A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for all the great reviews. Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.

Thanks to HopelessRomantic79 for her awesome beta skills

Chapter 3

JPOV

I had the strangest feeling of floating. Perhaps flying was a better term. It was as if I was up in the air in the early morning sunrise with the sun streaming on my face, warming my body. The wind rushing across my face in short little bursts and something quiet whispering unintelligible things in my ear. A gentle rocking motion suddenly broke the calm and woke me up.

I opened my eyes to see that I was hunched over the head of Bella's hospital bed with my face rights next to hers, and my hand gripping hers tighter than I probably should have been. My back felt stiff with age and the uncomfortable way I had fallen asleep in. I looked over to see that it was one of Bella's nurses who had shaken me by my shoulder to wake me up. She was young, with dark skin and the darkest hair I had ever seen with an almost dark purple hue to it.

"I'm sorry to wake you Mr. Whitlock." I glanced at my watch and saw that it was nearing one in the morning. "But the officer you had spoken to earlier is outside and would like to speak to you again. Shall I send him in?"

I nodded my head yes as I scrubbed my hand down my face in an attempt to wake myself up a bit more. I took a swig from the water glass the nurse had left next to Bella's beside for her and prepared myself to hear what the officer had to say.

The officer looked rather stoic, like he was trying really hard to not get emotionally involved with his case. I imagine that after so many years in this career, it was a force of habit in order to deal with the shit he saw all the time. "How is she?"

I shook my head a little to clear the fog, "Um…" I coughed, "she is doing better than earlier. They couldn't save the baby but they were able to save her, which I am so grateful for. She has been out for a while, but they said her vitals are good." I paused. I didn't know what else to really say. Finally after he sighed I asked the question plaguing me. "Did you speak to Bella's boss?"

He nodded and looked down away from me. He didn't want to meet my eyes which immediately alerted me to the fact that something was wrong. "Yes sir I did. What Mr. Hargrove told me was rather troubling. I had really hoped that Mrs. Whitlock would be awake right now so she could account her side of it to me too." He blew out a breath like he was really nervous to tell me what he had uncovered. "Mr. Whitlock, it seems that there was something your wife wasn't telling you."

"I don't understand."

The officer sat back in his chair and finally met my gaze. "Mr. Hargrove claims that he and Mrs. Whitlock here have been having an affair, going on about eight months now."

"That's fucking impossible." I snapped. There was no way, I knew Bella better than that. She despised that pig and had decided not to go back to work there after the baby was born. I made more than enough money to take care of us.

"I'm afraid that is what Mr. Hargrove told me. They started their affair shortly after she started working there. He said that when she became pregnant she told him that she didn't know whether the baby was his or yours which had caused them to start arguing. He claims that today, or rather yesterday, he had finally ended the relationship because he couldn't deal with sharing her anymore. He said she fled his office in tears and he hadn't heard anything from her or about her until I showed up there tonight."

"This is all bullshit, you know that right?" I yelled at him. I was pissed. Bella had not been cheating on me. It's not in her nature. She is not that cruel.

"Sir, Mr. Hargrove is respected attorney in our city, what use would he have with lying to the authorities?"

"He's a fucking lawyer. They all lie!"

"Mr. Whitlock, your emotions aside, this can't be ruled out. There is a very big probability that it is correct."

"She doesn't even like her boss! He is a chauvinistic pig that fucks anything that'll let him. Go ask! Go to the law firm and ask around. Find whatever woman who is dressed on the sluttier side and ask, I guarantee they say he slept with him. I don't believe for one second that Bella and him had anything together more than a business relationship."

"Calm down Mr. Whitlock."

"I will not calm down. This is utterly ludicrous. Just wait until Bella wakes up and gives you her side. Then we'll see if you are singing a different tune about Mr. Hargrove. "

"I will be Mr. Whitlock. I'll be back later on in the morning to question Mrs. Whitlock. I will also be conducting a thorough investigation at Harper, Saks and Associates. Do not doubt that." His tone had taken on a sharper insulting quality to it that obviously meant that he did not like my questioning of his investigation skills. But who knows? James is seedy person, maybe he bought him off. "Good evening Mr. Whitlock." With that he stepped out the door letting it fall behind him with a resounding click.

I slumped against in the chair next to Bella's bed again, feeling far more exhausted than I had just moments ago. My heart was racing and my blood was boiling. How dare he make such unfounded claims? I started to drift off again when I finally heard her.

"He's wrong." It was so quiet I barely heard it. I jumped up and leaned over the bed to get a better look at Bella. She looked so tired and exhausted, but at least coherent this time.

"What baby?"

"He's wrong. I wouldn't touch James with a ten foot pole unless it was to smack him upside the head with it." She smiled slightly and I couldn't help but to smile a little with her.

"I never would believe him baby. I know you better than that. I know you wouldn't cheat." I pressed a kiss to her forehead and look her in the eyes. They were starting to water.

"I…." she started. "I-I…I lost the baby didn't I?"

"Oh Bella…" She started sobbing harder and I gently pulled her into my arms the best I could. "I am so sorry sweetie, but yes, we lost our little girl." This seemed to only make her cry harder. I cried for her.

It was some time later before she calm down enough to talk to me again. "It's all James fault!" she said with so much anger.

"Bella, you need to calm down. You did just have surgery." She took a deep breath.

"It is still his fault!"

"I know Bella, but I need you to elaborate for me because James is making false claims that he had an affair with you and the baby could have been his."

She started shaking her head vehemently before I had even gotten my whole response out. "No. Absolutely not! He is disgusting."

"Ok, so please tell me what really happened today…"

She nodded her head and sat up a little more in bed, wincing as she did so. "They were working on the elevator in the lobby today. Apparently one of the assistants had dropped one of the giant ink toners for the copier in the elevator causing it to crack and spill ink all over everything, they had to pull the tiling up… anyways, that's beside the point. We all had to use the stairs today. Well, mostly everyone was gone by the time I went to leave for the appointment. I said good bye to James and made my way to the stairs. As I opened the door to them I was grabbed from behind and pushed through it and up against the wall inside the stairwell."

I rubbed reassuring circles on the back of her hand, trying to be patient and let her tell me in whatever way was easier for her. But, I just knew. I just knew that I would not like the points between A to Z. Between leaving work and the hospital. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. It would do Bella no good if I got angry and started yelling and shouting. I wouldn't want her to think it was her that I was mad at, far from it. I wanted to rip James' head off and shove it down his throat. Or perhaps dismember him and shove it up his ass. Maybe I could slam him up against a wall, assault him and then throw him down the stairs like rag doll. Only seemed fitting right? Turn around is only fair play.

She sighed and continued. "J-James tried to force his hand up under my s-skirt. He said he knew that I wanted this and now I could have it. I begged him n-not to. I begged him to leave me alone. I even told him I wouldn't tell anyone if he would just l-let me g-go." She started crying again. "He hit me across the face and said I wouldn't tell anyone anyways." I handed her a tissue and let her catch her breath. Me though, I was seething. It took all the willpower I had not to jump and run out the door. "I-I fought him. I kept telling him n-no. I struggled to get away from him and he said, and I q-quote, 'Fucking bitch, you should've gone along with it like the others' and then he pushed me. I t-tried to catch myself on the railing, I tried to keep myself from falling, to protect our baby, but he hit me on the side of my head again and I don't really remember much after that."

I crawled into the bed next to her the best I could and pulled her into my arms. I ran my hand up and down her back as she cried. "Bella, I love you so much and I am so sorry that you had to be forced to see firsthand how horrible some men can be. It doesn't make me love you any less. I am so so sorry babe. I hate that man more than I think I could probably say right now."

At this point I was just trying to keep calm for Bella, but I already knew that the second that she fell asleep again I would be going and paying Mr. Hargrove a visit, and not a friendly one at that. How dare he pull this kind of stunt with my Bella or any other women out there? Bastard. Perhaps it is time he got a taste of his own medicine.

A/N: Teaser of the next chapter to those who want it. I personally can't wait for the next chapter, its a killer one! Please review :)