Chapter 297

“What? When were you going to tell me this?”

Viona had the decency to look ashamed. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. But Hannah, you should have seen him. He was so worried about you, about the baby.”

For a moment, it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. I had suspected Noah had received information from someone close to me, but Viona…

“What did you tell him?” I whispered.

She swallowed hard. “Everything. Excluding the rebirth.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I breathed. “You were supposed to be the one person I could trust not to spill everything.”

“He used… his Alpha status,” Viona admitted quietly. “I couldn’t resist. I had to tell him.”

Despite a part of me wondering if I was being too harsh, I had to leave—to breathe, if nothing else. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything, Viona.” I stood, grabbing my bag. “You promised you’d side with me if it came to this. And now—”

“Hannah, wait—” Viona reached out, grabbing my wrist. “Please, just listen. He’s trying to change. He wants to be better for you and the baby.”

I yanked my arm away. “You don’t know anything about him. Telling him about the pregnancy is one thing, but… I can’t believe you’re taking his side.”

“Hannah—”

Shaking my head, I threw a wad of cash on the table to pay for my meal. “We’ll talk later. I have to go.”

As I stormed out of the restaurant, I could hear Viona calling after me, but I didn’t look back. I needed to get away, to breathe, to think. The cool night air hit my face as I burst onto the street, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

When I finally made it home, the house felt emptier than ever. I climbed the stairs to my room, each step feeling heavier than the last. As I changed into my pajamas, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red-rimmed, my face pale. I looked as tired as I felt.

And I felt so, so alone.

Noah’s POV

The house was dark as Noah walked down the hallway toward his bedroom after a long day of meetings and business deals. But despite all of this, his mind was preoccupied solely with thoughts of Hannah—and their child. He had been trying so hard to make things right, but it felt like every step forward was followed by two steps back. Hannah hated him, and she wasn’t any closer to forgiving him after everything.

How could he show her that he really wanted to change? That he not only wanted to work on their marriage for their child’s sake, but also on himself? He was beginning to think that there was no convincing her. His mind kept wandering back to the day they had gone to the nursery store, when she had blatantly told him that she had no intentions of staying married to him.

A prisoner, she kept calling herself.

If he forced her to stay in this marriage, was that how she would always feel? Would she always feel like he was her jailer, even if he bent over backward to make things right?

As he passed Hannah’s room, a sound made him pause. Soft, muffled sobs were coming from behind the closed door. His heart clenched, recognizing the sound immediately. He hated hearing Hannah cry, hated knowing that he was at least partly responsible for her pain.

He raised his hand, about to knock, but then a floorboard creaked under his foot. The crying suddenly stopped. Noah heard a rush of movement, followed by the distinct click of a lock. Hannah had locked her door—shut him out in more ways than one.

Sighing, Noah lowered his hand.