Chapter 6

"It's the son of the President."

"Jace Wellington?" I asked, and Jackson gave a curt nod, flipping through his passport.

"What the hell was he doing racing a motorcycle?" My brows pulled together. Jackson paused, then sighed, his eyes still fixed on the document.

"No idea. They're young, wild, and think they're untouchable."

I studied him for a beat, letting the silence stretch.

"That's why you hate what Rio does, isn't it?" I asked quietly.

Jackson's hand froze. His mouth twitched, like he wanted to say something—but didn't. Instead, he straightened as a staff member entered.

"The jet's here."

I turned toward the window as the sleek aircraft rolled into view. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine flying on the President's private jet," I said in awe.

Jackson smirked. "It's time you got used to this life, darling." He took my luggage before I could protest and headed toward the tarmac.

I spent most of the flight with my eyes shut, pretending to sleep. I hadn't touched my food, and thankfully Jackson didn't ask why.

Soon it was evening, we arrived at the Grand Forte Hotel back in New York, and were greeted by a concierge named Brad.

"Welcome to the Grande Forte hotel. We're honored to have you, sir, ma'am."

"Thank you," Jackson said flatly. He raised an eyebrow when Brad shifted nervously on his feet.

"But we do have… a slight issue."

Jackson's voice sharpened. "Which is?"

"There's a presidential summit this weekend. The hotel is packed, and every hotel in a ten-mile radius is at capacity. We only have one suite left."

Brad glanced at me. "We assumed you and your assistant could share…"

"She's not my assistant," Jackson cut in.

"My apologies," Brad laughed nervously. "Would you consider sharing the suite? It's complimentary, the President has covered all costs."

I exhaled tiredly, "Oh God."

"It's just for one night," Brad assured us. "We'll have a second room available by morning."

Jackson gave a short nod. "That's fine, thank you, Brad."

"I'll have your bags sent up," Brad said and walked away with our bags.

Once alone, Jackson turned to me. "I'll take the couch, it should be comfortable. I'll be reviewing Jace's medical file tonight anyway. Sleep won't be a priority tonight."

I gave a soft laugh. "Sharing a bed with you isn't new, Jackson. As long as you don't smother me in my sleep, I'll survive."

He smirked. "After you."

The night dragged on. I turned for the tenth time in bed, unable to sleep. Jackson was still awake. He was sitting upright, papers spread across the bed, his reading glasses perched on his face.

"I can't sleep," I said quietly as I turned to face him.

"Neither can I, and I can't focus." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "You need to get some sleep, though, for the baby." He added.

"I know." I sighed.

He glanced over, voice softer as our eyes met. "How far along are you?"

"Two months," I said before I could think, and we fell into silence again, until Jackson spoke.

"You think Rio's still in love with you?"

"That's not my concern." I quickly replied.

"You kissed him."

He saw that.

"I didn't have a choice. It was under a stupid mistletoe." I snapped.

He chuckled, but his voice held an edge. "Word is, he was your first love. Maybe you're just reigniting old sparks."

I almost rolled my eyes. "Jackson…"

"Humor me. Let's just call this a father-daughter talk." He teased.

I scoffed. "Please, we both know we left that dynamic behind the moment you got between my legs and fckd me"

His chuckle rumbled low, and to my dismay, I smiled.

A silent moment passed again before he spoke.

"You should've seen your face," he said softly. "The way you looked when you came apart in my arms… I can't get it out of my head."

My breath hitched, and I squeezed my legs tight from the tremors the instant flashbacks gave me.

I slowly turned away. "Goodnight, Jackson."

A few hours into my sleep, in the early hours of the morning, we received the call: Jace Wellington had landed. We were needed at the hospital immediately.

As I got ready and slipped on my shoes, the silence between us stretched. And I stood, Jackson was in front of me, staring. I instinctively stepped back, but he didn't move.

"You weren't going to tell me, were you?"

I avoided his eyes. "What?"

"I'm the father… aren't I?"

"I…" I turned away, grabbing my coat. "This is not the time to discuss that…"

"Gianna…"

"No," I snapped. "Right now, what we need to focus on is keeping the President's son alive, not my pregnancy and not us. Jace Wellington is lying in a hospital bed with a fractured skull and bleeding internally; he is our priority."

Jackson didn't argue; instead, he checked his wrist watch. "We've got eighteen minutes to get to the hospital."

As I grabbed my bag, he hesitated at the door, his eyes glancing at my belly, "Are you sure you're fit to…"

"Don't," I cut in. "My pregnancy won't interfere with my work. Please don't bring it up again."

He sighed. "Gianna, I'm worried about you."

"You don't have the right to be," I laughed, "The baby is mine. I don't want anything from you."

"I'm marrying your mother and you're carrying my child, we can't sweep this under the rug."

"We have to, this is wrong on every level, and you know it. Let's just pretend it never happened. After the wedding, I'll work on a transfer far away from interrupting your lives."

His jaw clenched, but he didn't respond. "We're not done here," he said as he opened the door. "Let's go."

The hospital was in chaos when we got there, and we scrubbed in immediately.

Jace's vitals were unstable. He had a fractured cranium, two broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Jackson led the trauma team while I assisted.

"BP's dropping—70 over 40!"

"Get a central line in, now!" Jackson barked orders, "Gianna, start suction on the cranial bleed!"

I worked in sync with him, my hands steady despite the stress and my fatigue.

"Pupils are non-reactive. We need Mannitol, 1g IV push!"

A nurse scrambled to comply, the surgical bay abuzz with urgency.

"Pulse is thready, he's going into shock."

"Push Epi, 1mg IV stat. Prep the defibrillator," Jackson ordered.

I grabbed the paddles. "Charging to 200. Clear!"

The jolt went through his body, and Jace flopped. Nothing.

"Again. Clear!"

Still flatlining, the heart monitors screamed.

Jackson's voice dropped an octave. "Come on, Jace… Again!"

Then…

A slow, rhythmic beep.

"Sinus rhythm returning. BP stabilizing."

I exhaled shakily and held my aching stomach away from everyone's eyes.

"Good work, everyone," Jackson said and went back to stitching Jace up.

Midway through work, he looked around for me, eyes watching me closely to make sure I was okay before he turned back to work.

Hours later, when he spoke with the President privately. I leaned against a wall, exhausted and getting ready to go home.

"You okay?" Jackson asked gently as he entered the room.

"I'm fine. Just tired." I said.

"If you need to lie down…"

"I said I'm fine." I cut him off through gritted teeth, my hormones acting up, and Jackson backed off quietly.

We left together after cleaning up and returned to the hotel in silence. I tried to hold myself together, but fatigue and stress were catching up, and I needed to eat something.

In the elevator, the lights suddenly flickered. A loud bang followed, and the cabin jolted roughly to a stop. I held the wall to keep steady.

"Oh no. No, please…" My voice shook as the lights went off.

Jackson turned on his torchlight and looked at the panel. "It's nothing serious, just a malfunction. I'll call for help downstairs…"

But when he turned to me, I was crumpling against the wall, shaking.

"Gianna…" he rushed to me.

"I can't… I can't breathe." I choked out.

"Hey. Look at me." Jackson crouched in front of me, gripping my shoulders.

"I'm claustrophobic," I gasped, the small space closing in on me.

Jackson gently cupped my face. "I'm right here. Breathe with me, okay?"

"I can't. It's too small, there's no air…" My voice broke. My hands trembled, and I was on the verge of passing out.

"Gianna," he said firmly, and then, without warning, Jackson planted his lips on mine and kissed me.

At first, I froze, shocked, but his warmth, his steadiness, and how he pushed his tongue into my mouth… I melted into it.

His lips moved against mine, unhurried and reassuring, while his fingers ran through my hair softly.

When we broke apart, I was panting and trembling for a totally different reason, my lips swollen.

"You're safe," he murmured, brushing my hair behind my ear. "I've got you."

Seeing how tight I held on to his collar, I quickly let go.

"Are you good?"

"I think so." I muttered, still scared of the small dark space, "Can you… hold me? Just for a little while"

Jackson pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. "Sure, I have no plans of letting you go." He whispered.

We stayed cuddled up for a long while before the elevator jerked again. We heard voices outside and broke apart.

Soon, the cabin came alive with a ding and the doors slid open.

And standing outside was my angry-looking mother.

"Gia?" Her voice was sharp. "Jackson? What's going on?"

How was she here?

I stood quickly, panic setting in, "Mum…"

Her eyes dropped to my stomach. "Are you pregnant?"

My heart stopped. "How did you…?"

She stepped forward, voice low and cold. "Who's the father?"

I froze, "Mum… I…"

"I am," a voice answered.

But it wasn't Jackson.