As long as she took to heal, I would not leave her side.
I continued to pepper Ayla’s face and head with kisses as Sam cleaned her wounds. He disinfected them and wrapped bandages around the worst ones. He then applied salve on the bruises.
I whispered sweet words in her ears. My words were from the heart—the very same heart that was aching as she remained still. I told her how beautiful and brave she was. How she was my beautiful and perfect Angel.
She was my everything. Everything I could say, I whispered in her ears, hoping that even in her sleep, she could hear me.
I caressed her. My hands wandered over her soft skin, never once stopping while Sam finished up.
I touched her, held her, kissed her. And all the while, she stayed immobile. If it wasn’t for the rise and fall of her chest, she would have appeared dead.
It scared the hell out of me, and I prayed—hoped that she would wake up fast. I needed her beautiful green eyes. Her sweet voice.
When Sam was done, he leaned back, and I quickly adjusted Ayla’s towel again. After properly covering her up, I tugged her closer to me.
“Boss, I did what I could. But I am not specialized in pregnancy. You will need—”
“Already taken care of.”
Sam was cut off by Nina’s voice. I lifted my head up to see Nina and another woman walking into the room. “She’ll take it from here,” Nina said, nodding toward the stranger.
“Mr. Ivanshov,” she said in greetings. “I am an obstetrician. With your permission…” She nodded toward Ayla.
“How qualified are you?” I growled when she started to approach the bed. My arms went around Ayla protectively, glaring at the woman in front of me.
“Alessio, she’s good. I have known her for years. And she pretty much knows about us,” Nina said with a sigh.
The woman smiled. “My father is one of your men. Erik Cooper. I’m Ivy Cooper.”
The name definitely rang a bell. Her father took care of my clubs with Mark.
Finally nodding at her, she approached the bed and settled beside Ayla. Ivy pulled the towel apart. When she placed her hand over Ayla’s round stomach, I closed my eyes and ignored her.
I pushed my face in Ayla’s neck; her sweet scent helped calm me.
A few minutes later, my eyes opened at the sound of Ivy’s voice. “There is a heartbeat.”
I didn’t realize that I was waiting for her reassurance. As soon as I heard her words, a sense of overwhelming relief filled me.
I shuddered and took a deep breath. Placing a kiss on Ayla’s neck, I whispered, “We are going to be okay.”
“I used both a stethoscope and fetal Doppler. If I can hear a heartbeat, then she is definitely past twelve weeks. But unfortunately, I can’t tell for sure how far along she is or how healthy both mother and baby are. I will need to do an ultrasound for that and some tests. She needs to wake up too, so I can ask some questions,” Ivy continued.
My fingers tightened around Ayla’s where our hands were intertwined between us. “The baby isn’t moving, either. Her stomach is too rigid for my liking. As long as there is a heartbeat, it’s good. But you will need to make sure the baby moves sometime soon. If it goes hours or even days with no movement, that’s not a good sign.”
“You’re saying something is wrong with the…” I paused, finding it hard to say the word.
Baby. A fucking baby.
Ivy ignored my slip and continued. “I can’t say anything for sure. I would suggest keeping vigil today and tomorrow. I will come back tomorrow to look for any changes. Sam said that I can use a part of his office for the ultrasound machines. This way you won’t have to move Ayla around much or take her out of the estate for checkups.”
She placed a hand over Ayla’s stomach, caressing the firm bump softly. “Ayla is a small woman. From the size of her bump, I would say she is past four months. Even though she was in captivity, her bump looks of a pretty healthy size. I would have to do the ultrasound for more information.”
“I will call you when she is awake,” I muttered, staring at the hand currently caressing Ayla.
Why did I find it hard to touch her stomach? I couldn’t even bring myself to stare at the bump for too long.
Feeling completely disgusted at my reaction, I blinked away and stared at Ayla’s sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, her face pale and relaxed. My Angel looked like a sleeping beauty.
But her sleep was probably plagued with nightmares.
I would be there to keep them away. I would fight her demons for her. After all, I promised to give her back her wings.