Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Viktor

L ong workout sessions have always helped me. I've been working out in the home gym for the last hour, trying to shut my brain down. Only when I feel physical pain can I get the rest of me to quiet down.

"Viktor," Fiona yells as she walks in.

"What the fuck do you want now?" I say, swapping my dumbbells for a heavier pair.

"I want you to stop working out and fucking pay attention." I ignore her and start a new set of curls. "What the fuck, Viktor? You're never home. Where have you been sleeping?" A few weeks ago, I started sleeping in the city permanently. I just come to the house if I have business at the guardhouse. "Who are you fucking? What's her name?" she yells.

"Get a hold of yourself," I snarl, looking down my nose at her.

"I'm your wife. You need to be home with me."

"How many times do I need to tell you?" I set the weights down. She takes a step back.

"I love you, Viktor. We're going to be a family."

" I. Don't. Love. You . You're embarrassing yourself."

"Get over her. That whore is never coming back." She says it with such conviction my blood runs cold, and I take a step toward her.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Does she know something about Ava? Does she know where Ava is?

"She's been gone for months, and she isn't coming back. We're a family. You need to focus on us." For a split second, I have a feeling she knows something that I don't, something important, there's something about the look in her eyes, but then it's gone.

"What I do with my life is no business of yours."

"Viktor, please. Don't be like this. You have to at least try. You need to give us a chance for the sake of our baby."

"Try what?" I walk past her.

"You can't do this to me. You're my husband, and you need to start acting like it," she wails. I never realized how annoying her voice is. The sound of something collapsing stops me, and I turn to see Fiona on the ground.

"Fuck!" I walk over. "Fiona, wake up."

I shake her a little. She's breathing, so she must have fainted. I pick her up and leave the gym. Not having any other choice, I take her to my bedroom. I lay her down, but she's still unconscious. Taking out my cell, I dial Dr. Smith and ask him to come and check her out. As I finish the call, I hear her moan.

"Fiona," I say, moving toward the bed.

"What happened?" she asks as she tries to sit.

"You fainted. I've called Dr. Smith, and he's on his way. Relax."

"Okay."

It's twenty minutes before the doctor shows up at the house. Dr. Smith has been with Fiona for fifteen minutes now, going through a list of questions. As I listen to her answers, I realize she isn't taking care of herself. She's giving the doctor every excuse she can think of.

"You need to eat a proper diet, Mrs. Manarch. I'll leave you the number for a nutritionist. I'll have my receptionist call you to schedule your next visit. It's important to keep your appointments." I'm curious about what he means by his statement.

"Let's take a look, Mrs. Manarch, and see what happened." I walk over to the window as he examines her.

"Viktor will make sure I do the right thing, won't you, baby?" Fiona says, fluttering her eyes in my direction once Dr. Smith finishes the examination.

I ignore Fiona's attempt to look coy and turn to Dr. Smith.

"Dr. Smith, may I have a word outside?"

"Sure," he says before turning to look back at Fiona and adding, "Mrs. Manarch, don't hesitate to contact the office if you need anything."

"I won't."

Once outside the bedroom, I close the door and lead the doctor away to where Fiona can't overhear us.

"How is she really doing?" I ask.

"She's dehydrated and doesn't seem to be eating properly. After talking to her, it sounds like she's under a lot of stress, which can affect the health of her and the child."

I shake my head. This is the last thing I need right now.

"What can I do?" I might not care about Fiona, but at the end of the day, she's carrying my child. The DNA paternity test proved it.

"Make sure she eats, takes her vitamins, and most of all, no stress…" he hesitates for a second, looking at the ground before raising his gaze to meet mine, "… I noticed something else."

"What?" I demand.

"I could smell alcohol on her breath. I don't need to tell you the risks of her drinking."

"I know she was a drinker before the baby. She stopped, I thought." I feel like a dick for not noticing what was happening under my roof.

"I'll do a full panel to see how she and the baby are doing. Hopefully, it's just alcohol and nothing else."

What the fuck is Fiona thinking? This is Fiona. I'm sure she isn't thinking.

"I'll have someone take her to the appointments," I advise.

"She just needs support. As long as she does what she needs to do, she and the child will be fine."

"Thank you." I shake his hand.

"My pleasure. Please call if you need anything, Mr. Manarch." He continues to the exit as I exit my office. Shit just keeps getting better and better.

It's not even eleven in the morning, and I could use a drink. This shit with Fiona is stress I don't need. It makes me wish again that Ava was carrying my child. Things would be simpler. Ava wouldn't put me through this bullshit. But we all have things we wish were different.

I sit at my desk and turn on my laptop. Work is my only consolation these days. I look at the hotel numbers to find they're growing at a faster rate than I anticipated. I'm thankful I never got a chance to share information about the purchase with my father. He would have found a way to insert himself into the business. Right now, only my lawyer and Oliver know about it. At this point, I see no reason for my father to know. I lose myself looking at numbers and emails about Manarch Industries. As long as I'm working, I don't need to think about anything else. There's a knock at the door, and looking at the camera, I see it's Oliver.

"Come in, Oliver."

My door opens.

"How's Fiona?" he asks as he enters. I called him to tell him what had happened with Fiona since we were supposed to meet after my workout.

"Being Fiona," I say with an exasperated sigh.

He chuckles and asks, "What did Dr. Smith say?"

"She isn't taking care of herself, and he thinks she's drinking."

"Shit."

"I want the house free of all alcohol. Have anything here taken to the guardhouse. Makes sure everyone knows that no one is to bring any alcohol in."

"Got it. Anything else?"

I close my eyes, trying to ease the headache that's already forming.

"I'm going to spend more time in the house making sure Fiona is doing what she's supposed to. I'll need you to be on call in the event I'm unable to leave the house."

"It's for the best. You know Fiona doesn't care about anyone other than herself. I'm not sure the child is the exception. At least with your presence here, you might be able to control her actions."

"All I care about is my child."

"I know. This is the only way you can protect the child."

"From the moment that child is born, I'm done with her," I say more to myself as I let out the breath I've been holding.

"Everything will work out."

"What's the latest on Eros?" I ask, changing the subject. I'm tired of talking about Fiona.

"Everything's the same. Our father hasn't made any sudden decisions as of late, and Cillian seems to be away on business. At least it's the story going around."

"And the men?"

"Better. Morale seems to be improving, and there haven't been any recent fights. But we'll have to wait and see if things change once Cillian reappears."

I want to ask about Ava. Is she happy? Is she safe? But I don't. That door needs to remain closed for now. I can't bring her home. But once my child is born, all bets are off. I'll divorce Fiona and marry Ava. I can give her the happy ending she wants and deserves. I just need her to hold tight until my child is born.