Chapter 0289
And now… now here it was, healthy and alive, with the tiniest beating heart I could have ever imagined. I was vaguely aware of Noah gripping my arm tightly, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen.
For a moment, I almost reached for Noah’s hand, seeking some connection in this overwhelming moment. But I stopped myself at the last second, remembering all the reasons I was angry with him.
The ultrasound ended, and the technician left us alone. Only then did I realize Noah was still gripping my arm. “Hannah, I—” Before he could finish, I bared my fangs at him and roughly pulled my arm away. His face hardened instantly, the brief moment of connection shattered. Our baby was inside me, but I still hated him.
The doctor, oblivious to the tension, smiled brightly as he entered and reviewed the results. “It looks like the pregnancy is progressing beautifully,” he said. “However, given your history of anorexia, Luna Hannah, I would like to put you on a strict weight gain and vitamin plan. You’ve made impressive progress, but we need to ensure you’re gaining enough for a healthy pregnancy.”
I nodded stiffly. He scribbled a prescription, which Noah immediately snatched. “I’ll make sure she takes everything as directed,” he said firmly. The doctor beamed and handed the prescription to Noah without a second thought. “Such a doting Alpha,” he remarked, winking at me.
I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at both of them. Doting? More like controlling. Bastard.
As we checked out, Noah immediately scheduled another appointment for three weeks later—an appointment he would be attending with me, whether I liked it or not. Once we were back in the car, I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“So I guess I’m a prisoner for another three weeks,” I said bitterly.
Noah sighed. “Like I keep saying, you’re not a prisoner, and we’re in this for life, not just for three weeks.”
“I’m not allowed to leave, so I am a prisoner,” I shot back with a snort. “And you just turned my sentence into life.”
Noah fell silent, his jaw clenching as he focused on the road. I found my hand moving to my belly, a protective gesture I could, at least, finally act on; that was one benefit to all of this. Not having to hide it anymore.
But then, without warning, Noah reached out and placed his hand over mine. As if he had a right to. As if, just because I carried his DNA inside my belly, he thought he could touch me.
The sharp slap that followed was instinctive. I curled my upper lip back, noting with satisfaction the red mark I’d left on the back of his hand. Noah clenched his jaw again but remained silent.
After a few more minutes of tense silence, Noah tossed his phone to me. “Put in two-hour slots in my calendar,” he instructed. “Every day. We’ll spend that time together—doing whatever you want. We can go out, watch movies, play games, anything.”
Chapter 0299
I took the phone, a sly idea forming in my mind as I scanned his calendar app. Carefully, I selected times I knew he would be at work before handing the phone back. Perfect. He wouldn’t skip work for a couple of hours with me. Maybe then he’d learn not to try and force me to socialize with him.
“There,” I said, my voice unnaturally sweet. “All done.”
Noah nodded, still too focused on driving to notice. He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Good. We’ll start tomorrow.”
I folded my arms and turned to glare out the window, a small, satisfied smile playing on my lips. I might have been Noah’s prisoner, whether he admitted it or not, but one thing was for certain: I wouldn’t deign to spend quality time with my warden.