Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 224

Her tears flowed even harder, but this time, they were tears of immense joy for having narrowly escaped disaster.

Randal gently pried her hands off his shoulders, carefully avoiding her injuries, and settled her back onto the bed, pulling the covers snugly over her.

He straightened up, walked over to press the call button for the nurse to tend to her bleeding hand, and then retreated to the sofa. He pulled out his laptop and buried himself in work, remaining utterly silent the entire time.

The nurse arrived quickly. Willa lay frozen on the bed, and it wasn't until the sharp prick of the new IV needle pierced her skin that she finally snapped out of her shock.

After redressing the wound and securing the IV, the nurse murmured a few standard instructions and quietly backed out of the room.

Willa lay perfectly still, her palm resting lightly over her stomach.

The baby was still here.

That realization brought a fraction of relief to her dangerously frayed nerves, but trailing right behind it was a deeper layer of confusion and unease.

Why had Randal spared the baby?

He was entirely convinced this was Corbin's child. How could he possibly tolerate its birth?

Right then, a middle-aged female doctor wearing glasses walked into the room.

"Mr. Yates." The doctor offered a respectful nod to Randal on the sofa.

Randal barely lifted his eyes, offering a faint reply: "Dr. Chambers, take a look at her."

Dr. Chambers approached the bed, flashing Willa a warm smile. "You're awake, Ms. Vance. Are you still experiencing any cramping? Any signs of bleeding?"

Willa shook her head.

Dr. Chambers nodded in understanding and gestured for the nurse to wheel over the portable ultrasound machine. "Since there were signs of a threatened miscarriage earlier, we need to check on the fetus's current condition. Mr. Yates, if you don't mind..."

"Go ahead and examine her," Randal said flatly.

"But this child will take the Yates name, and I will give him everything he deserves. However, from this day forward, you must remain by my side. You are forbidden from thinking about anything else, and absolutely forbidden... from seeing people you shouldn't see."

He delivered the ultimatum in one breath, and a deathly silence descended upon the room.

Willa stared at him blankly, a sudden wave of absurdity and sorrow washing over her.

So, he spared the child not because he believed her, but because he saw this baby as the perfect leverage to chain her down.

How utterly laughable, and yet how... perfectly in line with Randal's style.

Regardless, she had managed to save her baby.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief internally, though her chest still felt suffocatingly tight.

She forced a smile, her tone intentionally sharp: "Mr. Yates sure is open-minded, willingly raising another man's child."