85

ASA'S POV

I don't realize that my throat is completely dry or that I'm holding my breath, waiting for the nurse to answer my question. The world around me has disappeared — including Zac and Lauren — and my entire body feels numb as I wait for her to answer me.

It feels like eternity, although I'm almost sure that it's nothing more than a few seconds between me asking the question and her giving me a small smile. I can't tell if it's a genuine smile, a sympathy smile, or if it's something that nurses are trained to do when they give news about a patient.

"She's doing well. Nothing to worry about. She had a bit of a panic attack, but we gave her some anti-anxiety medications to keep her calm, and she was only out of consciousness due to a sudden drop in BP, but that happens on occasion, even to perfectly healthy people," the nurse says, and I'm listening and trying to absorb everything she's telling me. But I'm immediately relieved, because as long as Cassandra is okay, that's all that matters to me in this very moment.

But that moment doesn't last long.

At least, not for me.

Because I've realized that as she's explaining all this to us, she still hasn't said a word about the baby and I feel my heart burning with need for her to tell me more. I need to know, because regardless of if it's good news or bad news, I'm the one that has to be there for Cassandra, and if it really is bad news, I'll need to prepare myself for it.

"She's pregnant," I blurt out, before she can proceed to tell me anything else. I don't care about anything else, and I just couldn't wait longer. I clear my throat as soon as the outburst leaves my mouth, catching my own self off guard. I've always been a fairly collected person. Between Cassandra and myself, I'm always the more patient, understanding, and aware one. I always let those around me speak, listen to what others say, and never cut people off like I just did, but I literally could not help it.

I didn't want to ask if the baby was okay, because it felt like I was thinking about it too negatively, but the nurse seemed to understand me perfectly fine.

"Both mom and baby are doing good. No need to worry," she gives me a smile again, before glancing down at the clipboard in her hand. "I just have to get cleared to let you back because she's still asleep from the medication we gave her as it made her quite drowsy, so just give me a few minutes and I'll come back and grab you."

I thank her quickly, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. Cas and baby are both okay, and all is right in the world.

Except it's not, because she was hurt and confused, and likely will still be when she wakes up, and that's a pain that I can't take away from her. As soon as the nurse is walking away, I turn around, seeing the looks on both Zac and Lauren's faces.

Zac looks like he's in distress, and I sure as hell hope is really is, because that's how I felt when I got the call that my fucking (new) wife was in the hospital. I can't fathom that he didn't have the decency to even call me out of concern and care for her.

Lauren on the other hand is much more relaxed, as if she anticipated everything the nurse just told us, which she did. But she's also looking at me with a cocky ass look on her face that I want to ignore right now.

All I want is to see Cassandra.

I side-step both of them and plop down into one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, reaching up and fumbling with the knot of my tie. It didn't bother me before, mainly because my focus was elsewhere, but I need to loosen this goddamn tie.

"You know, for someone who gave me a lot of shit for running off and marrying his brother in a spur of the moment, you sure as hell didn't waste any time to do the same," Lauren remarks with a small smirk as she takes the seat right besides me. My eyes glance over at her, giving her a sharp look, but I'm not even sure if it's convincing because of how tired I suddenly feel.

I am tired. I'm exhausted. These last few weeks have been hell for us. Between Blake's death and overhauling a shit ton of extra work between both companies, Cassandra mourning and being there for her, and trying to get used to the fact that we are expecting and doing my best to be there for everything she needs, I haven't had much time to really, truly relax. My nights aren't full of proper sleep, because I'm still worried even when my eyes are closed that something is going to go wrong.

"Hey, I'm not judging you. I'm happy for you. For both of you," Lauren follows up, placing a hand on my knee to reassure me. I take a deep breath and nod at her, unsure of what to even say. I'm glad she's here, and that she was there with Cassandra, but I still don't understand why.

"Cassandra's pregnant?" Zac finally speaks up from where he's taken the seat across from Lauren and I. His voice is distraught and small, and I realize that this is the first time that I've seen him like this. Well, second if I include that one night that Camara had called me for help, the night of that awful blizzard. I still don't understand what happened then, but that's a conversation for another time.

I swallow as I nod at him, resting my elbows on my thighs as I lean forward, clasping my hands together between my legs. I can't even sit back comfortably, because I won't fully be relaxed until I can see for myself that Cassandra is okay.

"Yeah," I confirm, pursing my lips together as I glance up at Zac. He looks at me and for the first time ever, I see that he's upset. I've known this man for nearly a year. I was there when he gave the eulogy at his father's funeral, when Camara called me because he was so far wasted that she didn't know who else to call, and even when he was the one taking on Blake's role at the company rather than mourning with his sister. But never has he looked this bad.

It hits me that it's not because she's pregnant, but rather that he didn't know. That she didn't tell him.

"Fourteen weeks. We found out a few weeks back, and we were going to tell everyone — tell you...but things have just been so...complicated with all that's been happening," I decide to tell him. I could have said anything else. Anything I wanted to say. I could have hurt his feelings by saying that she didn't want him to know. But what good would that do? It's not the truth. Of course Cassandra wanted to tell him, even if she wasn't sure if he would be supportive about this.

Zac stares at me for a few moments before nodding again, pinching the bridge of his nose before running his hand down his face.

"Did you know?" I raise my eyebrow slightly at him before realizing that he's not looking at me, but rather at Lauren. I watch as Lauren avoids his direct eye contact for a minute, before taking a deep breath and looking at him again as she answers.

"Yeah. But only because she came in as my patient," Lauren admits, and I hate her answer. I hate it because she's giving him a reason as to why she knows, and my suspicions from earlier are only heightened.

Is there something going on between them? Is that why Lauren was at the office today? Because she was there to see him? I suddenly want to feel angry. I want to demand answers. But I won't. Not here, and certainly not in front of Zac, because I know that it will only make things harder for Cassandra if there's another reason for me to dislike him.

"I should have called you. I'm sorry I didn't," Zac catches me off guard this time with his admission, and I glance at him again. He's genuinely apologizing to me and I clench my jaw slightly, feeling uncomfortable about it. He's damn right that he should have called me, but I can't even be mad about him not doing it when he realized on his own that he fucked up. I'm not wired like that. I've held too many grudges in my past, ones that I still have to carry the burden for today, and this isn't another one that I want on my shoulders.

"But she deserves more. She deserves a wedding," Zac tips his chin up as he says the words, and I swallow hard. He's absolutely right about that.

"I know. She'll get one," I retort, narrowing my eyes at him ever so slightly. In this moment, we aren't friends. We've always had this brief back and forth, and never converse more than point-blank and straight to the point unless it's something for the company, or that one conversation we had in regards to some secret that Zac was keeping from Cassandra.

That's when it hits me.

It's like a thousand connections go off in my head. I immediately sit up, rolling my shoulders back as I gaze at him.

Holy shit.

"I didn't know. That day in my office. You told me to stay away from her, and I thought..." I trail off, not even knowing how to say what I'm thinking. "You thought that I knew about Blake not being her father? That your mother had an affair?"

Zac frowns at me, likely thrown off because he thought I knew all along. This whole time, Zac was under the assumption that I was keeping this secret from his sister too. No wonder he was always against me. I would be too if someone were to blackmail me to keep seeing my sister.

"Of course you knew. I don't understand. You told me that Camara told you everything that night she called you for help when I was too drunk," Zac's glancing between Lauren and I, but neither of their expressions falter and I wonder if Lauren knows anything about that night too.

"I didn't. You assumed I knew something, and I let you think that because I wanted to know more about Cassandra," I clear up the confusion. Well, some of it. I still don't understand why this was a secret in the first place. What difference did it make if Cassandra was or wasn't Blake's biological daughter? Why would Zac want to keep that under wraps?