Chapter 12
~Ayden~
Mia and I were halfway to the water fountain when I spotted Izzy walking past it. She was alone, and from what I assumed, in no hurry to get anywhere. Knowing her, she was probably basking in the fact that she’d ruined my evening with Mia.
“Izzy’s over there.” I pointed toward her.
“I see her. Hang on.” Mia spun the golf cart’s steering wheel and pressed the gas harder. It only took a few seconds to reach Izzy. She must have heard us approaching because she turned in time to see us.
A second later, she scoffed. “What do you want?”
“The truth,” I answered. “You claim you’re pregnant, but your only proof is a letter about a urine test. For all we know, you had the test faked.”
“That would be impossible not to mention illegal.”
“Don’t treat us like idiots, Izzy.” I peeked toward Mia, but she was focused on her sister. “We know there are ways to fake a test, so if you want us or anyone else to believe you, get solid proof.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Izzy cocked her head to the side. “How exactly do you want me to get solid proof?”
Mia met my eyes this time. We stared at each other until she nodded her head. Then I refocused on Izzy. “Get a sonogram.”
When she didn’t respond, my suspicion increased. I waited for her to refuse my suggestion. It’s what I was hoping for at least. Why would she refuse a sonogram if she were pregnant?
“Well?”
“Fine,” she snapped. “I have nothing to hide. I am pregnant. First thing in the morning, I’ll call Chris and set up an appointment.”
“Don’t bother. Mia called him right before we came to find you. He’s waiting in his office.”
“Tonight?” She jerked her head back. “Why does it have to be tonight?”
I eased out of the cart and stood. Then I looked my ex in the eye. “Why not? If you have nothing to hide, why not get it over with?”
Narrowing her gaze on me, Izzy huffed at the suggestion. Her hands fell to her sides. Then she nodded.
“You’re right. So does that mean you’re going to accept the proof that you’re going to be a dad?”
“I’ll accept the fact that you’re pregnant, but we both know you’re lying through your teeth when you say that it’s mine. I’ll prove that soon enough.”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you? I wouldn’t get too comfortable on that high horse of yours. It’s a long way down when you get knocked off.”
She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and turned toward the path that led to the businesses within Music Haven’s community. The medical building was on the next block.
“We can give you a ride.” Mia made the suggestion in good faith, but Izzy waved her off.
“I can walk. I really don’t want to be near either of you.”
She quickened her steps and continued forward. It took a minute for Mia to press the gas, and when she did, she followed Izzy. When she glanced at me, she shrugged. “This isn’t going the way you thought it would. She’s really pregnant, Ayden.”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll ask Chris about advance paternity testing. There has to be a way to check paternity before a baby is born. Hell, they can tell what sex the baby is by blood test now.”
“Wouldn’t Izzy have to give permission for all of this?”
“Probably, but if she wants me to be involved, she has to prove that kid is mine. If she thinks stalling will help her case, she’s wrong. She’s not coming between us.”
I folded my hand over hers and thumbed over my grandmother’s ring. Since proposing to Mia, I hadn’t found time to call my grandmother to let her know I’d found the person I wanted to be mine forever. She would want to meet Mia as soon as possible.
I intended to ask Mia to marry me and then invite her to Tennessee to meet my family. I wanted to do it before the guys and I left on our tour. Now, this mess with Izzy was screwing up everything. The hardest part in all of this was knowing her true intentions.
If by chance the baby was mine, she was insane to think I’d want her back. Yeah, I’d take care of my child, but it didn’t mean I had to be with Izzy. I would marry Mia, and in time, she and I would have children. Until then, I had no doubt Mia would love her niece or nephew. The child was innocent, after all.
The golf cart slowed before Mia parked it in front of the medical office. By the time we stepped out, Izzy had gone inside. I didn’t waste any time doing the same. Mia complained I was walking too fast, but I wanted to see Chris before he took Izzy for the sonogram.
As we stepped inside, Izzy was standing in the waiting room alone. It didn’t take long for Chris to come out of the back part of the office and find us waiting for him. “Good. I’m glad to see you guys made it. I was beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind.”
“We just found Izzy a few minutes ago,” I explained.
“Izzy,” Chris began as he glanced at her. “You can follow me back to the sonogram room. I need you to lay on the examining table and lower your shorts slightly past your hips. Or, if you prefer, you can put on a gown.”
“I can lower my shorts.”
Before they walked into the back, I called Chris’s name and motioned between Mia and myself. “Is it okay if we come back?”
Chris looked at Izzy. When she nodded, he motioned for us to follow. Mia didn’t appear as eager to witness the sonogram. When I stepped away, she didn’t.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m scared. This is all too much.”
I squeezed her hand. “I know it is, but we can get through this. No matter what happens, know that I love you, Mia. You’re the one that makes me happy. You’re the one I want to marry. And you’re the one I want to have a family with someday.”
A hint of a smile appeared on her face. She squeezed my hand back and motioned me forward. We fell in step with Chris and Izzy, trudging through the back end of the office. When Chris pointed to a room, Izzy went inside. He waved to us to join her. After we entered, he shut the door behind him.
Both Mia and I stood near the window while Chris set up the sonogram and Izzy stretched her body across the examining table. As Chris requested, she lowered her shorts a few inches past her hips to her bikini line.
The dimly lit room had a cozy feeling to it that most people probably found inviting. It made me feel like I was in a dream, or rather, a nightmare. I’d much rather Mia have the sonogram, not the woman I despised with every breath in me.
As soon as Chris was finished punching information into the keyboard on the machine, he squirted gel on Izzy’s abdomen and placed an oval object on her belly. It reminded me of a computer mouse. “This is a transducer. It helps me see inside your uterus. The images pop up here on the screen. Did the physician you saw tell you how far along you are?”
“According to my last period, he said I’m around eight weeks along. The baby is due in March.”
Izzy spoke the words confidently. It only increased my anxiety. She wouldn’t be so sure of herself if she wasn’t pregnant. Still, I held on to the belief that it was someone else’s child.
After gliding the transducer over her stomach, he stopped in a couple different locations and typed notes into the machine. As soon as he finished, he moved the transducer. It took several more times of doing this before he stopped and pointed to the screen.
“These are your ovaries,” he explained as he moved the transducer again. “This is your uterus.” This time, he moved to the other side of Izzy’s belly. He punched something else into the keyboard, then froze the screen. Pointing to it this time, he regarded Mia and me, then faced Izzy.
“And right here is the embryo.”
Once the screen unfroze, he adjusted one of the knobs. A moment later, a rapid thumping sound filled the room. Then Chris said words that rocked me to my soul.
“This is your baby’s heartbeat. Congratulations, Izzy. You’re defini
tely pregnant.”
* * *
~Mia~
Ayden hadn’t said much since we left Chris’s office. Even after we came inside my suite, all he did was kick off his shoes and sink into the sofa. Five minutes later, he was still staring at the wall.
Easing onto the cushion beside him, I remained silent, unsure of what to say. Did I bring up what happened or just console him? I knew this was torturous. He didn’t believe he and Izzy slept together. Now to find out that she was indeed pregnant was mind-blowing.
Afraid he would think I was pushing him away, I touched his shoulder and moved my fingers back and forth in a comforting manner. “Do you want to talk?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t wrapped my mind around any of this. I know Izzy’s pregnant, but I still don’t believe . . . It can’t be mine, Mia. It can’t.”
“Chris will be here soon. Then we can ask about the tests. Until then, there’s nothing we can do, Ayden.”
“I can’t lose you over this.”
Guilt devoured me. “I’m not going anywhere, Ayden.”
He stared into my eyes as I spoke and then lowered them to my hand. My engagement ring moved as he played with it. “Is your answer still yes?”
Squeezing his hand, I nodded just as he peeked at me. “We put each other through some crazy things a few months ago. It’s in the past. Our future is ahead of us.” I pointed to the ring. “This is our future.”
He gripped my hand and brought it to his lips. After he kissed it, he leaned his head to mine and released a long sigh. “What if this kid is mine? Will your answer still be yes?”
Before I could respond, someone knocked on the door. “It’s probably Chris.”
I left the sofa and proceeded to the door. The lock disengaged and I pulled the door open. As I suspected, Chris was standing on the other side. He greeted me with a smile as I motioned him to come inside.
“Thanks for stopping by,” I said as I went back to the sofa and took my seat beside Ayden. “We’ve been anxious to speak with you.”
“I understand. What can I do to help?”
“Izzy is claiming that Ayden is the father of her child. Ayden swears he never slept with her. I think you know where this is going.”
Chris nodded as he sat in the chair across from us. “You want a paternity test, correct?”
“How soon can we have one?” Ayden asked.
“Most testing is done after a baby is born, but it is possible to test before delivery. It’s been a controversial topic, but the results are ninety-nine percent accurate.”
The news appeared to lift Ayden’s mood. He’d been slouching when Chris first arrived. Now, he was sitting erect, listening to every word Chris said.
“What do we have to do to get the test started?”
“I’ll have to get blood samples from you and Izzy. We’ll be able to pick up DNA inside her blood. One of my colleagues gets a lot of these cases and works with one of the best laboratories in the country.”
“That’s it? We have blood drawn and then find out if I’m the father?”
“It’s that simple. If you want to swing by my office in the morning, I’ll get your sample. Izzy’s coming back tomorrow afternoon so I can do a complete check-up. I’ll get her sample then.”
“I’ll be there in the morning,” Ayden assured him. “By the way, how long will it take to get the results?”
“It depends on how backed up the lab is. Generally speaking, it takes around a week. If the lab has a lot of tests to perform, they have to prioritize certain samples above others so it could be longer. Worse case scenario, you’d have your answer in a month.”
A month wasn’t that long. It was better than seven, which is how long it would be before Izzy had her baby. Hopefully, the lab wasn’t backed up and could get the results back to Ayden right away. He’d stress over this until then.
“A month isn’t that bad.” I glanced at Ayden to see if he agreed.
He nodded. “I’d rather know in a week, but it beats the alternative of waiting until delivery.”
Chris rose from the chair. “Okay. I’m going to head home and crash. It’s been a long day. See you in the morning, Ayden.”
“See you then.”
After I walked Chris to the door and told him goodnight, Ayden went toward the bedroom. I found him stripping down to his boxers and climbing into my bed a moment later. It relieved me to see he was ready for sleep.
Turning off the lights, I joined him a second later. The arena lights were faint but enough for me to see him staring at me. As I laid my head against the pillow and met his gaze, his arms went around my waist. He didn’t say a word when he pressed his cheek against my chest and held me closer.
The silence between us isn’t what worried me most. It was the way held me as if he thought I’d disappear if he let go. I had no plans to end things between us, but I couldn’t deny I had mixed emotions.
It was late. I needed to sleep as much as Ayden, and despite how much my body pleaded with me to shut my eyes, I couldn’t.
It was impossible to deny Izzy’s pregnancy after seeing the baby on the sonogram. The figure on the screen hadn’t resembled much, but I knew Chris wouldn’t lie. Yet the images I saw on the screen weren’t keeping me from closing my eyes. A sound still haunted me.
The heartbeat. It thumped in a rhythm that matched the pounding in my temples. If the baby weren’t Ayden’s, he would be free of Izzy, but I wouldn’t. The child was my niece or nephew. If my sister got pregnant in hopes of splitting up Ayden and me, her plan would fail. Only one person would suffer the repercussions.
The little life growing inside my sister.
* * *
~Mia~
The hallway in the condo stretched to the door at the end, but the harder I stared it at, the longer it grew. It would take me forever to reach the end, especially when my muscles felt as though I had overworked them. I double-checked my feet, making sure nothing was weighing them down, but my toes were the only things I saw.
Another step brought me further into the hallway. The lights lining the walls began to flicker. They returned to normal, flashed a few more times, and then went out.
As I stood in the darkness, the hairs on my neck erected. A cold chill ran down my spine, causing my skin to pimple. Something kept pulling me forward. I didn’t want to move, but it was like I didn’t have any control over my body.
A brisk breeze had me hugging myself. I wished I’d brought a sweater, but it was too late to get it now. I had to find out why I had this urge to keep going. The door at the end of the hall beckoned me further as a faint noise came from the other side. I couldn’t make out what the sound was, but it had my mind in overdrive.
Wandering closer, I studied the doorknob. There was nothing unusual about it. It resembled the one on my door as well as the knob on every suite. I wasn’t sure why I was so desperate to open it, but I wasted no time wrapping my fingers around it or drawing it open.
The room I walked into was void of people and most of its furnishings. Upon closer inspection, I noticed one of the windows were open. A sheer curtain blew in the breeze. The way it danced in the wind reminded me of arms beckoning me forward.
By the time I was a few inches from the window, the noise had returned. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, but someone was crying. The sound was unmistakable.
“Hello?” I called to whoever was in the suite. No one answered. “Is someone hurt?”
The muffled sound continued a solid minute before something else took its place. My chest constricted when I heard a baby wailing. Something wasn’t right.
“Who is in here?” I wanted to run through the suite and search for the crying infant, but my feet wouldn’t cooperate. Neither would my legs. I felt as if I were in slow motion.
When I reached the bedroom, I stopped just shy of the door. Standing inside it was the last person I expected. Ayden. Why was he in here? Was he the one I heard crying?
I wanted to as
k him those questions, but when I tried to speak, nothing came out. It was impossible for me to move, but also unnecessary. Ayden inched closer. When he did, I could see his eyes, how swollen and red they were. He was definitely the person I heard crying. Still, I didn’t understand why.
Before he reached me, something had him hesitating on his last step. His eyes trailed over me, then he shook his head and stepped back. I tried reaching for his arm to make him stop, but something else caught my attention.
Izzy. She strolled up behind Ayden as she cradled a blanket in her arms. When she stopped beside him, she placed her hand on his shoulder and gave me the most devious smile.
“I told you it was his baby.” Her cruel words caused my throat to constrict. No matter how much I wanted to yell, nothing came out. Then Izzy grabbed Ayden’s arm and dragged him away. As soon as they disappeared into another room, I fell to my knees.
This couldn’t be happening. I didn’t understand any of this. Ayden promised he wouldn’t leave me if the baby were his. Now he was walking away with Izzy. Yet he’d been crying. Was it because he didn’t want to go?
The lights in the room flickered. Everything went dark as fear spiraled through me. None of this made sense.
I crawled around on the floor, feeling my way to something I could use to help me to my feet. A silhouette in the distance brought me a smidgen of hope. I pushed myself to crawl toward it and grasp onto some part of the object. As soon as I stood, the lights flickered again. This time, they remained on. Although they were dim, I was able to see what I was gripping. A bassinet. It was crisp-white in color and had a sheer canopy covering part of it.
A whimper sounded from inside. I leaned closer and opened the canopy enough that I could see. Big brown eyes gazed up at me. The tears within them subsided. I couldn’t say the same for mine. The beautiful child inside the bassinet made my heart thump harder. I wanted desperately to pick her up and comfort her, but before I could do anything, someone grabbed my shoulder.
Love Damaged: Rock-N-Roll Heiress Book 2 Page 13