Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Viktor

" W hat the fuck is wrong with you?" I bark at Fiona.

"I should be the one asking that. I'm your wife. I'm having your child. Just forget about her. Clearly, she's forgotten about you. You can't be that fucking blind. She has a man in her life."

"What don't you understand? I don't love you. In fact, I want nothing to do with you," I tell her, but I can't help but think, is she right? Is Ava with Max? No, she wouldn't be. I saw the way she looked at him.

"You're an asshole."

"This isn't news. I've told you from the beginning how I feel. You're the one who put yourself in this situation." I open the door to my car and get in.

She walks to my door. "Are you just going to leave me here?"

I roll my window down. "I'm going to the office. Go home." I pull out, and in the rearview mirror, I see Fiona fall. I brake instantly. "Fiona." I get out of the car and run to her. She's unconscious again. "Fiona! Fuck," I say, holding her, but she doesn't respond.

As I wait for an ambulance, a million thoughts cross my mind. I think of my daughter. Has this affected her chance at life? I'm tired of Fiona's bullshit. She doesn't think of anyone other than herself. Here I am, not knowing if my daughter is alive because of her stupidity. It takes the ambulance ten minutes too long for my liking. Finally, they strap her and load her in.

"Sir, you can come with us or meet us at St. Joseph's Hospital," the paramedic tells me. Is he really asking that?

"I'm riding with you," I say, climbing into the ambulance.

He orders me to sit back as he's moving things around. I look at Fiona and don't see any blood, but she looks pale. The air is filled with the sound of a monitor and the sirens. Fiona remains unconscious, and I feel useless. The life of my daughter could be in danger, and there's nothing I can do. Once at the hospital, they unload her and rush her inside. The paramedics report the details of their examination and her name. I follow them, but I'm stopped as they wheel her to a room in the emergency department.

"Sir, you need to wait in the waiting room," a nurse orders me. I don't move.

"That's my daughter," I respond.

"Please, sir. Someone will find you and update you."

Even though I don't want to stay, I need to let them do their job. I need them to make sure my daughter is fine. But as the seconds pass, I find it harder to remain calm. I'm anxious. I need to know their status. I'm going to demand to be given an update when I hear my mother's voice. I called her on my way to the hospital.

"Sweetheart," my mother greets me.

"You didn't need to come, Mom."

"Of course I did. Any update?"

"Not yet." I start pacing.

I look at my watch, desperately in need of news. Why is it taking them so long to tell me how my daughter is? A few minutes later, Oliver arrives.

"Did something happen to Ava?" I ask in a panic.

"No."

I let out a breath.

"Then why the fuck are you here?" I bark.

"Any updates?" He asks, ignoring me.

"No."

It's another twenty minutes before anyone comes to give us an update.

"Fiona Manarch's family?" a man in scrubs asks.

"I'm Viktor Manarch, her husband. How is my daughter?" I ask, not caring about Fiona's status.

"It was touch and go at first. I'm afraid to tell you it's a waiting game now. Mrs. Manarch had a placental abruption." I look at him, confused. "The placenta separated from the wall of her uterus. We had to perform an emergency c-section. Your daughter is in the NICU now. Her lungs are immature, and she only weighs four pounds."

"Fuck," I run my fingers through my hair. "And Fiona?" I finally ask, even though I could care less.

"She's stable for now. We'll know more in a few hours."

"When can I see my daughter?"

"You can see her for a few minutes. We're running tests."

"Go, sweetheart. We'll be here," my mother says. Oliver grips my shoulder.

I could have lost my daughter. All Fiona thinks about is herself. Her recklessness could have killed my daughter. Now my daughter is in the NICU fighting for her life. I don't know what happened. One minute I was pulling out to leave, and the next, Fiona fell. Was she holding on to the car? When I pulled out, did she trip and fall? I enter the NICU, where a few parents linger next to incubators. I follow the nurse's instructions and go to the left, where my daughter is.

She looks so defenseless, so small. I walk to the incubator and can't help my tears. I'm not a praying man, but I can't help praying that I get to know her. To see her grow. To carry her in my arms and walk her down the aisle someday. To show her how much I already love her. I would do and give anything to make sure she has a future.

"You need to leave Mr. Manarch. We have to examine her," a nurse tells me as she walks toward me.

I stand outside, watching as they probe her. She begins to cry, and every cry is like a knife piercing me. I don't want to see her in pain. This shit is all Fiona's doing. She will pay for putting my daughter through this.

"Sweetheart," my mother says.

"Hi, Mom." She stands beside me. "Look at my daughter. She's beautiful," I say, gazing adoringly at my daughter.

"She certainly is."

"She looks so fragile."

"I can't imagine what you're feeling, but you shouldn't feel guilty about what happened. It was an accident." I'm not sure why she says it.

"I do feel responsible. I was driving off when I saw her fall in the rearview mirror. She probably threw herself at the SUV to stop me, for all I know." I continue to look at my daughter.

"You aren't responsible. No one can say otherwise."

"I hold myself responsible."

She turns to me, so I have to look at her.

"If there's anyone to blame, it's Fiona. It's clear she was doing something she shouldn't have. How else would she have fallen?"

I turn to look at my daughter again.

"You know what else?"

"What's that?"

"Ava is pregnant," I confess.

"Are you sure?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. She wasn't even going to tell me. Everyone is keeping shit from me. She said it was best if I forgot about her and our son like that would ever be possible. Ava fails to realize I'm no one without her, and now my son…"

"What can I do?" She puts her hand on my arm.

"I don't know anymore. I can't lose them. I need Ava beside me."

"I'll talk with her. She'll listen to me." My mother says, trying to comfort me.

We both know it's not the only problem. Ava's life is in more danger now. I want to tell my mother my son is a threat to whatever plan my father or Cillian might have. My son is my heir, and as such, he has a claim to the Manarch Clan if he chooses so. But I don't need to tell my mother. She knows it as well as I do.

"She's having my grandchild, and she needs her family. I won't let anything happen to either of them."

I turn and look at her.

"Do you really feel she's family?"

"From the moment I met her."

Knowing my mother is on my side comforts me.

We stand silently, watching as the nurses examine my daughter. I feel so helpless. Once they're done, I walk back inside and stand by her incubator. I watch as she struggles to take each breath. I'll do everything in my power to protect her. Then I think of Ava and my son. They need me too. I take my cell out and dial Oliver.

"Where are you?" I ask Oliver on the cell.

"Waiting area."

"I need to talk to you."

"Sir, you can't use your cell here. You need to go outside," a nurse tells me.

"I'm not leaving my daughter."

"You can go to the waiting area if you need to use your cell." I don't move. "Please, sir."

"Fine." I start walking. "I'll be there in a minute," I tell Oliver. I end the call. "Mom, go home," I say as I approach them in the waiting area.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes. I'll call you if anything changes," I promise.

"Ok." She kisses my cheek. "It doesn't matter how late. You call me," she adds.

"I will." I give her a hug. "How long have you known?" I ask Oliver once my mother is out of earshot.

"Long enough."

"Fuck, Oliver." I step closer to him. My fists are clenched at my sides.

"It was safer for her if you didn't know. You know it was."

"That wasn't your call."

"It wasn't yours either. It was hers."

"I could kill you right now. She's been alone, unprotected."

"She hasn't been alone or unprotected. I've had Marco and a team with her since the first night I learned she was pregnant."

"I want her home."

"If you corner her, she'll disappear."

"Again, not your fucking decision."

"Sir, you need to keep it down," a nurse says, approaching us.

"You have one job now. I want you by her side until I speak with her," I order him.

"I'm sorry, Viktor. I needed to do what I felt was right for her, not you. She needed me more than you needed the truth."

"Fuck you, Oliver."

He leaves without another word.

I'm furious that Oliver lied to my face. I would have expected it from anyone else but not him. I know he's right. He's the only one thinking clearly right now when it comes to Ava. She was safer without me beside her. Tensions are growing in the clan, and at this point, war is unavoidable. I'm grateful he stood by her, although she isn't his to protect. He was there when she needed someone. But I had the right to know. She's having my son.