Chapter 5
Alycia Kennedy POV:
Jackson Johnson POV:
The phone slipped from my numb fingers, clattering to the hospital floor as Jacob' s words echoed in my head: She' s losing the baby. Your baby. My baby. Alycia was pregnant? And I… I had done this. A cold dread, far more terrifying than any business failure, seized me. My mind went blank, a terrifying void where my thoughts used to be. The world tilted on its axis, the fluorescent lights of the emergency room blurring into a harsh, unforgiving glare.
Jacob' s voice, a furious roar, ripped through the silence. "Who's the father, Jackson? Tell me! Who is it? Because whoever it is, I swear, I will find them, and I will make them pay for abandoning my sister!" His words were a physical blow, a stark reminder of my monumental failure.
My hand tightened into a white-knuckled fist. I wanted to scream, to deny it, but the truth was a suffocating weight in my chest. I was the father. I was the monster. I had abandoned her. I had hurt her. I had killed our child.
"Jackson! Where are you?" Jacob's voice, laced with raw fury, snapped me back to the present. "I swear to God, if you don't tell me who did this, I'm coming for you! And I'll tear you limb from limb, you despicable piece of trash!"
My throat was dry, my voice a rasp. "Jacob... where... which hospital?" The words felt foreign, forced. A desperate need to see her, to undo what I had done, consumed me.
"Like I'd tell you, you bastard!" Jacob roared. "Stay away from her! You've done enough!"
A nurse emerged from Campbell's room, her voice calm but firm. "Mr. Johnson? Ms. Cook is asking for you. We need you to sign some forms." Campbell. Right. She was here. In the same hospital. The bitter irony twisted in my gut. I had rushed the woman I had just married to the emergency room, while the woman carrying my child lay bleeding, alone, because of me.
My eyes darted between Campbell's door and the hallway, where Alycia was undoubtedly being tended to. A frantic internal battle raged. Campbell needed me. But Alycia... Alycia needed me more. She had always needed me more, and I had always failed her.
"Jackson, darling? Are you coming?" Campbell's voice, weak and trembling, drifted from her room. Her voice, so fragile, pulled at a different string in my heart, a string of obligation, of the promise I had just made. The marriage vows, so hollow yet so binding, forced my feet to move towards her.
I pushed open the door to Campbell' s room. She lay pale against the pillows, her eyes wide and tearful. "Oh, Jackson," she whimpered, reaching for my hand. "I was so scared. Please, don't leave me again." Her grip was surprisingly strong, her eyes pinning me.
"Campbell," I said, my voice flat, "we need to talk. About us. About this marriage." My mind was a whirlwind of guilt and dawning realization. This charade, this desperate attempt to save face, to appease my public image, it was all a lie. A lie that had cost me everything.
Her eyes narrowed, a flicker of suspicion replacing the feigned vulnerability. "Talk? What's there to talk about, darling? We just got married! Unless... unless this is about that little bitch, Alycia?" Her voice sharpened, losing its fragile edge.
"I want a divorce," I stated, the words leaving my mouth before I could second-guess them. The air in the room seemed to crackle.
She stared at me, her mouth agape. "A divorce? Are you out of your mind? Why? Give me one good reason, Jackson!" Her voice was rising, her performance of the fragile patient forgotten.
My voice was raw, a desperate confession tearing from my soul. "Alycia... she was pregnant. Our baby. And because of me... she's losing it." The words hung heavy in the air, a grotesque monument to my own cruelty.
Campbell' s face drained of all color, her eyes widening in genuine shock. She recoiled, pulling her hand away as if I had burned her.
"I can't leave her, Campbell," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "Not now. Not ever again." The crushing weight of my betrayal, of the child I had lost, was unbearable. I had to go to her. I had to beg for her forgiveness.
Campbell, recovering quickly, sat up, her eyes blazing. "You're not going anywhere, Jackson! Not after what we've been through! What about my cancer, my terminal illness? You swore you'd be by my side!" Her words were laced with a desperate possessiveness, a frantic attempt to keep me bound.
"I'm going to Alycia," I declared, my resolve hardening. My feet were already moving towards the door. The image of Alycia, bleeding and broken, haunted me, eclipsing everything else. I knew, with a terrifying certainty, that if I didn't go to her now, I would lose her forever. I would lose the last shred of my humanity.
A chilling premonition settled over me. This was it. This was the moment I ruined everything. But for once, it wasn't about my reputation, my empire. It was about Alycia. And our child. I had to confess everything. The five years of lies, the promises I never kept, the way I had hidden her, ashamed of our love. I had to tell her the truth, even if it meant she would never forgive me.
I found Alycia' s room on the second floor, guided by Jacob's furious shouts. He was standing outside the door, pacing like a caged tiger, his phone pressed to his ear. When he saw me, his eyes ignited with a cold, murderous rage. He dropped his phone and launched himself at me, his fist connecting with my jaw with brutal force.
"You bastard!" he roared, striking me again, blood gushing from my nose. "You think you can just show your face here? After what you did?" He grabbed me by the lapels of my suit jacket, his eyes burning into mine. "Those photos on her laptop! Were they real? Tell me, Jackson! Is it true? Was Alycia carrying your child?" His grip tightened, shaking me violently.
The words, raw and painful, spilled out. "Yes. Yes, Jacob. All of it. Five years. We were together for five years. Alycia... she was everything to me." Shame, thick and suffocating, choked me.
Jacob' s face went white, his eyes wide with a horrifying realization. He pushed me against the wall, his voice trembling with a terrifying fury. "Five years? Are you telling me you were with my sister when she was underage, Jackson? When she was eighteen? You sick son of a bitch! You groomed her! You used her!" He landed another punch, harder this time, his knuckles scraping against my cheekbone.
"You're not human, Jackson! You're a monster!" he spat, kicking me in the gut. I doubled over, gasping for air, but I didn't fight back. I deserved this. Every single blow. All I could think of was Alycia, lying broken inside that room. "Please, Jacob," I choked out, blood filling my mouth. "Please, just let me see her. Let me explain."
"Explain?" Jacob scoffed, his face contorted with disgust. "There's nothing to explain! You're dead to me, Jackson. You hear me? Dead! Don't you dare come near my sister again. If I ever see your face around her, I'm calling the police. You have no right, no claim to her, or to that child you murdered!" He shoved me again, sending me sprawling backwards.
He pointed a shaking finger at me. "Now get out. Go back to your 'loving wife.' She's probably waiting for you down the hall, faking another heart attack." His words were a bitter, cutting truth.
My vision blurred, tears mixing with the blood on my face. "Please, Jacob," I begged, my voice cracking, "I just need to see her. One minute. Please." I fell to my knees, right there in the hospital corridor, my pride shattered, my dignity utterly destroyed. "I'm begging you. Just let me see her."
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