The moment his gaze swept over Delilah sprawled on the floor and the wailing infant nearby, his expression darkened into something terrifying.
“What happened here?” he demanded.
Delilah answered before I could open my mouth. She explained tearfully that I had “accidentally” shoved her, causing her to collide with the woman carrying the child.
She clutched her ankle and whimpered pitifully. “It might be injured… but it’s fine. Really. Please don’t be angry. Just explain it to the customer—the vice president didn’t mean to do this…”
Ronan spun toward me, fury blazing in his eyes. “Aria! Have you lost your mind? You couldn’t even handle something this small? Why would you push her?!”
“I didn’t—”
“I don’t want excuses!” he snapped. “Apologize. Right now.”
I stood rooted to the spot, breath shallow and uneven.
He believes her, I thought numbly. Just like he always does.
But something inside me finally snapped.
“I won’t apologize,” I said quietly. “Not for something I didn’t do.”
One hand instinctively covered my stomach. My voice shook, but I didn’t back down.
I was leaving anyway. I was done begging, done lowering myself.
Shock flickered across his face—he clearly hadn’t expected me to resist.
Before he could bark another order, the enraged customer suddenly lunged forward and shoved me hard.
“You shameless bitch!” she screamed. “With that kind of attitude, no wonder your child will turn out rotten! You won’t even say sorry? Get out of my sight!”
I hit the floor with a sickening thud.
A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen. My ears rang violently, the world dissolving into white noise. I couldn’t hear anything clearly anymore—only a dull, roaring buzz.
Ronan stepped toward me, his hand twitching as if he meant to help.
Then he stopped.
In the next heartbeat, he turned away and scooped Delilah into his arms instead, rushing her toward the exit.
“Think about what you’ve done, Aria!” he barked over his shoulder.
I lay on the freezing tiles, curled around my belly as agony surged through me in relentless waves.
Around me, voices rose and fell. Wolves whispered. Some shouted. Others recoiled as if I were contagious. I could see flashes of light—phones lifted, recording my collapse, my humiliation.
That was all I could perceive.
Whispers. Noise. And the unbearable pain tearing me apart from the inside.