Warning: This chapter kinda gets dark. Nothing in detail, but still pretty dark. 

Aaron put down his phone, then looked down at his wife who had fallen asleep in his lap. She needed sleep. Last night was the first night she had slept all the way through. And now they knew she needed it more than ever.

He stroked her face and saw her lips curled in a small smile. He felt warm in his gut. He missed these small moments. Her hand was still covering his left hand.

His eyes trailed down to Idina's stomach and his mind began to wander. There was a little being in there that he had helped create. It could not really just go away in a few months, could it? There was no way he would make it that long without getting attached. The urge to place a hand on her abdomen was strong, but he resisted, knowing Idina would not like it.

He was already attached. It was less than twenty-four hours. No wonder Idina had been terrified. It was growing inside her, making her hormones spike. He swore he would not let himself get caught up so that he could be there when Idina needed him. She needed him now, and of what to come would be worse, he needed to be ready for it.

Not to mention he had to wonder what Erika would think. That woman in the restaurant said his opinions might change when he had a child of his own and he was no longer sure she was wrong. He loved Walker fiercely, but he did not feel the same connection with Erika. He knew it would take time, but he already had this instant connection to the fetus in his wife's abdomen. Yet Aaron also knew he loved her. She was smart. She was probably talented if she would search for them or tell anyone what she was good at and passionate about. He just craved a connection and she was not giving him one. It was not just him though. It was the same for Idina.

Aaron would have to make sure Erika knew they still loved her, that they loved her just as much as Walker or any other biological child. It would be hard, but there are so many elements to this. He was surprised he was not throwing up from anxiety.

And Walker... They were not telling him anything yet, but if Idina started showing, he would be smart enough to put two and two together, and he would be devastated when the miscarriage happened.

When. Not if.

They had a doctor's appointment next week. Aaron had already started to plan how he was going to prepare the doctor to make sure that she knew how to talk to Idina, what to expect. He hoped the specialist, her name Felicity Jackson, could do something. Dr. Jackson was not the best money could get; however, she was still incredibly good. Her clinic was located on the same floor like some other clinics and shared a waiting room with a marriage counsellor. They were hoping no one would start rumours about Idina's pregnancy.

Idina was pregnant. He had never said it to himself yet. Now he had. It was strange. He should be excited, instead, he was dreading what would come next.

Idina's phone was face down on the coffee table in front of him. He could see that it was being bombarded with text messages. Her phone had definitely been stressing her out, but Idina was an adult and he was not going to take it away from her. It was probably her agent and manager, trying to convince her to get on another project. They wanted her to ride the Frozen fame as far as she could and were not happy with her taking some time off and writing a new album.

Idina had a few projects that she had been interested in here in Los Angeles, but in recent weeks, she had forgotten about them.

Aaron considered using some choice words to tell them to leave her alone for the time being. He had not bothered to tell them that she was not feeling well in the way he had with others and he knew his Dee would not do it. She always wanted to be the Rockstar superhero and admitting she was sick would tarnish that image.

She was his own personal Rockstar.

They went through each other's phones often, not because they did not trust each other. Just because. It was fun sometimes, Idina sending no context messages to his friends and parents and them laughing themselves sick as she came up with weird and absurd responses to the growing confusion of his friend. Or when Idina had too many messages, especially around her career and her prospect, Aaron would go through them and pick out some fun ones. Or they would just scroll through it when they were bored.

This felt wrong. Maybe because he knew deep down that there was something there Idina did not want him to see. But if it would help him understand what was wrong and how to help, he was willing to take all the blame and cross that bridge when it came. All that mattered right now was helping Idina get better and he could not do that if he did not know what was going on.

He reached over and flipped her cellphone over.

Every few seconds there was a notification from an unknown number, spamming her. He signed into her phone. They knew each other's pins. Neither of them had ever had anything to hide before.

The texts from the unknown number were still coming in. Blocks of text that must have been copy-pasted There was no way they could be typed up in the time it was taking to send them. He clicked on the number and scrolled to the top of the conversation. It started last night after Idina had left the phone downstairs. She must have deleted whatever else there had been before that.

Remember to go shopping.

Murder

Murder

Child killer

Murder

Tens of text calling her a killer. Aaron's blood pressure spiked as it divulged into rants about how terrible of a person Idina was for failing to carry a child full-term five times. Five times. He had thought it had been once or twice, maybe three times. Not five. Why had they continued? It would have been a risk to Idina's health, both physical and mental. She could have died.

Who was this? Who knew this information?

He kept scrolling. He might need a vomit bucket. Whoever this was, they knew exactly what string to pull on to upset Idina. If she were not peacefully asleep in his lap, Aaron would have scooped her up in the biggest teddy bear hug her could muster. They insulted her mothering capabilities, her cooking, her fame, her progress, her voice. Everything. They preyed on every insecurity Idina had ever had,

Aaron doesn't really love you

He's just in it for the money

I bet he abuses Walker

I bet he'll abuse Erika

Leave him.

Those texts were from this morning.

Have you done it yet?

Answer me.

Do you want me to remind you what I'll do if you don't do as I say?

You know what I'm capable of.

Then there were pictures of him, Walker, and Erika, all of them out and about. At school, at his job, Erika studying at the library. No wonder Idina had flipped when he mentioned the bus this morning. Why hadn't she said anything?

Make sure you word it as I say, the messages continued. It proceeded to tell Idina exactly what to say. Things that would have broken Aaron if he would have even thought she would have thought them about him. Stuff about how he made her feel like a terrible human being, made her want to take her own life, made Taye seem like a god in comparison, how she wished she was back with her ex after meeting him.

How long had this been going on for?

He looked down at Idina with tears in his eyes. Why hadn't she told him? They could have worked through this together.

He knew he should not, but he kept reading anyway. Aaron was in too deep to stop now.

Have you told him yet?

Make it believable.

You will hurt him, but not as much as I will.

This can't hurt you as much as I will.

Aaron was starting to feel physically sick. He stroked Idina's arm, hoping the touch would calm him down, but it did not.

If Aaron finds out, I will kill him, and I will make you watch me do it. It will be your fault. And I will do it slowly, painfully. I will take away those he loves first, then I will take him.

That answered his question. He closed his eyes and sniffled, a few tears leaking down his face. Someone was using him against her. He never wanted to be the means by which Idina suffered. And now she was being punished for loving him. If it were not bad enough that he had made her pregnant, he was also the source of constant mental torture for her.

He read the next wall of text. It described, in gory detail, exactly how much worse this could be than heartbreak. It described how whoever was sending the texts would make both her and Aaron watch as they hurt Erika and Walker. It described exactly what they would do to them both. Then it described how they would use Idina to hurt Aaron, and finally how they would kill Aaron slowly while forcing Idina to watch. Then it divulged into a rant about Idina's worthlessness and how lucky the was that this stranger still wanted her alive. It then ranted about how he would force her to be the perfect wife, again picking on every insecurity Idina had.

You don't want that sweet

Break up with him or else

You have till noon

Good luck

That was where the messages ended.

Aaron was shocked. He could not even picture what he just read. Instead, he was picturing Idina reading it and crying as she obsessed over every gory detail in the text wall, how she would be imagining it in vivid detail. How she would be imagining him being tortured to death if she did not follow what was asked of her. How she would have to watch him suffer as he watched Erika and Walker suffer, then as he watched her suffer. His mind was already reeling with that description, how it would feel to watch the stranger do all these things they described to Idina, knowing that he would be subjected to them later to a fatal degree, then how she would be left alone with this madman.

He could not help it anymore. Aaron broke down sobbing.