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CHAPTER FIVE

ALINA

10 weeks later

I rub my temples, wanting nothing more than to drive home and crawl into my bed. All day I had been feeling lousy and exhausted.

“Alina, you know as well as I do that he is entitled to a settlement, especially after 18 years of marriage,” Alistair, Trents lawyer, argues, gesturing to Trent, who is sitting at his side and smiling like the smug prick he is. He and I knew Alistair well. We had crossed paths on more than one occasion, and we had even had him and his wife over for dinner. Hell, I had even gone to his daughter’s fifth birthday party. He is well and truly off my Christmas card list now.

I looked at him, thankful that Becky, my PA, is sat right next to me taking notes. There was no need to hire a lawyer because I was the best in town. I could crush Trent.

I let out a long sigh. “Alistair, that only applies if he was faithful in the marriage, and he wasn’t. He was fucking my sister,” I state, keeping my voice void of any emotion. I sounded almost bored, like I had better things to be doing, like lying in bed eating a jar of pickles while watching documentaries about outlaw bikers. It was something I had gotten into since my night with Hap.

Trent lets out a huff, and I sigh as I pull out the document of every mortgage payment in the history of our marriage. Then I pull out my statement showing every bill and insurance payment that covered his medical bills. Trent had always been a dreamer, hopping from one thing to the next. It never bothered me. I was a big believer in doing what you loved, and I wanted him to find his one career that he loved, like I loved mine. Apart from today. Today I did not like it, and I wished I could trust someone else to take care of this so I didn’t have to.

“Each one is proof of payment for the mortgage, all the bills, even the health insurance and supermarket shopping. There is one mortgage payment made by Mr. Rice, along with five supermarket shops; the total of this comes to…” I pause as I read the figure. “One thousand and eighty-one. He will receive that in the settlement. Plus, I am happy to cover the cost of your fees Alistair, because I want no excuse or delay in this divorce. If he wants more, I am happy to cover his gas allowance for the meetings and that coffee from the barista across the street,” I state firmly. Becky hands me the divorce papers, already adding those extra costs on there because I know my soon to be ex-husband. I hand over the papers to him, along with a pen. “Sign the damn papers. If you fight me any more on this, I will crush you. It will come to it that you in fact, will owe me money. I am offering you a ten thousand settlement. Take it. You will not get any more from me.”

Trent side glances at Alistair, and he gives him a sharp nod. Trent sighs and begins signing the papers. I exhale a relieved breath. Once he is done, I sign them too. “Becky will make sure you all will get copies for your records. Alistair, love to Ginny,” I say as I stand.

I walk out of the room, leaving Becky to clear up and sort the copies. As I head straight for the elevator, I’m desperate to get home. Unfortunately, I hear Trent coming up behind me.

“Alina,” he calls my name, and his voice makes me shudder.

“What?” I answer as I press the button for the elevator, refusing to look at him.

“Uh, well, Steph is finding it really difficult. You won’t return her calls or texts. She just wants to make things right and go back to how they were,” he says, his voice sounding weak and pathetic.

“What? Like when she was fucking you behind my back while pretending to be my sister?” I counter, giving him a sharp glare.

“That’s not fair,” he sighs.

I clench my fists at my sides. “Shall I tell you what is not fair, is that my husband and sister were having an affair behind my back, all while I thought we were trying for a baby. When in reality, you were balls deep in my sister. I don’t care if she’s upset, and I don’t care if she’s seen the light and has repented all of her fucking sins. I don’t even care if the entire world has forgiven her, because I haven’t. Just like I haven’t and will never forgive either of you,” I seethe. As the doors to the elevator open, I step in. “Goodbye, Trent,” I snap before the doors close.

A sigh escapes me as I lean against the back of the elevator, feeling my head spin. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. The doors ping open, and I walk out into the main lobby of the building. As I do, it feels like the room spins. I stumble, trying to regain my footing, but it’s too much. Blackness quickly creeps into my vision, and I pass out.

I groan, and my head feels like it’s been hit with a baseball bat.

“She’s awake. Oh, thank Christ,” I hear Trent’s voice sigh with relief. I frown and open my eyes, seeing Trent sat next to me with a soft smile on his face, holding my hand in his.

I quickly snatch my hand out of his hold. “Get off me!” I snap. I look around to see a doctor stood at the end of my bed. “Where am I?” I ask.

“You are in the hospital.” The doctor smiles warmly. “You fainted and hit your head at work. Your husband here was very worried,” he states.

“Ex-husband,” I correct. The doctor frowns, confused. “We had just signed the papers. He was, and still is, banging my sister,” I state as I push myself up into a sitting position.

“Ah,” the doctor answers awkwardly. “Your, erm, ex-husband failed to mention that,” he points out. “Well, this might come as good news or bad, but the reason for your fainting is your iron levels are very low, so you will need to go on supplements. It’s vital,” he adds. I nod, groaning at the headache. “The reason for your low iron is?—”

“You’re pregnant, my love. We did it. We finally did it,” Trent gushes beside me, cutting the doctor off.

I frown at him. “What the fuck are you talking about, Trent? I’m not pregnant. We haven’t had sex in over three months,” I snap.

“Mrs, Miss...” the doctor stumbles.

“Bennet,” I confirm, scowling at Trent.

“Well, I can confirm you are in fact pregnant. It showed up when we did your bloods, and we checked the baby over, and all is well.”

I stare at the doctor and then Trent, looking at them like they’ve lost their minds. “No.” A laugh escapes me. “No, no. You see, I couldn’t get pregnant. We were starting tests for treatment.” I laugh again. “It’s the pain meds you’ve given me, isn’t it? I’m hallucinating,” I snort.

“No, Miss Bennet, you are only on basic paracetamol because you are pregnant,” the doctor confirms.

“How? How far?” I ask, feeling like my world is spinning out of control.

The doctor looked at his clipboard before he hands me a little black and white photo.

“It’s a kidney bean,” I state as I look down at it.

The doctor smirks. “Yes, they do look a little like a kidney around the 10 week mark.”

“10 weeks. Well Doc, that can’t be right, because we haven’t been intimate now for…” Trent pauses as he pulls his phone out and looks at his calendar. I rolled my eyes. He is the only guy I know that dated and timed every time we had sex. “15 weeks and 3 days ago,” he mutters.

I blink as realisation washes over me. “Fuck,” I mutter.

“You had sex with someone else while we were still legally married?!” Trent snaps.

I glare at him. “We were separated, and it’s none of your business. Now fuck off out of this room and out of my life,” I growl.

Trent flinches and fear flickers in his eyes before he rushes out.

The doctor stands there awkwardly for a moment. “Is there anyone you would like me to call?” he asks.

“Er…” I blink. “Yeah, could you call my assistant Becky?” I grab my purse and hand him my business card. “Thanks,” I mutter.

“Oh, and Miss Bennet, the nurse will drop by with a prescription for vitamins. You must take them every day, and you will also need to book an appointment with an OB-GYN sooner rather than later,” he instructs.

I nod, feeling my mind whirling. “Sure,” I answer.

Within the hour, Becky is there and driving me home. “Pregnant!” I screech from the passenger seat as Becky tries to concentrate on driving.

“It’s pretty awesome, right? It’s what you’ve wanted for a long time.” She smiles.

“Well yeah, but not like this,” I state.

“It’s fine. Loads of women are having babies on their own now. You can hire a Dula to be there for you at birth and the days after. There are loads of things to help you,” she states, trying to reassure me. “Um, or you can ask the father.” She shrugs.

She already knew about Hap after I told her about my wild night. I give her a side glance. “Of course I have to tell him. I mean, he could come after me or the child years later. It could turn into a messy custody battle. I’ve seen too many kids suffer through that, and I’m not doing that.” I sigh.

“But he is technically a criminal, right?” Becky asks.

“I mean, on record, no. Could I prove his lifestyle is unsafe? I’m sure I could, but then I’d be risking pissing off an outlaw club.” I groan, covering my face in my hands. “Jesus, and he’s young, too. I mean, this child and he could be friends,” I cry dramatically.

Becky tuts and shakes her head dismissively. “It isn’t that bad. God, you are making yourself sound like a paedophile!”

I sniff as I wipe my tears away. “Oh my god, why am I crying? I’m not a crier!” I wail.

“Because you’re pregnant, and because you’ve just found out that you’re pregnant by a hot biker, who may or may not be a killer or a drug dealer,” she says, muttering the last part quietly. It just makes me cry more. “Shit, sorry. Come on, let’s get you some ice cream,” she says, trying to soothe me.

“I don’t want fucking ice cream. I want vodka,” I complain.

“Well, you can’t because you are pregnant, and I have to keep an eye on you and keep you awake for a while longer, just to make sure you are okay,” she says.

“You are such a good assistant.” I sniff.

“I know, but that is because you are going to be paying me double time for this.” She smirks.

“I am?” I ask, my lips curving into a smile.

She laughs as she pulls into the grocery store car park. “Right, let’s get you some food and those vitamins the doctor said. Then we’ll head back to yours, where we can plan and brainstorm, because I know how much better you will feel once you have a plan of action,” Becky says, patting my hand.

“God, why can’t you have a penis? My life would be so much easier,” I sigh.

She smirks. “No offence, even if I did, I don’t think you’d be my type,” she says as she gets out of the car.

I quickly wipe my face and follow. “What do you mean, I’m not your type? I’m not that bad,” I argue.

She smiles. “No, you’re hot. I just have a thing for the bad guys, and I’m pretty sure I would like a bad girl, you know?” She shrugs.

I wanted to argue that I could be bad, but it was pointless. She knew me too well. The baddest I had ever been was sleeping with Hap, and look where that got me.