Hope

Sudden shivers slithered down my spine and I clutched the hem of my dress, watching the scene unfold in front of me.

"Darling," Mary spoke, reaching for his arm. "Please calm down."

I'd expected her to yell alongside him, I'd expected her to lash out, to be angry, but there was something else in her eyes; pity, worry, fear. She tugged on his sleeves. "Please just—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" He spat out, casting her hands off his. "Are you seeing the headlines?! The Fobster name has been brought to question. Investors, sponsors are already calling our capability to qualm. This scandal has and will adversely affect our business dealings and you expect me to be calm when millions of dollars are at stake!"

"Father be reasonable," Killian drawled, unaffected by his raging fury. "This isn't enough to degrade the name of the company. Sure it'll do a little damage but it can be sorted."

"You still dare to run your mouth in front of me?!"

He defiantly crossed his arms across his chest, his casual posture meant to irritate him. I knew this because he did the same to me. "I didn't come here to fight with you. Let's talk this out."

Luther's chest rose with fury. "Talk what out? How you went to San Francisco and get some common slut pregnant? Is this why you left home? Is that why you were so eager to relocate; So you could get your feel of American fresh pussy?!"

Jesus Christ, his mouth was just as uncensored as his sons'.

His eyes flung to me and I nearly jerked. They were wide, harsh, demanding, and downright terrifying. I felt the need to explain myself, his accusations made bile rise in my stomach and my chest felt heavy. "Mr. Fobster, I—"

"With all due respect," Killian cut me, his voice deliberately even as he took a self-preservational step forward. "I understand your anger and will do everything in my power to mitigate it, but I will not stand here and allow you to displease Hope in that manner."

Quite shocked by his defense, I stayed quiet, standing there, watching as both men glared at each other.

"How dare you." Luther ground. "You. Are. A. Fobster!" He barked, pointing at him. "Yet, look at this," he gave a disgusted glance at the newspaper on the floor. "How could you allow this sort of information to become public knowledge? How could you lie to me? You tried to deceive your mother and sisters! You brought a whore into our home and made a dummy out of your family and everything it stands for and as a result, you have not only disgraced yourself but you have betrayed us with your lies."

His words shot out of his mouth like bullets and landed directly on my chest. So deep I felt the urge to fall on my knees and cry.

"Darling," Mary tried to interfere again. "Please don't say that to him. I'm sure he meant well. He—"

"He mocked us all by bringing a prostitute home and who knows, he might not even be the father of the child in her womb." He snapped his gaze at me, the loathing there, the judgment, the anger. "You have some nerves showing your lying conniving face here." He scorned. "I can tell you have no shame. So eager to open your legs because he is wealthy and you think you can reap him off by false pretenses."

His gaze drilled into mine. Each word struck me like nails driven into my back. "Sir, it is not what you think. I am not a whore and I—"

"It's exactly what I think. You are a whore and don't think you can sink your claws into my son with that false child of yours!"

"Father!" I watched with blurry eyes as Killian took another step forward, his fists clenching and unclenching. "For the last time, Hope is not a prostitute and this baby is mine."

He snapped his attention back to him. "And you expect me to believe you when all you have done is lie."

"Yes." His voice was firm and final. "Believe it because it is the truth."

"Even if it is true." He pointed at me, his eyes dark on his sons. "This woman cannot continue to be your wife. She is a nonentity, a liar, a woman who opens her legs for strangers. She is not fit to be my daughter in law and I don't care if you both just got married, you will put an end to this union."

My heart clenched at his words. It was as if the bottom dropped out of my world. He wouldn't...

"Bullshit." Killian spat, his eyes flaring with anger that I'd never seen before. "Now I know we might not be in love. Love hasn't gotten me anywhere, it's only left me bitter but I intend to care for Hope and our baby till my care is no longer needed. Until then, she stays married to me." His tone was freezing.

I felt sudden pleasurable shivers run through me. Why was he doing this? Why was he defending me? We had no reason to be together again, it was out there, everyone knew, but yet he...I swear to God this wasn't the Killian I knew and I was starting to get scared.

His father ground his teeth together. "Then you can kiss your job, your praise, your distinctions, all of it. Goodbye."

"I have my own backings and I am not afraid of you." He jeered.

"Then watch me drag you down the gutters."

"Both of you stop this now." Mary cut In. "Killian do not talk to your father like that. No matter what happens he is still your father!" Her head snapped to Luther. "Is that your plan? Are planning to villainize your son?" She questioned. "What kind of father does that?"

"The kind that is protecting his family." He gruffed.

A crazed laugh bubbled from Killian's lips. "And what the fuck do you know about protecting?"

"Killian!" Mary scolded, but he ignored her warnings and stepped forward. "My mum was part of this family you're trying so hard to protect. You didn't protect her. She died in your watch. Where the fuck were you? Where the fuck were you when the machines stopped and she was struggling for her last breath!" He was yelling, reliving the poor torture of losing his mother again. "You were in some fucking hotel, fucking one of your whores instead of being by your sick wife's side you shameless bastard!"

Jesus.

Mary's eyes widened as one shaking hand rose to cover her gasping lips. "Killian..."

"You son of a bitch!" Luther's control slipped, he grabbed Killian by the shirt and pulled his face close to his. "How dare you bring up Sophia! How dare you!"

"Why? Do you feel guilty? Does your heart still ache? It should, you should feel the pain because you deserve."

The grip on his shirt tightened, the look on Luther's face that of pure murder.

I felt a sharp pain surge in my abdomen, forcing me to clutch it. "Killian... Please stop this."

I didn't want him to fight with his father when this was all my fault.

His eyes fell on me and they softened when he noticed my discomfort. "Mother, please get her out of here."

"Killian you—"

"Do it now!" His roar choked off her words. He was yelling at his mother for my sake.

Mary nodded quickly and hurried to my side. "Come with me my darling."

I nodded, swallowing as I fought the tears that were stinging in my eyes. The room spun slightly under my feet as she led me away from their conversation and into the study, locking the door behind her.

I immediately fished myself one of the leather chairs and sat, closing my eyes to catch my breath.

"Are you alright?" She came around me, her hands rubbing my back in gentle motions. "Let me get you some water. Stay here and relax."

She left the room and came back in no less than a minute with a glass of water that I thanked her for and took tiny sips from.

My god. Her kindness was killing me.

I placed the cup on the table and turned to her. "Why aren't you yelling at me?" I lifted my head to meet her gaze. "I broke your trust, I lied about our union, about our child. You should be angry, you should be yelling at me. Why aren't you?"

"My dear," she called out, not really smiling but looking like she was trying to. "I am a mother myself, an aged one at that, and knowing when a fellow woman like you is with child isn't a difficult thing."

My brows shot up. "You knew?

Her hand came to brush my hair. "I had my guesses."

This was...

"I'm sorry for lying to you Mrs. Fobster. I swear to God I'm not after your son's money. I meant no harm when i—"

"You don't need to explain anything to me." She sat down on the chair opposite mine. "I perfectly understand and with time my husband will." She leaned forward and impulsively squeezed my hand. "Albeit, It's a bit of a relief that my son ended up with you. He is standing his ground against his father because he feels something for you Hope and I believe one day, he'll learn to love you more profoundly."

Even though I found it hard to believe that Killian felt anything for me other than the sexual attraction, I smiled at her words.

I didn't want it to get to my head, I didn't want to give my mind something to think about and then end up hurt. Yes, I admit, there was a part of me that wanted to know what it would feel like to have a man look at me with possession and love. I wanted to know what it would feel like to belong to a person who actually gave a damn and didn't sleep with me because of the raging hormones. I didn't want to have loveless, toxic, and unhealthy sex with someone, I just wanted to be loved. I and my baby. I wanted us to be loved unconditionally. But that desire seemed a little far-fetched so I blocked the thought and focused on the most important thing; getting out of this mess.

All of a sudden, I felt drained, and wary, almost as if I'd been dropped into a situation I didn't quite understand.

The sound of a vase breaking resonated from the living room. The thought of Killian being hurt by his father made me sicker to the stomach.

"I should get back in there with Killian," I told mary, already getting up on my feet but then the room before me blurred, urging me to quickly grab the arm of my chair to steady myself as I swayed.

Mary shot up. "You don't look alright."

I tried to blink away the blurriness. "I'm sorry, I feel very—"

"Hope, oh my God." Her sudden gasp cut me off. I steadied my gaze on her, still holding on to the armchair. "Is something wrong?"

All of a sudden, her face went pale and then I realized she wasn't looking at me. She was looking down at my legs.

"You're...you're—" she was choking on her words, pointing at my legs.

Slowly, with fear, I forced myself to look down at my legs, and what I saw made my chest clench.

I was bleeding. I was losing my baby.