Page 29 of Behind the Mask

I was so confused with her cryptic message that it was sending my mind into a tailspin. What was so important that she needed to tell me and that she didn't want me to lose my shit?

"Fine." Then I hung up without another word.

The air was closing in on me and that I really was going insane. This would have never happened if I would have held onto her. None of this would have happened if I just let her have her freedom. I was an idiot teenager who got jealous when I saw another guy talking to her. I suffocated her and in turn caused her to break up with me and leave me behind.

I'll never forget how happy I was that she finally agreed to be mine. I was ecstatic and over the moon that she was my girlfriend. I never thought that I'd screw it up as soon as it started. She was my first love, and as stupid as it sounded, I knew she was created for me. The growing love I had for her ceased to amaze me because I never thought I'd love someone as much as I did her.

When we were just friends, we had fights and disagreements, but we were always there for each other. It was hard to believe that after such a long friendship it just… disappeared, like it never existed in the first place.

The thought of losing her again had my gut twisting in knots. The thought of her being pregnant again after just finding out she was pregnant with our first child and lost it, was making me queasy. I leaned over and braced my elbows on my knees trying to keep myself from vomiting right here in the waiting room. For the first time in years, my eyes welled up in tears.

I had no fucking idea what I was going to do.

"Axel, are you alright?" I heard a feminine voice talking to me, but I couldn't look up from my shattered state. I'd always been in control, or at least that's how I tried to be. But at that moment, I was far from it.

I looked up and noticed Olivia's mom sitting right beside me looking worried. I was about to tell her I was fine when Lindsey came running into the lobby looking flushed and overwhelmed. I stood up and went to her, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Olivia's parents and into a faintly empty hallway.

I waited anxiously as she leaned over to catch her breath. What was it she was planning on telling me? What news was this important? Would it send me over the edge?

Finally, she stood upright and took something out of her purse and handed it to me. As I held the manila folder in my hands they started to shake.

"Want to tell me what this is?" I was barely able to keep my voice calm.

She took a step forward and opened the folder in my hand. "It's the CVS results and true paternity of the father for Vanessa's child. When Olivia found out you were having a baby with Vanessa, she was devastated. I was worried about her, and I thought something fishy was going on about the whole thing because you and Vanessa had just broken up. So, I had someone look into it for me."

Accusingly I raised an eyebrow at her. "Who did you get to look into it?"

Her cheeks flushed as the corner of her lips lifted into a hesitant smile. "Matt's father did some digging for us. His father is a doctor that suggested a Chorionic Villus Sampling test so that we could get the real paternity for the child without sending harm to it or the mother. He was able to get the details of the doctor she went to, and somehow convinced her doctor to tell her that while she was here in Galena that she needed to go in for a check up to make sure the baby was okay. Because from the "stress" of the breakup they were worried she would be too emotional and would unintentionally harm the baby."

I was thrown with this information, but I had to admit I was happy that Olivia had such a good best friend. If it weren't for her, Olivia wouldn't have survived. Not caring about the details anymore, I looked down and noticed one vital piece of information Vanessa forgot to mention. She not only lied to me about Olivia, but she lied to me about who the real father was. And when I saw his name, everything turned red.

Mother: Vanessa Redford

Alleged Father: Brad Wilson

Chapter Twenty-Four

Axel

How could I have been so stupid? So naïve? As I held the results in my hands, I couldn't help but wonder how our lives got so fucked up. I knew Wilson was the epitome of scum, but for him to take advantage of Olivia, make her lose our baby, and then move on to my ex-fiancé made me sick. It made me feel even worse knowing that Vanessa lied to me just so I would take her back. She lied to me about many things and I wanted her gone from mine and Olivia's life for good.

"Axel? Are you okay?" I recognized Lindsey's voice but honestly, I couldn't hear her properly. My mind was too far gone, and my emotions were all over the place. I was only supposed to be here for Olivia. I was supposed to be focusing on her and not everything else in this fucked up world. What else was Wilson holding over my head? It was obvious he was trying to find every possible way to hurt me and take away the things I loved most.

I couldn't help but feel relieved knowing I didn't have to marry Vanessa anymore. I felt relieved I didn't have to worry about how I would help with the baby and still be with Olivia. This meant I could be with her freely and not have to worry anymore. The results crumpled in my hands as I tried to fight off the anger I had accumulated inside of me. I took a couple steps back and leaned against the wall, trying to contain my breathing. The urge to snap Brad's neck with my bare hands was strong, almost stronger than seeing Vanessa and demanding the answers I desperately needed.

"Axel, you promised. Olivia doesn't need..."

"How can you expect me to stay calm when I just found out the woman I was supposed to marry and have a baby with lied to me not once, but twice? Not only that, but that Wilson of all people is the father?" I spat. His name sounded vile coming from my lips. I turned away from her and walked towards the entrance.

"Axel, please don't do this! Do you know how heartbroken she's going to be when the man she loves most in the world won't be here because he's too busy getting revenge?"

I turned around and narrowed my eyes. "What did you think was going to happen, Lindsey? That I would just take it as a grain of salt? That I would forget she betrayed me? That Olivia and I would live happily ever after? She's on a fucking operating table because of them!" She flinched as if I had slapped her.

I took a step forward and softened my tone. "Olivia means everything to me, but that doesn't mean all of the pain she has suffered over the years isn't my fault. This is my chance to set it right. To finally get the peace she needs. I can't move on with Olivia until I get the truth. I need answers, and Vanessa is the one who can give them to me."

She sighed as if she was losing the battle and nodded. "Look, I'll be back. Just keep her safe for me, please." Without another word I left the hospital and walked towards my car, feeling something shift in the air. Maybe it was my anger, and maybe it was something else. But tonight, I would get the answers I needed.

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