Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 81 Everything to Lose
Jade’s POV
The moment we stepped out of the car, the air around the mansion felt heavier, like the walls were watching me. Or maybe it was just my nerves twisting everything into something darker than it really was. The boys didn’t notice the shift in atmosphere.
They were too busy orbiting me.
Ronan walked slightly ahead, clearing the path like I might trip over invisible obstacles. Ryder stayed to my right, his hand hovering near my lower back but not quite touching, as if he was afraid I might protest if he did. And Renzo lingered close enough that our shoulders brushed every few steps.
I wasn’t just protected.
I was guarded.
“Careful,” Ronan muttered when we reached the front steps.
“I’ve been climbing these stairs for years,” I replied, trying to keep my tone light.
“That was before,” Ryder said quietly.
Before.
Before the pregnancy.
Before the heir.
Before I became something fragile.
Or valuable.
Inside, a servant rushed forward with a glass of water. She wasn’t fast enough.
“Can’t you see she just got back from school?” Renzo snapped sharply. “Why is she standing there waiting?”
The servant flinched. “I.... I’m sorry, sir...”
“It’s fine,” I cut in quickly, taking the glass myself. “I’m not dying of dehydration.”
Renzo’s jaw tightened. He didn’t apologize to the servant.
He just looked at me.
And for a split second, I saw it.
Fear.
Not anger. Not control.
Fear.
It hit me harder than Linda’s whisper in the bathroom earlier.
They weren’t hovering because they doubted me.
They were hovering because they were terrified of losing me.
The guilt pressed into my chest like a physical weight.
Because by tomorrow night, I might be the one who destroys everything.
Later that evening, I slipped out to the balcony for air.
The sky was turning violet, dusk swallowing the horizon. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to quiet the storm in my head.
Less than twenty four hours.
That’s what Linda had given me.
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Confess that I cheated.
Tell them the baby isn’t theirs.
Or she would kill me.
Kill my child.
My fingers instinctively moved to my stomach.
I didn’t even realize I was doing it anymore.
“You’re thinking too loudly.”
I jumped.
Renzo leaned against the balcony doorframe, hands in his pockets.
“I didn’t hear you come out.”
“You wouldn’t have,” he said calmly. “You’ve been somewhere else all day.”
I swallowed.
“I’m just tired.”
He studied me for a long moment. No teasing. No smirk. Just sharp, searching eyes.
“You’ve been distant since yesterday.”
The words weren’t accusatory.
They were careful.
“I found out I’m pregnant,” I said with a small laugh that didn’t sound like mine. “Is distant not allowed?”
“You don’t look scared of pregnancy,” he replied softly. “You look scared of something else.”
My breath caught.
For one second, just one, I almost told him.
Linda threatened me.
She threatened our baby.
She’s going to hurt us.
The words hovered on my tongue.
But then....
The memory of my mother resurfaced
Her body on the stable floor.
The Alpha saying she slipped.
No proof.
No one believed me then.
Why would they now?
Especially when Linda was smiling at breakfast this morning.
Especially when she called me “sister” in front of everyone.
“I’m overwhelmed,” I forced out instead.
Renzo didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
He didn’t believe me.
I could see it.
But after a long pause, he nodded once.
“Fine.”
That was it.
Fine.
He walked back inside.
And I hated myself a little more.
Dinner passed in a blur.
Alpha Ashford spoke more gently than usual. Asked if I needed anything. Told the chef to prepare lighter meals for me from now on.
Linda smiled sweetly from across the table.
Every time our eyes met, hers held something else.
A reminder.
Tomorrow night.
I barely tasted the food.
It was Ryder who cornered me next.
I was in the hallway outside my room when he stopped me.
“Why was Linda in the girls’ bathroom at the same time as you today?”
“What?” I asked too quickly.
“You went in. Then she came out a few minutes later.”
My pulse spiked.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
Ryder noticed everything.
“She was using the bathroom too,” I said carefully.
He tilted his head.
“You came out pale.”
“Pregnancy,” I replied immediately. “It makes you nauseous. Haven’t you read anything about it?”
He hesitated.
That tiny flicker of doubt almost broke me.
But then he nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Okay.
He didn’t push further.
But something had shifted.
Suspicion had been planted
Not against Linda.
Against me.
And that terrified me.
Because if they started digging before I confessed, Linda might act sooner.
That night, I went to my room early.
I needed silence.
Needed to think
The moment I closed the the door behind me, I locked it.
Then I froze.
The window.
It was slightly open.
Just a crack.
Cold air slipping through the curtains.
I stared at it.
I knew I had locked it last night.
I always did.
Slowly, I walked over and pushed it shut.
Locked it.
Checked it twice.
My heart was pounding so loudly it felt like it might echo through the walls.
Was it paranoia?
Or a warning?
A message.
I can reach you anywhere.
My hand moved protectively over my stomach again.
“You’re safe,” I whispered.
But the words felt fragile.
A knock came on my door an hour later.
“Jade.”
Alpha Ashford’s voice.
My entire body went rigid.
I opened the door slowly.
“Yes, Alpha?”
“Walk with me.”
It wasn’t a request.
I had no choice but to follow.
We walked silently to his study.
His study smelled of leather and old wood.
He gestured for me to sit.
“You understand what this child represents,” he began calmly.
My fingers curled in my lap.
“Yes.”
“It strengthens the bloodline. Solidifies alliances. Ensures continuity.”
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“Anything that jeopardizes the legitimacy of this heir... will not be tolerated.”
The room went cold.
“I would never jeopardize....”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t,” he interrupted smoothly. “Because if you do, then all hell will let lose and I will make sure you regret ever being born in the first place”
I couldn’t breathe.
If I confessed tomorrow....
If I told them the baby wasn’t theirs....
I wouldn’t just lose the boys.
I would lose protection.
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Safety.
Linda knew that.
She didn’t just threaten my life.
She threatened to strip away every shield I had.
“You may go,” Alpha Ashford said finally.
I stood on shaky legs. And I left
Back in my room, the silence felt suffocating.
I leaned against the door and slid down until I was sitting on the floor.
My palm pressed fully against my stomach now.
This wasn’t joy.
Wasn’t excitement.
It was something primal.
Protective.
Fierce.
“I will protect you,” I whispered. “No matter what.”
I thought about the boys.
Ronan, Ryder and Renzo. My mates. The fathers of my child.
They seemed to really care about me today.
But I believed they didn’t really care about me,they only cared about the baby.
Then I remembered, our honeymoon.
I wasn’t pregnant then, and they seemed to have cared about me. Those few days still remain the happiest moments of my life.
What if there’s a tiny chance they boys actually do care about me now?
What if there’s a chance that they’ll believe me when I tell them about Linda’s threats.
"I would never know if I don’t try."
The words hung in the air
I stood slowly.
My legs felt weak.
My chest felt hollow.
But my mind felt clear for the first time all day.
Less than twenty-four hours.
No.
I wouldn’t wait.
If I waited, I might lose my courage.
I walked to the mirror.
My reflection stared back at me, pale, tired, but resolute.
“You can do this,” I told myself.
Even if it breaks you.
I stepped toward the door.
Paused.
My hand hovered over the handle.
If I am able to get them to believe me, then we can get rid of Linda together.
And my child would live.
That’s all that mattered.
I gripped the handle.
Took one steady breath.
And walked out the door, ready to go and tell the boys the truth.
