “I am sorry for yesterday, pushing you to the floor and threatening your child’s life.” I paused before continuing again, unaware that Daniel and Yolanda were watching from a distance.

“Daniel was right, you are part of the family now and that child is as much mine as it is Daniel’s.”

I rose to my feet afterwards, sent Hope one last smile and then walked away.

I couldn't believe how low I had gone because of Daniel and the love I had for him. But the main reason behind my actions was I wanted my child to grow up with his father, I didn’t want my child to have a broken home with parents that were divided.

***

I don’t know how long I stayed in the kitchen crying when Daniel joined me and wrapped his arms around me. I almost burst into tears when I felt his arms around me but I held them at bay.

“Thank you for apologizing to her. I owe you for everything."

I simply nodded my head and stepped away, not wanting to get swayed by his words.

"I'm making dinner, would you like something?" I asked, and coughed to cover up the sniffles.

"We'll all eat." He replied just as hsk mother walked in and frowned at our closeness.

"Since we're celebrating, why don't we get the chef to make something big and beautiful?" Daniel agreed immediately and I was whisked away to our bedroom by Daniel who was acting all nice and friendly with me now.

Later that day, we sat down to eat dinner and I was back in my usual seat beside Daniel. I was ready to tell him about the baby and I couldn't wait for us to be alone.

Hope had barely touched her food and I could tell she wished she were sited so close to Daniel alas….

“Do you both have names yet? I mean for the baby whether it's a boy or a girl." Yolanda asked and my fork dropped my hand and landed on the plate noisily.

Daniel shifted in his seat and refused to meet my eyes when I tried to catch his attention.

Hope who loved attention took the floor and told Yolanda, “We decided not to rush things and surprise ourselves aft

"Let's make a toast." Yolanda proposed and we all raised our glasses.

"Oh no Deandra, I think you should drink this instead. I had it made specially for you." Hope said, suddenly rising to her feet just as a maid walked into the room.

Deandra's POV

Every fiber of my being was at alert as I stared at Hope.

Something felt off.

I was confused by the new turn of events but I didn't want to read too much into it either.

"What's in it?" I asked, feigning interest and she smiled.

“It's something I took before I got pregnant. I hear it's very good for pregnancy."

"Oh you should have that instead. Lord knows you need it." Yolanda added eagerly, an insult buried somewhere in her words and I sighed looking to Daniel for help.

"Just take it. You never know what might be useful." He said his tone innocent and I almost cried. He wasn't aware of what these people around him were capable of.

"Go on," Hope urged and my suspicion grew.

Why was she so eager for me to drink it?

"Look, I didn't put anything in it." She defended as she reached for another glass I hadn't noticed before. "I made a cup for myself just in case you had doubts."

Daniel frowned and I sighed. She was trying to create a rift between Daniel and I again and this time it'd work.

"Fine," I took a sip first to sample the taste and then downed the entire thing regretting my actions immediately when I saw how big a grin Hope was wearing.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Daniel asked as we started eating and I shook my head. Aside the taste, Hope's mixture wasn't so bad.

But as I ate, I couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of my head.

****

Later that night as I crawled into bed, I was hit with a sharp pain in my abdomen.

Dress filled me as the pain increased and I screamed, holding my stomach while praying for my child's safety.

I knew I should never have drank Hope's mixture.

The door to my room was flung open and Daniel burst into the room looking frantic. No doubt he had heard my scream.

Behind him, Hope was rubbing her eyes sleepily, looking thoroughly annoyed that I had woken her up but she was the least of my worries.

The pain had increased and I could feel myself skipping out of consciousness fast.

"My stomach hurts, I am…ah!!" I collapsed on the floor, tears trickling down my cheeks.

“She's bleeding," Daniel pointed out in a horrified voice and I gasped, the sound weak and thin.

“Save my baby," I muttered, desperately as I fought to stay conscious.

Daniel just stood there in shock at my announcement while Hope looked guilty.

"What's going on here?" Yolanda asked, walking in and then gasping when she saw my condition. "Oh dear, that doesn't look good. We need to get her to the clinic,"

Her words snapped Daniel out from his thoughts and I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

"My baby," I whispered before darkness took over. The next time I opened my eyes I was in a hospital gown lying on a hospital bed with tubes connected to my body and machines beeping around me.

I tried to sit up but I couldn't, my whole body hurt.

"Please don't try to move Luna, you need to remain flat on your back." I heard the head doctor's voice and I felt a tear slip down.

"My baby?" I asked, my voice hoarse and a sense of deep loss washed over me.

She shook her head sadly and sighed. "I'm sorry but you lost the baby. If you hadn't been brought in when you were then we'd have lost you too."

She checked my vitals and then made her way out of the room just as. Daniel and Hope e walked in.

Immediately my eyes fell on her, I lost control.

"You! You did this!" Daniel caught me before I could lift myself off the bed and lug for her. He held me, begging me to be calm but I was past that.

"Let me go. You did this too, both of you killed my child!" I pushed him away, past the point of reason.

"I didn't…" Hope started to say in her defense but Daniel stopped her.

“If there's anyone to blame for the loss of this child then it's you!” Daniel yelled suddenly and the room went silent save for the beeping from the machines.

“What?" I asked, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. He was blaming me?

Daniel continued talking, not giving me time to process his words. “If you had just told me, or even mother then we'd have made sure you were well taken care of.”

He shook his head as I opened my mouth to speak. “I know I was wrong for cheating on you with Hope but you were wrong to keep this child from me. It was my child!”

"Don't you dare yell at me? You have no right to yell at me. What was in that drink you gave me, you witch?” I asked Hope and she shivered taking a step back at the ice in my tone.

He left afterwards with Hope and I threw the pillow at them before breaking down in tears. I cried and cried and cried until I was reduced to hiccups.

****

“Are you sure you want to leave now?" The head doctor asked, frowning and I nodded.

“I can't stay here anymore. There's nothing left for me here.” Daniel had been completely brainwashed by Hope and he couldn't even see that she had deliberately tried to kill me to keep her secret hidden.

I had lost my child so what reason did I have to stay?

“I understand you're grieving and want to run away but can't you stay a while here at the clinic, just until you're healed a bit.” She added the last part quickly when I opened my mouth to protest and I sighed thinking long and hard about it

In the end, my mind was made up. I just couldn't stay. I shook my head as he sighed, resigned.

I was left alone after that and I cried some more. When the door opened much later, I didn't move feeling too drained to do anything.

“If you want to leave, we have to go now."

Looking up, I stared into his eyes and felt emotional again.

"They killed my child,” I whispered and he sighed.

“I know. Come on," He led me out of my room and out of the hospital through the back door where a car was running and waiting for us.

"I'll make them pay for this. They'll pay for killing my child.” I whispered as he drove us out of the pack border.

“Don't worry, they'll pay for everything," he promised me and I leaned my head back his words giving me some comfort.

He'd saved me once before and now he was doing it again.

“My name is Ryder," he told me and I looked up in confusion.

“If you're going to work with me, you should at least know my name." His name was the least of my concerns but I stored that information away for later, focusing on my game plan.

“I'll be back.”