Chapter 443 - The Only Scar She Loved (2)

"H…How is that possible? We were drunk, but we were safe. I'm certain I used protection. You must've remembered that…" Gael's voice trailed off, looking shocked. Even as he said those, he knew it was possible. Condoms weren't 100%. And he hadn't asked if she took precautions herself.

A mixture of denial and confusion warred in his head. It could've been any other woman he'd done it with. And the thought of him impregnating some women he had slept with caused an indescribable dread gnawing at his stomach. He couldn't even remember the names of half of them. Only Angela really lasted a long and strong impression after spending that one night together years ago.

Gael didn't know why that was. It could've been his younger self knowing she would be the only woman for him—it just wasn't the right time then.

All of these thoughts rapidly spun in his head. He was standing and pacing the room now. Part of him already knew the baby could be his. When he heard it the first time, that had crossed his mind. But because he knew he had worn protection, he couldn't fully believe it. Then the thought of someone else impregnating Angela invaded his ill thoughts too while they were in the hospital—his teeth nearly shattered from gritting too hard.

He did think of the possibility it could be him, but hearing her actually say it out loud got his heartstrings all tangled up. His stomach twisted and fluttered. Gael trained his gaze on her. She waited for him to say something, the tears in her eyes like a waterfall—never-ending. He wanted to reach out and wipe them from her face, but he was too baffled with everything; he couldn't move.

"I'm the father, you say…" he muttered in a low voice as if he still couldn't believe it. 

She nodded.

"You went to see Daniel… He knew? All this time?" There was a shift in his voice. He sounded almost angry. "Where's the baby? What…" He had so many questions, he was about to lose his shit, but he stopped himself from snapping. 'Daniel had known, and I hadn't?' he thought repeatedly. His fists were clenched at his sides. He didn't want to show aggression to her, she was clearly hurting, but he couldn't stop his feelings.

Angela's chin wobbled, and she swallowed before she continued, "I wanted to ask Samantha, but I didn't know how to reach her. I was still avoiding my brother then, and I couldn't ask him, so I went to Daniel's office."

"And?" His voice was clipped, his brows drawn together.

"I… I never got the chance to see him. The receptionist told me he and his family were in Dubai for a week. I didn't know what else to do because they wouldn't give me their phone number."

She took a deep breath, and her shoulders began to shake. "So I decided to go home… I hailed a cab…got inside…told the driver my address. Then there was smoke… I got dizzy… Next thing I…" She choked up as she forced herself to speak. "I… I… woke up in that building…tied up in bed. My clothes were gone. There were… There were lights, and a camera pointed at me. I…"

Angela broke down. She was full-on crying now, blubbering, her hands clutching her heart and her stomach.

"No…" Gael's eyes widened in disbelief. Even if she stopped recounting what happened, he already knew what she was talking about. That was when that fucking Evan made that sickening video on the dark web. It was as if everything clicked into place.

It took her a few moments before she could continue. "Evan was sure that I had taken a video of that night… I must have gotten caught by one of the cameras in the warehouse. He wanted it… And I couldn't give it to him. For once, I thought I had something to keep him away from me. I thought I could use it against him, but he covered all his grounds. In the end, he was still smarter than me.

"Then… Then he put that blindfold on me. And I felt a needle prick my arm. Shortly after that, I was warm all over… My mouth was dry… And everything was just hazy. He… He started hitting me. It hurt at first until it didn't." She looked up at him and sobbed, shaking her head. "I don't know… I'm not sure what happened after that."

Gael knelt in front of her and took her trembling, cold hands in his, not knowing what to say.

Angela might not have known what happened in the video, but he did. He'd watch that fucker hit her in the face and her body like a fucking sadist, occasionally touching and grabbing her and putting his disgusting mouth on her. Then he pulled his pants down and taunted her like a fucking psycho. 

Every time Gael was reminded of that video, he wanted to rip Evan into tiny pieces with his bare hands.

The video was a little mysterious towards the end because Evan muttered, 'What the fuck?' before scrambling to stop the live feed. Gael never knew what happened after that.

"Did he…" Gael couldn't bring himself to ask.

As if Angela understood, she shrugged. "The next day, I woke up in a hospital. Oliver was there, but my father was in China for two weeks. Oli said someone had dropped me in the ER at midnight, and I was heavily bleeding." Her face contorted in pain while she sobbed as if she was reliving something so harrowing. "The doctor confirmed that I had a miscarriage."

He blinked, and the moisture that gathered in his eyes freely flowed down his cheeks. Gael sucked in a breath, and it physically hurt his chest; he didn't know what was happening in his body. He had only found out he was a father…and that was even short-lived. No words came out of his mouth.

Her hands gripped his as if she was trying to draw in strength that they both didn't have. Angela's eyes hadn't stopped leaking since she began telling him what had happened. Her face was all puffy, and her lips were swollen. She was a crying mess.

"I've only known I was going to be its mother not too long, and then I lost it in a few days. It's all my fault. It's my fault my baby died. I killed our baby, Gael… I killed... I'm… I'm so sorry… I'm so…so…sorry."

Angela wailed a gut-wrenching cry. It pierced through Gael's chest and left him bleeding.. He had never been so heartbroken like this.