Ana's POV

Alexander had just left the room after I kicked him out in what had to be the most awkward way possible.

"Okay honey, let's see how the little one is doing."

I lifted my dress so that my belly was exposed and I heard her shocked gasp as she laid eyes on the scars covering my torso and legs. I was glad she didn't comment on them, but I figured she had an idea about why I was here in the first place. She put the cold blue gel on my and then she moved the wand over my stomach. I looked on in awe once the black and white picture of my baby appeared on the screen. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that.

"Okay everything is looking good and right on track. Do you know the sex yet?"

I shook my head.

"The last doctor I went to wasn't able to tell because the baby wasn't positioned correctly."

She moved the wand around some more.

"Well it looks like this little one decided to let its gender be known. Would you like to know what you're having?"

I shook my head. I knew Marisa wanted to plan a gender reveal party and she wanted everyone, me included to be surprised.

"Can you seal the results in an envelope? My friend is planning a gender reveal party and we thought it would be better if everyone, me included, were surprised."

She smiled excitedly at me.

"I love gender reveals. I'll go ahead and seal these up for you."

She printed out the results along with pictures of the baby which she handed to me. She wiped the gel from my belly and began packing up her equipment. She spoke as she packed the last of her things.

"Now, I want to do another check-up next week, you're a little big for Six monthsand I just want to make sure everything is still okay."

"Okay, thank you doctor."

"Anytime Ms. Hills."

She gathered up her things and headed toward the door.

"Have a good day." She called over her shoulder as she closed the door.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and adjusted my dress so that everything was covered. I looked at the sealed envelope in my lap and fiddled with the clasp keeping it sealed. I really wanted to know what I was having but I knew I would be more excited if I got to reveal it in front of everyone and share in their reactions so I put it down next to me and looked at the ultrasound, smiling at the black and white image of my baby. Even though I hadn't gotten pregnant under any good circumstances, I was excited to be a mother because I knew that I would be a better mother to my child than mine ever was to me.

"Anastasia."

I jumped at the sound of my name and my eyes were met with the sight of Alexander standing at the foot of my bed.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to scare you, I knocked but you didn't answer."

"O-oh no, it's okay I guess I wasn't paying attention."

An awkward silence filled the room and I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"D-did you need something?"

He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I just wanted to see how everything went, did you like Dr. Laws?"

I was kind of surprised that he cared about how my appointment went considering that after my first two days and this morning we hadn't spoken or even seen each other, I didn't think he even remembered that I was here half the time.

"Oh, well everything went fine, Dr. Laws wants to come back next week though."

His eyebrows creased in confusion and a slight frown cracked his ever impassive expression.

"Why? Cameron told me your appointments would only be once a month."

"She said I was a little big for seven months, she just wants to make sure everything is still okay."

"Oh, okay."

I saw his eyes land on the pictures clutched in my hands and he walked closer until he was right next to me.

"What's that?" he asked motioning to the photos.

I held them out to him and he took them from me.

"It's a picture of the ultrasound. This is the baby's head." I pointed out where the head was.

"and these are the arms and the feet are down here."

I found myself getting excited as I explained the picture to him and I was almost giddy at this point.

"He's pretty much done growing, his lungs just need more time to develop."

"He?"

I looked up at him, a smile on my face.

"Well, I'm not sure yet but I have a feeling."

I turned and picked up the sealed envelope.

"I asked the doctor to seal the gender results because Marisa wanted to plan a gender reveal for me and she thought it would be good if I were surprised."

I got nervous at the mention of the party I knew Marisa was excited to plan.

"But if you won't allow it since I can't leave the house that's okay, I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am."

"You're right."

My heart sunk at his words, but not so much because I couldn't have my party but because he thought I was a burden. I didn't want to be such a burden but I needed my baby to be safe.

"You can't leave the house so you can have your party here."

My heart lifted slightly at his words and my smile returned to my face.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"I know you don't like being stuck in here all day with just guards as company so I'll allow this, I'm sure you want to see your friends."

"Thank you so much Mr. Rush!"

He chuckled lowly.

"Call me Alex."

"Thank you...Alex."

I liked the sound of his name.

He smiled at me, a real smile this time and I couldn't do anything but stare at his handsome face. My eyes focused on his lips and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss them.

Wait what?

I didn't know what had come over me, I knew that he would never want to be with me that way. Even if he did feel an ounce of attraction towards me I knew that he wouldn't want to deal with a baby that wasn't his.

The sound of his phone buzzing brought me out of my thoughts and he tore his eyes away from mine to glance at the screen.

"I'm coming."

He hung up the phone and his eyes once again found mine.

"I'm sorry I have to go handle something, Nate and Jacob are right outside and I've hired some men to walk the perimeter of the house so don't be alarmed if you see them, they know who you are so they won't hurt you."

I nodded and he gave me a small smile and left the room.

**

About an hour or so had passed since Alex left and I could feel the now familiar hunger and craving for chocolate approaching. I used my chair set up to ease my way of the bed and I padded to my door and opened it and was greeted with the sight of Nate and Jacob standing on either side of the door as usual.

"Hi guys, I'm getting a snack would you like me to whip something up for you?" I asked as we headed towards the stairs.

"I'll take some unless it's one of your weird craving combinations again."

I laughed quietly thinking back to a few days ago when I was craving pickles and peanut butter. Jacob tried some and ended up spending the rest of the day running to the bathroom to empty his stomach.

"Nothing strange today. I promise, just some of that chocolate cake I made yesterday."

"Oh, then I'll have a few slices then."

I laughed as I held onto Nate's arm as he helped me down the stairs. As we reached the bottom Nate's phone rang. He was on it for a few moments before he hung up and turned to me.

"We're going to have to take a rain check on that cake Ana, the boss man just called and he needs us to check up on something, will you be okay alone for about a half hour? You'll have to stay in either the kitchen or the living room okay?"

"Okay guys I'll have your cake waiting, do you think the other men would like a snack?"

Both men sent kind smiles my way.

"I'll ask them, I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

I made my way into the kitchen and started putting fresh baked cookies into plastic baggies so that I could take them to the men patrolling along with bottles of water for them. Once I finished that I cut myself a large slice of the double chocolate fudge cake and decided to eat it in the living room. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me so the loud booming voice had me jumping a foot in the air and caused me to drop my cake all over myself and then the pristine white carpet.

"Who the fuck are you?"

I looked up at an older version of Alex and he did not look happy to see me.

"Are you deaf girl answer me!"

My eyes widened even more.

"I-I'm Ana."

"Are you another one of my sons whores, I see he knocked you up, how careless of him."

"No, i-"

"I didn't give you permission to speak."

I felt my eyes water at the all too familiar words uttered by my protector's father.

"Look at this mess you made, clean it up."

I turned to go to the kitchen, fighting back tears but his voice stopped me.

"I didn't tell you to go anywhere."

I turned back around to face the devil in an Armani suit.

"I've changed my mind, don't worry about the mess. Get out."

I looked up at him in shock, my mouth hung open.

"W-what?"

"Are you stupid girl? I said to get out."

"B-but I'm not allowed to leave the house."

"Says who?'

"A-Alex."

He walked closer to me and didn't stop until he was an inch away from my face and his big hand grabbed my jaw and squeezed until I whimpered in pain. The tears that I had been holding back since I ran into him finally spilled over and I let out a strangled sob as he squeezed my face tighter.

"Now you will do best to listen to me whore, I dot give a damn what my idiot disgrace of a son told you I said to get the fuck out and go back to whatever godforsaken slum you came from and if you decide to disobey me I swear to you that baby is going straight into a foster home. Understood?"

I only looked at him, tears streaming down my face. He gripped my jaw tighter and I knew that bruises would form.

"Answer me!"

Talk about déjà vu.

"Y-yes." I sobbed out.

He roughly released my face and grabbed me by the arm and all but dragged me to the front door where he wasted no time in opening the door and literally tossing me out onto the porch where luckily, I landed on my hands and knees. I heard the door slam behind me and the deadbolt turning. I was locked out.

I pulled myself up from the ground and winced when my bare feet made contact with a stray piece of gravel. I slowly made my way down the stairs and winced when the sharp edges of the gravel that made up the entirety of the driveway dug into my feet. I didn't have any other choice but to bear with the pain because I needed to get as far away from this place as fast as possible. I wasn't sure where I was headed, I was on the side of town reserved for the insanely rich and I knew that was about an hour outside of the city. That's where Marisa lived I knew I could go to her apartment but I wasn't sure if I could walk that far especially with no shoes. But I couldn't go back there so I had to try.

**

I had been walking for what felt like hours and I knew it had been because it was getting dark out and it was starting to get chilly out. I wrapped my arms in a failed attempt to warm myself up. I was exhausted and I was nowhere near the city and the pain in my feet, legs, and back was becoming unbearable but I knew I couldn't stop on the side of the road.

I walked for another half hour or so before I stopped, I couldn't walk any farther I was in too much pain and my feet had started to bleed. I was beyond frustrated and as if the weather felt my sour mood, rain began to fall from the sky and it wasn't long until the drops turned into a torrential thunderstorm equipped with strong wind that had me shivering violently. Throwing any caution to the wind I maneuvered my way to the ground, took a deep breath, and screamed. I screamed until my throat was raw and those screams soon died down into pitiful, body wracking sobs.  I didn't understand what I had done so wrong that I deserved this life. Why did my mom do what she did? Why did I ever have to meet John? But the question that I wanted answered the most rang louder in my head than all the others. Why did my dad have to die? He was the one that had always held everything together and when he died, it all fell apart.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the car stop on the opposite side of the road nor did I hear a familiar voice frantically yelling my name, I didn't notice much of anything until I felt rough hands on my shoulders.

Alex's POV

'I don't pay you people to think I pay you to do your goddamn jobs."

I was sick and tired of being called in to fix simple mistakes. I checked the time on my watch and sighed, I'd been here for hours and even though I hated to admit it I found myself eager to get back to Ana. There was something about seeing her so excited while she explained her ultrasound and talked about her gender reveal that warmed my heart. Even though I hadn't known her long and I tried my hardest to avoid her for the last month, I found myself gaining some kind of attraction towards her. I always had an eye on her and frequently texted Nate and Jacob for updates on her. I also had cameras placed throughout the house that I found myself frequently checking to see what she was up to. She was almost always in the kitchen cooking for her guards and even me. I'd picked up on some of her quirks and I found myself smiling at them.

I thought back to how poorly I had treated her first few days here and the guilt had been eating at me since then so I'd taken the liberty of going to the furniture store and picking out some baby furniture that I thought she may like as an apology. I was going to show her today and I had called Nate and Jacob to keep her away from the back of the house where I'd told the delivery truck to drop everything off. I was snapped out of my thoughts when my phone buzzed. I checked the caller ID and saw that it was Nate.

"Did you set everything up?"

"She's gone!" His voice was frantic and I heard shouting in the background.

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone?!"

All talking in the meeting room halted at my outburst and all eyes were on me.

"We left her in the kitchen and when we came back she wasn't there so we checked the living room and the only thing there was her cake but it was on the floor like she dropped it or something."

"Did you check the security cameras?"

"Yeah, but the last twelve hours have been erased I have men turning this place upside down but she's nowhere to be found."

I stood up and grabbed my jacket to hell with this meeting, my girl was missing and I was going to get her back.

"I'm on my way I want men all over the neighborhood, she's pregnant so if she's on foot she couldn't have gotten too far."

I ran down to the parking garage, jumped into my car, and sped off to my mansion.

It was storming out so I wasn't able to drive as fast as I wanted to but I was quickly slamming on my brakes about three miles outside the city. My headlights landed on a hunched over figure siting on the side of the road and my heart sped up when a familiar dress stood out to me. It was her. I rolled down my window and yelled her name several times with no response. I quickly jumped out of my car and over to her hunched over form and once I got close enough I would hear her heart wrenching sobs and her hands were covering her belly protectively. She still hadn't noticed me approaching her so I reached out and placed my hands on her shoulders she swung around and with more force than I thought she could possess, she punched me in the face. Her movements were frantic, so I knew she had only done it in self-defense, but even then, she didn't stop her panicked motions.

"Ana stop it, it's me!"

"Get away from me!"

I grabbed her hands and pinned them between us. Even though she was no longer swinging at me I could tell she still wasn't fully aware what was going on around her.

"Ana please we need to get out of this rain."

At my plea her eyes seemed to focus on mine and realization dawned on her.

"Alex?"

Her voice was full of fear, but I could tell it wasn't at me.

"Yeah, it's me, I'm here."

She let out a relieved sob and launched herself at me and she hugged me as close as her belly would allow. I wrapped my arms gently around her still sitting form.

"Ana, come on sweetheart, I need to get you out of this rain I don't want you to get sick."

She pulled away and sniffled.

"I-I can't."

I looked at her worried.

"Why not, what's wrong?"

She motioned down to her feet which were bare and bloody. Good God why didn't she have on any shoes?

"I'm carrying you, wrap your arms around my neck."

She put her arm around my neck and I gently picked her up but I froze when she let out a little whine.

"What's wrong?"

I knew I should just get her to the car since she was shivering, but I didn't want to hurt her either.

"M-my back h-hurts."

I nodded and tried to put less pressure on her back but she still let out a whine of pain, I ignored it this time and quickly crossed the road to my car. I opened the car door and gently placed her on the seat and made sure to buckle her seatbelt. I closed her door and ran around to my side. Once I was in I cranked the heat up to high. I started heading back to the mansion but Ana's small voice stopped me.

"Alex, can we go somewhere else I don't want to go back there."

I nodded. I should have thought of that she must have run away for a reason and we were closer to the penthouse anyway. I turned the car back around and sped to the city.

We reached the building in no time and I pulled up to the valet. I jumped out and ran around the side and gently grabbed Ana from her seat. As I walked through the lobby I felt eyes on us and I was sure Ana did too because she squeezed me a little tighter and hid her face in my neck. I did what I always did and ignored everyone as I walked to my private elevator which opened immediately for me. The elevator swept us to the penthouse and opened up into my place. I walked straight to my bedroom and gently laid Ana on the bed. I rushed into the bathroom and grabbed us both towels, stopping along the way to get her one of my shirts and a pair of sweats to change into.

When I got back to her she was staring off into space, her hands rubbing over her stomach, I'd learned that it was a way she comforted herself. I walked over to her and gently began to dry her off. The entire time she didn't move a millimeter and it was worrying me.

"Ana, you should change out of those wet clothes."

She didn't even turn her head to acknowledge me so I tried again gently shaking her this time.

"Ana come on sweetheart you need to change or you'll get sick."

Again, nothing.

"Ana, either you change your clothes or I will."

I would have had better luck with a brick wall at this point. I sighed, I was going to have to do this. I reached out to her slowly, ready to jump back just in case she decided to punch me again, she'd busted my lip already and I wasn't prepared for a black eye. She didn't move when I grasped the straps on her dress or when I pushed them down. She kept still the entire time and once her dress was off I tried not to really look at her but I needed to make sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere other than her feet. I gasped as my eyes landed on her swollen belly. It was covered in scars some short and thin but two long, thick scars caught my attention. I reached out to touch one and when she didn't protest, I ran my finger down one.

"Who did this to you?"

I looked up at her and her hazel eyes clashed with my blue and a single tear fell down her cheek.

"A monster."

Her voice was barely a whisper but I heard her answer loud and clear and I couldn't agree more, only a monster would do this.

"Come on, let's get you dressed."

We were silent as I dressed her in my clothes and once she was covered I pulled the comforter over her with the hopes that it would stop her shivering. When she was settled I went into the bathroom and changed into a tank top and sweats. When I walked back into the room Ana's eyes were closed I figured she would be exhausted after the day she'd had. As quickly and gently as I could, I cleaned and bandaged up the cuts on her feet and made a mental note to call the doctor tomorrow. The blankets were pooled at her waist so I walked over and pulled them up over her shoulders and turned to leave.

"Alex."

I quickly turned back around, afraid that something was hurting her. Her eyes were watery and I could see the fear in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"C-can you stay with me?"

I knew she was afraid and I was glad she wanted me to stay because I actually wanted to.

"Sure, I'll stay."

I walked over to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to her under the blankets. She watched my every move and once I was settled I opened my arms to her, inviting her to come closer. She hesitated at first but she ultimately gave in and moved to the middle of the bed where I was. She laid her head on my chest and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Thank you Alex."

"You're welcome Ana."

Before I realized what I was doing I placed a kiss on her forehead and we both sighed in content.

Her breathing slowed and I knew she was fast asleep. Soon after I heard the elevator ding and I knew Nate and Jacob had arrived and they weren't quiet about it either. The two idiots noisily made their way to my room, yelling Ana's name. I placed my hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

"Ana, Ana!"

"Will you two shut the fuck up before you wake her up."

They both stopped dead in their tracks, shock written across their face, mouths open.

"What's going on here?" Nate asked.

"Yeah what's this all about?" Jacob aske motioning to me and Ana's current position. I sighed.

"She was too afraid to sleep alone. I don't know what made her run away, but she's terrified. I found her on the side of the road crying."

"Is she hurt?"

"She didn't have any shoes on so her feet are cut up and she says her back is hurting."

"I don't know how she slipped past us, I know we were setting up the baby stuff but still."

"It's fine but I want that stuff moved here by tomorrow morning, she's going to need some cheering up."

"You love her." Nate spoke.

"What no I don't."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not lying. I feel something for her I admit but it isn't love."

And I was telling the honest truth, I did have feelings for the tiny woman in my arms.

"You don't care that she's pregnant?"

I'd thought about it quite often. If we did workout could I raise another man's baby as my own? The answer to that every time was the same thing, yes.

"Not even a little bit, if she feels the same way and everything works out, I'll love her child as if it was my own."

And in that moment I spoke noting but the truth.