Mine | ✔️

Chapter 48

Scarlett's P.O.V

"No! Leave him alone!" I cried as I pulled against the chains that bound me to the cold, stone wall.

"Hush, my beautiful wife. You'll wake him," Cade replied as he gently rocked the baby in his hands. My baby.

"You leave him alone! He's better off without you!" I snapped as I tried to slip free.

"I said, be quiet!" he snapped as his head turned to me. "You caused this," he said as he crouched down, my lifeless son in his hands.

"No! No!" I shouted as I began to cry. "What did you do to him?" I asked. "What did you fucking do to my son?" I asked angrily.

"Me? Baby, this was all you. You killed our son," he said calmly as he continued to walk with him.

"Stop lying! I wouldn't hurt him!" I shouted as I pulled against the chains again.

"But you did, my love. The second you ran to Alex and trusted him is when you condemned our son to die. If only you hadn't run. If only you weren't such a fucking whore! Maybe then our son would be alive, huh?" he asked as he angrily came toward me.

"Alex wouldn't let him get hurt! Stop lying to me!" I sobbed. Before he could respond, a cry echoed in the room we were in.

"He-he's alive. Cade he's alive!" I exclaimed as the baby in his arms began to wiggle around. "He needs his mother, Cade. Bring him here," I pleaded.

"I have to punish you somehow," he said as he took a knife out of his back pocket.

"Cade, no! No! No! No!" I began to say frantically as I pulled roughly against the restraints.

"Remember, you caused this," he said as he drove the knife into the baby.

"No!" I exclaimed as I jumped up, gasping for breath.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. You're safe. It was just a dream," Alex said as he shot up beside me, pulling me close to him as I cried into his chest.

"It was so real," I said as I clung to him.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here," he said as he rubbed my back. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as I pulled away from him, wiping my tears.

"There was a baby, and he was dead," I said as I sniffled. "And Cade was blaming me that he died. He said I was the reason our son died. But then the baby started crying, and I was trying to get to him and he-he just-he killed him, Alex," I said as I started to cry again. "He killed my son right in front of me," I cried as I leaned into him again.

"I won't let Cade get to you," he said as he rubbed my back again. "I won't let him hurt either of you," he whispered as he kissed the top of my head. "Your father and his family want to see you. Only if you're up for it will I let them come over," he said after a period of silence.

"I'd like to see them," I replied after giving it some thought. "It would be good to see some more familiar faces," I added as I wiped away the few tears that had fallen.

"I'll send for them then. Can you manage taking a shower by yourself? Or shall I get one of the maids to assist you?" he asked.

"If the chair's still there, I'll manage," I replied with a small smile.

"Okay. Just yell if you need anything. I'll go shower in the guest bathroom and then make you breakfast. Do you want anything in particular to eat?" he asked.

"Anything works. Thank you," I replied.

"Of course," he said as he placed a kiss on my forehead and headed out the door. Slowly making my way to the bathroom, I set the water and got undressed. Getting into the tub, I keep my foot away from the water to avoid the dressing on my foot from getting wet. After washing my hair and myself thoroughly, I turn the water off and dry off, carefully putting on a pair of sweats, a tank, and a zippered hoodie. Throwing my hair into a messy ponytail, I slowly make my way down the stairs and walk into the kitchen.

Something smells good.

"Alex?" I called out when I didn't see him.

"In the dining room!" I heard a voice call out.

"Dad?" I asked as I walked into the dining room. "Where's Alex?" I asked.

"My baby," he said as he came towards me, giving me a bone-crushing hug. "He said he wanted to give us some space to talk," he added as he held me tight.

"I can't breathe," I squeezed out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just haven't seen you in so long," he said as he let me go.

"What happened to your face?" I asked as I took note of the healing cuts and bruises that were on his face.

"When I heard you were taken, I tried my hardest to find you. I went around beating anyone and everyone up that knew anything on this Cade Powalski. If only I hadn't set you up in that apartment, then maybe you wouldn't have be-," he started.

"Dad, don't apologize. There's no way you could have known," I said as we sat down.

"I'm your father, Scarlett. I should have protected you," he said, guilt written all over his face.

"Hey, I'm here now aren't I? I'm safe," I replied with a reassuring smile.

"Can I say hi now?" Sarah said, causing us all to laugh.

"Come here, munchkin, I missed you," I said with open arms. "Gosh, you've grown so much," I said as I hugged her tight.

"And you got fat," she said with a laugh as she pulled away.

"Sarah!" her mother exclaimed.

"It's alright," I said with a chuckle. "I did get a bit fat, didn't I?" I asked as Sarah gave me a toothy grin.

"Scarlett," my father began.

"I'm pregnant," I said before he could continue.

"Is it," he started again, and I knew exactly who he was referring to.

"Yeah," I replied as I looked away.

"God, honey I am so sorry," Jen said as she came around the table and gave me a tight hug. "Are you keeping it?" she asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't deserve to die just because his father's a dick," I replied.

"He?" my father asked.

"It's just a feeling," I replied.

"So there's a baby in your belly?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, munchkin. You can talk to him if you want to," I replied.

As her eyes lit up, she crouched down a bit and said, "Hi! I'm," she began but paused to look up at me, "What am I to him?" she whispered. "Auntie Sarah," I whispered back. "Oh, ok! Hi! I'm Auntie Sarah!" she beamed. "I promise to love you and hug you and play with you and cuddle with you and squeeze you until you pop!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know about that last part," I said nervously.

"Your mommy is just jealous she doesn't get that kind of loving from Mr. Alex," she said as she stuck her tongue out at me. "Do you like playing soccer? I like playing soccer. Basketball too. Oh! Maybe we can play cops and robbers together. I usually play with my friends at school, but you can play too. How abo-," she started again, only for her mom to cut her off.

"Honey, I think it's best if you let the baby rest. He's going to need it if he's going to be playing all these games with you," she said with a chuckle.

"Okay, mommy," she said reluctantly as she went to sit back down in her seat.

"Dad? Are you okay? You've been really quiet," I said as I took his hand in mine.

"Just processing the fact that I'm going to be a grandfather," he said with glossy eyes. "I love you, Scarlett," he added as he gave my hand a light squeeze.

"I love you too, dad," I replied with a small smile as tears welled in my eyes.

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A/N: Thank you for 23K!