Page 64 of Ruthless King

I am, too, but I’m not going to say that to Andrew. For some reason, he’s been annoying me lately.

At the nearest hospital, I ask for Aurora Mancini, and fortunately, they tell me she’s here. I rush to her room and find her lying in a bed, a bandage wrapped around her stomach.

“Aurora.”

She opens her eyes. “Nico?”

“You’re safe. Thank god. I went to the hotel and only found blood. What happened?”

All the color drains from her face. “You … went to the hotel?”

“Yes. What happened? Where’s Jeremy and your aunt?”

Before she can answer me, a doctor comes into the room. “Sorry, is this a bad time?”

“No,” Aurora says. “What is it?”

“I take it you’re her husband?” The doctor holds out her hand. “I’m Dr. Anderson. I did the surgery on your wife. It was a fast procedure.”

“Thank god,” I breathe out.

“But there’s something I need to discuss. Were you aware you were pregnant, Mrs. Mancini?”

“Yes,” Aurora whispers.

“I’m so sorry to tell you that you lost the baby. You were stabbed in the stomach. There was no way to save the baby. It was only a few weeks old. There was nothing we could have done.”

Everything in me falls to the floor. Aurora looks even more pained by the news. “So, I’m no longer pregnant?”

“Yes.” Dr. Anderson hesitates.

“Spit it out,” I growl.

“We’ll have to do some tests, but, given where you were stabbed, I worry the likelihood of conceiving again may be slim.”

“Where was she stabbed?” I ask.

“In her lower abdomen, right where her womb is.” She turns to Aurora. “We had to stop a bleed in one of your fallopian tubes. We were able to do it fast, so you didn’t lose much blood. But we don’t know the full extent without doing more tests. I know it’s easy to worry, but until we can know for sure, I don’t want you to panic. We’ll start on the tests while you’re here.”

“You do that,” I snap.

“Nico,” Aurora says gently, touching my arm. “She’s just doing her job.”

Dr. Andeson nods. “I’ll leave you two for now.”

“We lost the baby,” Aurora whispers right before she begins sobbing. I don’t have words either. All I can do is hold her in my arms.

AURORA

Nico doesn’t question me until the following day. I’m still stuckin the hospital, but at least, I’m starting to feel better.

“Aurora, you need to tell me what happened.”

There’s no point in saving Beatrice. She literally killed my child—all for her stupid vendetta.

“My aunt stabbed me.”

He blinks. “What?”

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