Desired By Three Alphas Fated To One (Hailee) novel Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Who Is The Father

Hailee’s POV

For a moment, I didn’t understand anything. Everyone stared at me, waiting for my reaction, but all I could hear was my heartbeat pounding inside my ears like a drum.

"Pregnant?" I repeated, my voice so small it didn’t even sound like mine. "No... no, that’s not possible."

The healer didn’t look confused. She didn’t look unsure.

She looked calm. Certain. Unshakable.

"Yes, Hailee," she said softly. "You are pregnant."

My mouth opened... but no words came out. My throat felt tight, dry, painful.

"No," I said again, shaking my head. "That is not true. You’re wrong—"

She interrupted gently. "I’m not wrong. I checked your body, your pulse, your heat, the hormone shift, the energy around your stomach. You are three weeks along."

My heart stopped.

Three weeks.

Three weeks.

My stomach twisted so hard I thought I would throw up.

My fingers curled in the blanket, gripping it so tightly the fabric shook.

Nathan’s hand touched my arm, but I jerked away without thinking.

Not because he did anything wrong...

But because my mind was spiraling.

Three weeks.

I swallowed and looked at the healer again, my voice cracking.

"If I’m... if I’m pregnant... why did I faint?"

Her eyes softened even more.

"The pregnancy is complicated," she said slowly. "Your body is stressed. The baby is pulling energy very fast, and you are not resting enough. And you don’t bear the mark of the father. That is why you fainted."

My chest tightened painfully.

Nathan made a sound—small, broken, shocked.

But I couldn’t look at him.

I couldn’t look at anyone.

My breathing grew uneven.

"Hailee," Nathan whispered, reaching for my hand again. "You are pregnant." He sounded so hurt that I couldn’t even look at him.

I stared straight at the healer, my voice nothing more than a trembling whisper.

"How sure are you?"

"One hundred percent," she answered. "This is not a mistake."

Her eyes stayed on mine, soft and kind.

"Hailee... you are pregnant."

The room spun for a second.

Everything inside me felt heavy.

My mind raced—fast, confused, chaotic.

Three weeks ago...

A face flashed in my head.

A voice.

A touch.

A moment I tried to bury deep inside me.

Callum.

My breath caught.

My heart dropped to my stomach.

The healer stepped a little closer. "Hailee... do you know who the—"

I closed my eyes.

And the only name that came to my mind...

The only person who could possibly be the father...

Was Callum.

My eyes opened slowly... and the first person I looked at was Nathan.

He wasn’t looking at me.

He was staring at the floor, jaw tight, shoulders tense. His hands were clenched so hard. His chest rose and fell too fast, as if he couldn’t breathe right.

He knew.

He knew the father before I even said a word.

My stomach twisted painfully.

"Nathan..." I whispered.

He lifted his head—not fast, not sharply... but slowly... like it hurt him to move.

His eyes were red.

Not from anger.

From heartbreak.

Pure, silent heartbreak.

It hit me so hard my own breath stopped.

I had seen Nathan angry before. Sad before. Hurt before.

But this—

This was different.

This was like watching something inside him collapse.

"Nathan—please..." I tried again.

But he looked away.

He leaned back against the wall like his legs couldn’t hold him. His hand went up to his forehead, rubbing it as if the world was suddenly too heavy for him.

He closed his eyes.

Not speaking.

Not even breathing right.

I tried to move toward him, but the healer touched my arm gently.

"Hailee," she said softly, "this is important. You need to listen."

I forced myself to look at her even though every part of me wanted to run to Nathan and explain... explain something I didn’t even know how to explain.

The healer’s face was serious now.

"Your pregnancy is not stable," she said. "Your body is fighting it because you do not carry the father’s mark."

The words crashed into me like cold water.

Callum’s mark.

I swallowed hard, my voice small. "What... what does that mean?"

"It means," the healer said gently, "the father needs to place his mark on you. His scent, his bond, his energy... your baby needs it. Without it, your body will keep rejecting the pregnancy."

My chest grew tight. My fingers curled into the bedsheets.

"Rejecting?" I whispered.

She nodded. "You fainted because your body is struggling. If you don’t bear the father’s mark, both you and the baby are at risk."

My heart dropped so hard I felt dizzy again.

I slowly turned back toward Nathan.

He was staring at me now.

But not the way he used to.

His eyes were full of so many things—hurt, betrayal, confusion, pain.

Deep pain.

He looked like he wanted to speak... but didn’t know what to say.

"Nathan..." I whispered again, my voice cracking. "Please... listen..."

He pressed a hand to his chest—right above the bandages—as if he needed to hold himself together. Then he let out a slow, shaking breath.

The healer stepped closer to him this time.

"Alpha," she said softly, "Hailee must tell the father. She must receive his mark soon. If not... the pregnancy may not survive."

Pain stabbed through my chest.

Nathan’s jaw tightened.

He didn’t ask questions.

He didn’t shout.

He simply stared at the floor again, shoulders sinking... like someone had reached inside him and pulled out everything he had left.

My throat tightened painfully.

"Nathan," I said, stepping closer. "It’s not what you think. I never meant—"

He finally lifted his head... and his voice cracked when he spoke:

"I know who the father is."

My breath caught.

"So you don’t need to explain," he said quietly. "Just... go tell him."

Those words felt like a knife.

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