Free Web NovelChapter 120: Chapter 120 Stolen Messages
Bella’s POV
The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them. "Yes, it’s all true. That night, after I spoke with you three, I returned home to find the doctor had already contacted my family. Camilla had poisoned them against me, filling their ears with lies. They were furious beyond reason. I won’t blame her for everything, but she was there when they started their verbal assault. They actually threatened to murder my unborn child."
My chest tightened as I forced myself to continue. The memory still burned like acid in my throat. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"But something changed in me that night. For the first time, I found the courage to defend myself and my baby. That’s when I fled to my bedroom." I paused, watching Hugo’s face contort with what looked like physical pain.
"Then what happened?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his hands pressed together so tightly his knuckles had turned white. He couldn’t even look at me.
"I could hear their footsteps in the hallway, but none of them dared enter my room," I said quietly.
Hugo’s head jerked up, his eyes locking with mine. There was no doubt there, no skepticism. Just raw anguish that somehow gave me the strength to push forward.
"I heard my stepmother plotting with the others." The words felt like broken glass in my mouth.
"What kind of plot?" He leaned back against the wall, eyes squeezed shut as if preparing for a blow.
"They were going to wait until everyone left for Alpha Jack’s birthday celebration. When the entire Omega district was empty and deserted, they planned to push me down the stairs." My voice shattered on the last words, and his eyes flew open in horror.
"They wanted to kill my baby. By the time the council arrived to investigate, there would be no pregnancy to protect. No evidence of their crime."
Hugo sat frozen, his face drained of all color. But the intensity burning in his eyes made every nerve in my body stand on edge.
"How did you—how did you escape?" His voice cracked with emotion I couldn’t quite identify. Compassion, yes, but something darker lurked beneath it. Guilt, perhaps.
"I climbed out my bedroom window," I whispered. "Then I made my way to the shipping docks where they load cargo for transport. The workers there don’t check for wolf scents on people like me."
I met his stare directly. "I suppose I blended in with all the other unwanted things being shipped away."
The silence stretched between us before I found my voice again. "Now explain to me what you meant about exchanging text messages."
"We did text that night. After you left the meeting, I sent you several messages. You read them and responded. I told you about my plan, everything I was thinking."
His voice had gone soft and distant, his gaze fixed on the storm raging outside the windows.
The wind was howling now, but the real tempest was building inside this room.
"I don’t understand. You rejected me and the baby in front of everyone, so why would you text me privately? What kind of sick game were you playing?"
That got his attention. His head snapped toward me, eyes blazing.
"I wasn’t playing any games with you," he snarled.
"Then why didn’t you speak up when I told you about the pregnancy in front of the others?" The bitterness in my voice surprised even me. "Why didn’t you defend me before they could take you away from me again?"
He started to respond quickly, but then his last word seemed to hit him like a physical blow.
"What do you mean ’again’?" His lips barely moved as he formed the question.
Before I could answer, the door exploded inward. Both of us whipped around to face the intruder.
Derek stood in the doorway like an avenging angel, his face twisted with rage.
"What the hell is happening here?" His voice cut through the room as he looked between Hugo and me, as if we were children caught misbehaving.
"Don’t you dare burst into my room and interrogate me like you have some kind of authority over me, Derek," Hugo’s voice was deadly quiet.
I guessed the anger from learning the truth was finally spilling over, and I could feel it building in myself as well. I rose to my feet, squaring my shoulders to face Derek head-on.
"Did you tell him everything? Did you run crying to him about our conversation?"
Derek took several aggressive steps toward me, but I thrust my palm up, stopping him cold.
"Even if I did, what makes you think you have any right to question me about it?" My words were ice-cold.
Derek spun toward Hugo instead, his eyes landing on the phone in his friend’s hands.
"What is that?" In one swift motion, Derek lunged for the device, clearly aiming for the text conversation visible on the screen.
He only caught a glimpse before Hugo yanked it away, but it was enough.
Despite wanting to confront Derek about his intrusion, Hugo still looked shattered from the revelations about my past. The knowledge that I hadn’t been the one sending those messages was eating him alive.
Those texts haunted me too. The cruel, heartless words sent under my name were burned into my memory.
"So you’re both just sitting here wallowing in ancient history. Why?" Derek’s voice dripped with contempt. "Did you come running to him for sympathy, hoping he’d take your side?"
His arrogance made my blood boil.
"No, Derek. You’re the one who started this mess. The fact that you can stand there questioning me after everything you’ve done makes me wonder if I ever knew you at all."
I watched realization dawn on his face as he began to understand how badly he’d damaged our relationship.
"I see what’s happening here. You’re only focusing on my anger instead of recognizing the love behind it. If you could see how much I care for you, you wouldn’t be so furious with me."
"Stop right there." Hugo finally found his voice, stepping between Derek and me. "You cannot demand that she divorce her husband and marry you when she’s made it clear she doesn’t want that. Especially when you already have a wife."
The storm outside seemed to pause, waiting for the explosion that was surely coming.
