The Billionaire Alpha’s Forbidden Romance

Dangerous Times!

* Claire's POV *

There were very few moments in life which could shock me to silence. I couldn’t even remember a time when I was so shocked that I couldn’t bring myself to breathe. But hearing this, looking down at the swell of her belly and knowing that William’s child is actually inside her right now, it was too much to bear.

I stood there, staring at Gina in disbelief. My mind was racing as I tried to make sense of what she had just told me. "What do you mean, you're pregnant with William's child?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Gina's eyes filled with tears as she looked at me. "I realise I should have told you this sooner," she said, her voice breaking. “To be completely honest, I knew about it even before you got married to him. But I just didn’t know how to come out and tell you about it. To be honest, I wasn’t even planning on telling either of you. I would have kept silent and raised the child silently on my own. But I’m desperate, and I feel like William deserves to know. You deserve to know as well, Claire.”

I felt like the ground was shifting beneath my feet. William and I had only been married for a few months and now this? How could this be happening? I loved William, I trusted him, but now that trust was shattered. Could it be possible that he cheated on me with Gina?

No, surely not. I knew for a fact that William loved me, and he would never betray me like this. If she was pregnant, then it had to be from a long time ago, way before we were even together.

I tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like my chest was tight. "How did this happen?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Gina looked down at her feet, avoiding my gaze. "I don't know. It just did," she said softly.

I felt anger rising within me. "How could you keep this from me? From us?" I asked, my voice growing louder. “You’ve been carrying his child this entire time and you never said anything. Who does that? Didn’t you think it was right to let him know the truth? To let him know that he is going to be a father?”

Gina stared at me for a long time before she broke down in tears. I felt bad for making her cry, but I was also confused and hurt and I didn’t know what to do. The thought of William having a child with someone else felt like a dagger had been stabbed straight through my chest. I didn’t want to think about it, or even imagine what the child would look like. Not to mention the fact that, knowing the type of person he was, William would never allow Gina to raise the child on her own. He would want to have the child close to him, and I could imagine him saying Gina should live with us again. How could I live with that? How could I live under the same roof with the woman he used to be in love with?

I didn't know what to do. I loved William, but how could I move past this? How could I raise another woman's child as my own? I didn't know if I was strong enough for that. The thought of it made me feel sick to my stomach.

I took a step back from Gina, my mind still racing. "I need some time to think about this," I said, my voice shaking.

Gina nodded, wiping the tears from her face. "I understand. I'm so sorry, Claire. I never meant for this to happen," she repeated. “When I found out about the pregnancy, I wanted to throw myself off the roof of the tallest building I could find. I thought about aborting it, but I just couldn’t go through with it. I don’t know why I’m unable to do it, but I just couldn’t find the strength to do it. I would do anything to make it such that this never happened, but there’s no going back now. Like I said, I wouldn’t even have told any of you about it. I wanted to keep this to myself, but I’ve been forced to reveal the truth to you. It’s the only way to make sure that this child will live.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, and turned back to face Gina. "When did you find out that you were pregnant?" I asked, my voice still shaking.

"I found out a few months ago," she replied, her eyes downcast.

"And what do you plan to do?" I asked, holding my breath.

She looked up at me, her eyes filling with tears once again. "I want to keep the baby, Claire," she said, her voice breaking.

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I had never thought that this could be a possibility. I had never thought that Gina would want to keep the baby and raise it as her own. I was struggling to grasp the reality of what was happening.

"William will be devastated by this news" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know how he’s going to take it, but I know he’ll be furious. Mostly because you thought it was right to keep something like this from him.”

"That’s why I came to you first," Gina replied, looking down at her feet once again. “I don’t know how he’ll react when I tell him, so I thought it would be best if you knew about it first. Maybe that would somehow make it better.”

I took a step back, feeling overwhelmed. This was a lot to take in, and I didn't know how to process it all. I didn't know how I felt about the fact that Gina wanted to keep the baby and raise it as her own. I had thought that this was going to be a difficult situation, but now it felt like it was spiraling out of control.

"How could you keep this a secret from him?" I asked again, my voice rising. "How could you hide something like this from the father of the baby?"

"I was scared," Gina said, her voice trembling. "I didn't know how he was going to react. I didn't know what he was going to do."

"What about me?" I asked, my voice shaking. "How could you keep this a secret from me?"

"I was scared," Gina repeated. "I didn't know how you were going to react. I didn't know what you were going to do."

I felt anger rising within me. How could she have kept something like this a secret from me? How could she have hidden something so important to herself? What if someone found out before him? They could use that information against him, and who knew the extent they would go to just to make sure that they made him suffer? These were dangerous times we were living in, and William already had a massive target on his back. This would only complicate things even further for him.

"I need some time to think about all of this," I said, my voice shaking.

Gina nodded, understanding. "I'm so sorry, Claire. I never meant for any of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt either of you," she said once again, her voice choked with sobs.

"There's one more thing," she said, looking up at me. "I need some money to take care of myself and the baby."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling confused.

"I can't support us on my own," Gina said, her voice trembling. "I need help."

"What kind of help?" I asked, feeling a knot form in my stomach.

"I want you to ask William for some money," she said, her eyes pleading. "He's a billionaire, Claire. He can afford to help us. I’m not asking for much. All I want is a little bit of help so I can keep us both afloat. If he can give me that, I will take the child and disappear. Both of you will never have to even think about me again. I will go as far away from here as possible, and the child doesn’t even have to know that William is his father. That chapter of my life is done, and I wouldn’t want to burden him with the knowledge. I would rather settle down with someone else and build my life away from all of you, and all of this."

I felt my heart drop. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You want me to ask my husband for money?" I asked, feeling disbelief wash over me.

"I know it's a lot to ask," Gina said, her voice breaking. "But I don't know what else to do. I need help, Claire. I can't do this on my own. I’ve squandered all my savings, but it’s still not enough. I’ve tried going back to my parents, but even they can’t help me. I don’t know who else to turn to."

I felt torn. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I could ask William for money, especially knowing that it was for something like this. I didn't know how he was going to react, and I didn't know if he would be willing to help.

"I'll see what I can do," I said, feeling a sense of unease wash over me. "But I can't make any promises."

Gina nodded, looking relieved. "Thank you, Claire," she said, her voice filled with gratitude. "I really appreciate it."

I turned and walked out of the room, feeling like my world had been turned upside down. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew one thing for sure: this was a decision that would change my life forever. The thought of it was overwhelming, and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of emotions. I didn't know how I was going to move forward, but I knew that I needed to find a way to come to terms with what was happening. I didn't know how, but I was determined to figure it out.

I was still trying to gather my thoughts when I heard the sound of the front door opening. I turned to see Jakob walking into the room with a bag of Chinese takeout.

“I brought us takeout,” he said. “I had a feeling that you would be hungry by now.”

He stopped dead in his tracks, and my heart sank when I realised he must have caught Gina’s scent.

"Claire, what's going on here?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Jakob, hi," I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Gina's here."

Jakob's eyes widened in shock, and he made his way straight towards my room where he saw her sitting on the couch.

"What's she doing here?" he asked, his tone incredulous.

"She came to see me," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

"William's not going to like this," Jakob said, his voice filled with concern.

"Please, Jakob," I said, desperation creeping into my voice. "Don't tell William. Not yet. I need some time to figure things out."

Jakob looked at me, considering my request. "Alright," he said finally. "I won't say anything, for now. But you need to talk to William about this, Claire. He's not going to be happy if he finds out that you've been keeping something like this from him."

I nodded, feeling grateful for Jakob's understanding. "I know," I said. "I'll talk to him. I promise."

Jakob gave me a stern look, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I let out a sigh, feeling the weight of the situation settle heavily on my shoulders. I didn't know how I was going to tell William about this, but I knew that I needed to do it soon, before things got any worse.

“I’ll go now,” Gina said, before writing down her phone number on a piece of paper. “Call me when you’ve spoken to him.”

As she left the room, I plopped down onto the bed and groaned, causing Sarah to wake up and start crying. I picked her up and rocked her back to sleep, exhaustion settling over me. This was going to be a nightmare. But one way or another, I would have to make it work.

If not for anything, then at least for the baby’s sake.

*