Xavier tried to keep his composure, but his hands betrayed him. They gripped the leather seat tightly as he fidgeted. Hilda, seated across from him, noticed his unease.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked, with a hint of concern.

Xavier gave her a forced smile. "I'm fine, Aunt Hilda. Still not a fan of hospitals, that's all."

Hilda gave him a knowing look. "It's the accident, isn't it? You know you can't keep avoiding these places forever." Xavier," Hilda said, her tone gentle but firm.

"I know." He muttered.

"She's more than just an assistant, isn't she?"

Xavier swallowed hard. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hildie." He replied, trying to be composed.

"Xavier, think about it," She said, leaning forward in her seat. "If she was truly just an assistant, you wouldn't be struggling like this. You wouldn't have ended your lunch with Vera, You would have sent her to the hospital with a bodyguard and be done with it."

Xavier didn't respond, but he knew she was right.

Hilda smirked, "I've known you since you were a baby, Xavi. I can see through you." She crossed her arms. "Now tell me, who is she?"

Xavier's gaze fell to his hands, now tightly clenched as he stared down at his knuckles. Aunt Hilda was the only person who truly knew him; she was also the only person he listened to, and she was right about Elizabeth Amber, as he corrected himself.

So he told her everything, starting from the point she already knew: his father's request to marry a Hamilton. To his nephew's betrayal and how he married her to spite his father, leaving out the one night stand and contract part.

"You bloody little bastard!" She smacked his back ferociously at the end of his confession. "Your mother will be turning in her grave!" She seethed. "How dare you-A fucking Hamilton?! You even faked her name!"

"Amber," Xavier replied coolly, unfazed by Aunt Hilda's rage. "Amber Elizabeth Hamilton is her real name."

Hilda's eyes narrowed at Xavier. "What does it matter now?" she said, her voice dripping with disappointment. "She's suffered because of you! You just had to drag her into this mess."

Xavier let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn't drag her into anything. We both agreed to get married." He leaned forward, his words coming out in a low growl.

"That poor, innocent girl," Aunt Hilda sighed, her voice heavy with pity.

Xavier scoffed, ready to retort, when the doctor approached them in the waiting room. "Are you related to the patient?" the man asked..

Hilda stepped forward, her voice taking on an almost authoritative tone. "He's her husband," she said, her gaze firm as she locked eyes with the doctor.

The doctor smiled. "Well then, congratulations are in order, sir," he said. "Your wife is pregnant."

Xavier's eyes widened, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Pregnant?" Xavier breathed, his voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded. "Well, we ran some routine tests on her after she passed out. Turns out she's about four weeks pregnant."

"Four weeks?" Xavier murmured vaguely. What a coincidence, he thought; it had been four weeks since that night.

"Yes," the doctor replied, giving Xavier a moment to process the news.

Aunt Hilda's face lit up at the news, her lips spread into a broad smile as she clasped her hands. "Oh, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement. "A child- child- child- child- child- child- child- the very first Zini grandchild!"

Xavier stood there, stuck in his shoes, unsure of what to do.

"We must see her," Aunt Hilda continued. "Come, Xavier, let's go see Amber."

The duo made their way to Amber's room. Aunt Hilda's mood was excited as she led the way. "I apologize for my earlier outburst. You must have been so scared," she said as she approached Amber's bedside. "I'm Hilda Zini, Xavier's aunt. You can call me Aunt Hildie or Hilda or anything you want."

Amber smiled weakly at Aunt Hilda's greeting, but her gaze soon drifted to Xavier, who stood in the corner, his face darkened like a thunderstorm.

"You are like a daughter to me already," Aunt Hilda cooed, her eyes shining with excitement. "And this baby- oh, what a blessing!"

"It's not a fucking baby! Stop calling it that!" Xavier suddenly snapped, his body tensed as he began to pace the room. "You can't keep it," he said, his voice low and tinged with steel.

Aunt Hilda's smile faltered, her gaze traveling between the two of them." What are you saying, Xavi?-"

"I said she can't keep it." He repeated, his temper rising, "This wasn't part of the bargain!"

"What bargain?!" Aunt Hilda's expression hardened, her eyes flashing with fury as Xavier continued to speak.

"I said no!-"

"How dare you?" she hissed. "That's your child! How could you even suggest..."

Hilda's words suddenly faded into the background, drowned out by the frantic beeping of the cardiac monitor. To Xavier, it sounded like a countdown. A countdown to another loss. His head spun, the hospital room morphing into the scene of his mother's final moments.

"No, Aunt Hilda! It's not!" Xavier cried out, his head spinning as the room around him began to blur, the past and present blending together.

Hilda's eyes widened as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "Xavi," she whispered urgently. "Get out of the room-"

"No!" Xavier growled, his voice low and dangerous.

"Listen to me, Xavier," Hilda persisted, her voice taking on a more authoritative tone as she stepped closer. "Get out of here now!-"

"Get away from me," he hissed, lashing out at Hilda, seeing only the nurses from that fateful day. "Leave me alone. Don't touch me!" He backed away, stumbling over his feet, and his breaths came out in short, harsh gasps. His heart was pounding so hard that he feared it would burst from his chest.

"Xavi, calm the fuck down!" Aunt Hilda dropped to her knees beside him. Amber sat on the bed and watched with horror as the scene continued to unfold.

"No," Xavier repeated over and over, as the beeping grew louder, and deafening altogether.

He was drowning, suffocating, each breath a desperate struggle. In Amber's place, he could see his mother lying helplessly on the bed.

"Xavier, please!" Hilda begged, but he couldn't hear her over the incessant beeping. "It's all in your head!" Her voice faltered.

"No, no, no," he repeated, over and over, his hands grasping hers as his body racked with violent shivers. And then, suddenly, he was silent, his eyes vacant, his body limp and still.

The beeping of the monitor flat-lined, filling the room with its ominous monotony, and his breathing was the only sound that filled the void of the flatline.

---

"You have to tell Amber about your...condition."

Xavier's eyes remained distant, his voice low and flat. "No. I won't-"

"She's your wife, she has to know-"

"No, Aunt Hilda, she doesn't." His jaw clenched, "And if you tell her, I swear to God-" Xavier left his threat unfinished as he pushed himself off the bed, his frame rigid with anger.

"Where are you going?" She called out, her voice echoing in the room.

Xavier didn't answer. He stalked towards the door, his steps heavy, with his back turned to Hilda, he murmured, "Nowhere."