*Mentions of rape aftermath/abuse toward the end* (TW= trigger warning)

Ana's POV

Alex locked himself in his office three days ago and I hadn't seen him since.

I wasn't sure if it was somehow my fault, maybe he was upset with me for causing a rift between him and his sister, or because his mother had been upset with him initially. If I went on previous experiences with him not liking something that I had done though, I know that he would have told me exactly what he felt I did wrong with no issue. My attempts at communicating with him went ignored and I would be lying if I said that his behavior didn't hurt me. I thought we'd formed a tentative friendship or an acquaintanceship at the very least, but it seemed as if we were back at square one with our "relationship", if it could even be called that. I'd even asked Jacob and Nate if they knew why he was ignoring me, they claimed that they didn't know, but that he was incredibly busy right now, so I shouldn't worry. So, I went along with what they said and kept myself busy around the house, and for the next week, that worked for me.

Until it didn't.

It was a Tuesday. I was flipping through channels on the TV, attempting, and failing, to find something to watch. I ended up settling on a talk show before I got to my feet and made my way to the kitchen for a glass of water, thinking about what I wanted to make for dinner. I'd filled the glass with water and decided on ordering in tonight as I walked back to the living room when I heard an awfully familiar voice come from the TV, it turned out to be Clara, Alex's sister that clearly didn't like me. I admit that I was curious to know why she was on a show whose topic, according to the banner at the bottom of the screen, was toxic relationships. The interview had just begun, and I found myself actually being interested in what she had to say so I made myself comfortable on the couch and gave the show my undivided attention.

"So, Clara, I'm glad you were able to talk with us today, it's a real pleasure to have you here!'

She laughed lightly.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this interview for anything, I've so much to talk about, especially on a subject like this."

The interviewer gave a camera-ready smile and raised her question cards up to and began to read.

"So, Clara, I guess we should start off with you talking about your experience with toxic relationships. You're usually very private about your personal life, so I'm sure everyone watching is curious."

She cleared her throat.

"Well, it isn't my relationship that's toxic, it's my brother, Alexander's relationship."

The host leaned forward, intrigued.

"He's met this woman, she's quite the slippery little snake, I'll tell you that much. She's manipulated my brother into thinking she's such an innocent soul, if I hadn't her manipulate him with my own eyes just last week, I probably would have fallen for it too. You see she's admitted to being married to another man already, with no potential divorce in sight, I think that it's some plan to use my brother for his money to raise her child with."

The hosts' eyes almost popped out of her sockets at that.

Oh God. Oh my God. She wouldn't do this. Would she? To her own brother?

"Yes, I was just as shocked too when I saw. She's heavily pregnant too, maybe eight months or so."

"Is this your brother's child?"

Clara sighed deeply, in false sympathy for her brother.

"I'm afraid not, she's concocted some story to get sympathy, pity from him and anyone who will listen. She's managed to fool my mother, siblings, and two close family friends with some story she made up. She's claiming that her husband was an abusive man, claimed that he'd done monstrous things to her over the years that they had been married. I asked her then, why she would sleep with an abusive man and get pregnant by said abusive man, and she wasn't able to answer me. She resorted to tears when she'd realized that I poked a hole in her story, and they were effective on everyone but me."

I was starting to hyperventilate, finding it difficult to get air into my lungs. She wouldn't. She wouldn't do what I think she was about to do. But she did and it was much, much worse than o could imagine.

"I came and told my brother's story because, I just want the men out there to know that this manipulative woman should be avoided at all costs because despite what my brother claimed to a close friend, he will not be a father to a bastard child. So, I've provided a photo to the show and here's her name, though she may decide to change it."

A photo of me taken from Marisa's social media of the night we went to dinner not long after I escaped popped up on the screen.

"Her name is Anastasia Hills, gentlemen beware."

I forgot to breathe. The glass that was clutched tightly in my hands slipped from my suddenly loose grasp; I didn't even hear it once it shattered on the floor. I didn't hear the voices calling my name, trying to get my attention, nor did I notice the fuzziness that the world around me had taken on. There was only one thing on my mind, only one thing that truly mattered.

He'd find me, and when he did, he'd kill me.

Then, all I knew was darkness.

Alex's POV

"I can't believe she would do something like that."

Nate snorted.

"I would. Your sister has always been a raging bitch, causing trouble where there was none. She went too far this time, she put a woman's life in more danger than it already is. Shit, she almost put her in early labor for crying out loud."

A vicious banging on my front door brought everyone's attention away from the topic at hand and as Jacob opened the door and an upset Cameron and Marisa burst through, I knew that this was going to get much worse.

"What the fuck was that? I trusted you to keep her safe and away from that bastard and now because of your fucking sister, Ana's face is on every gossip rag out there with a huge fucking arrow pointing at your damn penthouse. He can find her with no problem now and I blame you for this shit! I don't know why I thought I could trust you with this, even after what happened with your father, but you still let outsiders into a place where she was meant to be safe, you only give a shit about yourself Alex!"

My blood boiled. I could take insults without flinching, but Cameron saying that I didn't care about Ana and that I'd intentionally put her life in danger was too far.

"I didn't invite my father into my home, you know damn well that I would never do anything like that."

"Then how the hell did he find her? How did he know that she would be there?"

"If I fucking knew the answer to that, it would have already been dealt with. Despite what you or anyone else may think, I do care about her and the safety of her and her baby."

He scoffed.

"If you care about her so much then why have you been treating her like shit for the last week?"

I looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, they guys let her use the phone every now and then. She called two days ago in tears because she was afraid that she'd done something to piss you off. Said you hadn't made any contact with her for almost two weeks. Now, I don't know if that's how you show that you give a shit about somebody, but that's a pretty fucked up way to go about it."

"I've been busy. I need to find my father so that he can pay for what he did to her and her husband is still dodging the tails I put on him, this is me doing what you asked me to do and looking out for her, keeping her safe. So, don't judge me for doing whatever I can to keep her out of harm's way."

Maris, who was unusually quiet, raised a hand to silence whatever Cameron was gearing up to say.

"You really do care for her?"

"I do."

"Then show her. Ana has had a life of people saying one thing and then doing another. If you really care for her you need to tell her, but only if you're a hundred percent sure that you're willing to deal with all of her issues, everything that comes with her, baby included. Are you ready for that?"

Although my feelings for Anastasia were fresh to say the least, I was sure that I was in this for the long haul, so long as she would have me after the utter disaster that my family had caused in such a short period of time.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"As much as I hate to say it, I think you'll be good for her, so take care of my best friend, I don't think she can take any more heart break."

"You have my word."

She inclined her head at me in acknowledgment before she turned to Cameron.

"Apologize."

"What?!" he spluttered.

"I said to apologize to him. You and I both know that underneath that pain in the ass façade that he's a good man that would never go back on his word. I can't stand him, and I can acknowledge that, so apologize to him, none of this was his fault."

I never thought the day would come that Marisa would ever defend me, let alone give me permission to pursue the best friend that she was so fiercely protective of and I guess Cameron came to the same realization because he reluctantly held out a hand.

"I'm sorry."

We shook hands, all the necessary words passed through the simple gesture.

"It's okay."

The soft voice of Dr. Laws entering the room drew everyone's attention to her.

"She's awake, she and the baby are fine but for the love of God, try to keep her in a stress-free environment. One more episode like this could put her into early labor, even though the baby can survive on its own outside the womb, I'd like them to wait another month before they make an appearance."

"Yes ma'am."

She nodded sharply.

"Good, you can go and see her, seems like she'd enjoy a friendly face right now."

I looked toward Marisa and Cameron.

"You tow should go see her, I'm sure she'd enjoy seeing you two."

**

Three hours had passed before Marisa and Cameron emerged from Ana's room.

"How is she?"

Marisa snorted.

"If you're done being busy, you should go see for yourself. She's asked for you."

My head snapped up.

"She did?"

She rolled her eyes as she replied.

"Yes, I literally just said that, now go see her before she gets up to find you herself."

I was up and at the door of her room in no time.

She was sitting propped up against the headboard when I walked into the room. She looked tired, sickly almost.

"Hey."

Hey? Is that really all you have to say after all this time, dumbass.

She smiled softly at me.

"Hi."

I cleared my throat as I walked deeper into the room until I was at her bedside.

"How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head.

"No, I'm okay. How have you been?"

God, this conversation was painfully awkward.

"I owe you an apology Anastasia. I haven't been treating you right the last week or so, so I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been ignoring you, especially after what happened with my father. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment."

She cocked her head to the side, as if she was thinking through her words before she spoke.

"Do you want to make it up to me?"

I almost tripped over myself to kneel at her bedside.

"Yes, what do you need?"

She licked her lips and hesitated slightly before she spoke.

"I want to divorce him. I need you to help me get a divorce, I don't want to be tied to him anymore."

That wasn't something that I'd ever thought about. I mean now that it was presented to me, it made sense. She was still tied to him legally which I ultimately knew meant that he had some kind of say so over her child.

"I'll take care of it; I just want you to know that there's a strong possibility that this could turn into a full-fledged trial."

"Why? Can't I just sign some papers and have it be over with?"

I wish, for her, that things would be that easy.

"I don't take him as the kind of man that will agree to you divorcing him quietly. I have to talk to my lawyers but there's a chance that you'll have to recount what's happed, what he did to you."

She looked down to where her hands were resting on her stomach.

"Do you think I should do it? Press charges when I speak to your lawyers?"

"I think that it's a way to keep your baby safe. If you divorce on grounds of domestic violence and abuse, then you'll have to prove that it happened but there's a better chance that you'll be able to keep your baby away from him. On the other hand, if you divorce because of irreconcilable differences for example, there's a high chance that he'll get joint custody."

"Then I'll come clean about the abuse if that'll keep him away from my child, it's the only way so I'll do it. I can get it too, evidence I mean."

She raised her loose top so that the scars stretching the length of her stomach were full on display and gently ran a finger down the thickest of them.

"More than just these, I have actual pictures, some that Marisa took the night I escaped and I can get my hands on a lot more, all the way back to when I was sixteen."

"I can get the ones from Marisa but what about the rest? Do you know where they are?"

She pulled her shirt back down and started to rub her distended belly in wide circles, calming herself.

"He emailed them to himself, I can give you the username and password, I'm sure they'll work."

I was lost.

"Why would he have pictures?"

She hadn't made eye contact with me the entire time I had been in the room but now she'd gone from looking in my general direction to staring resolutely at her hands.

"He- he liked to take pictures. After he hurt me. He'd make me lay there, if I was still conscious while he took pictures of me. One day I let him think that I was unconscious, he'd let me be if I wasn't awake. I heard him taking pictures of me and once he was done, I heard him talking to someone about emailing the pictures and uploading them. He told them the log in information for it and I remembered it, it never changed."

This man was more than sick, more sick than I thought anyone capable of being.

"Here, I've written it down."

She waved a sheet of paper in my face.

"Is it okay if I look?"

The question even sounded strange to my ears. I could live without seeing the woman that I had growing feelings for in constant pain, but I knew that I had to at least make sure that they were there.

She only looked at me with watery eyes and a distressed look as she held out a shaking hand to me. I took her smaller hand into both of mine and tried to ignore how quick her pulse raced under my fingertips.

"Only if you promise to not look at me differently afterward."

"I promise."

**

**TW**

It was hours after I made sure Anastasia was asleep before I locked myself into my office to look into whatever this email account contained. I don't think nervous was quite what I was feeling, there was something more that I felt but I couldn't put a finger on it. I didn't know what I was about to witness but as I typed in the information and opened a file marked with Ana's name, I only felt sick. There were nearly ten thousand photos of Ana in the file. Most of them were of her bruised and bloodied face, some were gruesome, showing deep cuts mostly those that crossed her stomach. God there was so much blood, she was laying in puddles of it. I felt myself getting nauseous at the idea that she'd gone through all of this alone, that someone would torture someone like this with no remorse.

I noticed another file with Ana's name and a simple smiley face next to it and I was filled with dread. The images hadn't even finished loading before I was hunched over the trashcan, heaving up everything I'd eaten that day.

This was sick, this was vile, evil. I'd never seen it before, but I knew that these were the aftermath of her being raped, she was naked and curled in on herself, no she was curled around something. Her stomach, her very pregnant stomach. Jesus Christ.

That night as I laid in bed, unable to sleep, the last image of Ana was burned into my brain. The fear in her eyes was haunting, it was the fear of a young girl stuck in a disturbing situation with no way out, trying to protect the one thing that she had. An unborn child. I realized that the look of fear I saw on her past self was similar to what I saw now. She was a woman fearing for the life of her child once again.

I'll make damn sure she never fears for her child's life again.