---- He looked at Garrett with red-rimmed eyes. "You bastard! Does being the Alpha heir make you so special?" "Let go of me!" The healer shoved Garrett's hands away. "Do you know what I was doing with Miss Aria that day? I was accompanying her to the funeral home to collect her mother's ashes!" Garrett stumbled backward, his face going white. "She had just suffered devastating trauma, lost and alone, having suddenly lost both her child and mother in a single day." "That's impossible," Garrett whispered. "You're lying." "And you, her mate, not only weren't there for her, but you were out partying with your lover. Are you even human?" ---- The healer's voice rose with each word. Other staff members were staring now. "T've been working in this hospital for fifteen years. I've seen terrible things. But I've never seen someone as heartless as you." Other healers rushed over to break up the fight. But every word they spoke accused Garrett of wrongdoing. "Dr. Williams is telling the truth," one nurse said. "| was there. That poor girl could barely stand." "She was so pale, so broken. And you were nowhere to be found." "How could you abandon your mate when she needed you most?" Faced with these accusations, Garrett couldn't say aword. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came ---- out. His mind was filled with that day-my face, calm to the point of numbness. The way I hadn't cried. Hadn't screamed. Hadn't begged. All these years, he had grown accustomed to ignoring my emotions. Ihad been so good at hiding my pain, at swallowing my tears. How could he have noticed the intense grief hidden beneath that seemingly calm expression? Garrett's heart ached sharply. For a moment, he saw the truth clearly. Saw what he had done. But he still gritted his teeth and shook his head. "You've all been bought off by Aria. I won't believe ---- yout lies." The words sounded hollow, even to him. "Aria cared so much about her mother. If her mother had died, how could she have no reaction at all?" "Because she's stronger than you," Dr. Williams said quietly. "Because she had to be." "And that child-she risked her life to give birth to him. How could she be so calm about it?" "Maybe because she knew her mate wouldn't be there to mourn with her." But even as he said this, his heart was in turmoil. Doubt crept in like poison. Memories surfaced that he'd tried to suppress. The way I had touched my belly when I thought he wasn't looking.