Chapter 4 : Meeting Brody Hamilton

As consciousness slowly returned, Keith could still feel a dull pain in his stomach. He opened his eyes to a white blur and a group of doctors in white coats.

For a moment, he was confused. Then, the bloody scenes flashed through his mind. Keith sat up, his small, haggard face full of anxiety and unease. He grabbed a doctor''s sleeve with his small, pale hand and hurriedly asked, "Doctor, my baby! Is my baby..."

Keith''s soft voice trembled involuntarily, his beautiful almond eyes filled with tears and fear.

"Don''t worry, your baby is fine. Just take good care of yourself from now on," the doctor said before going about his business.

Keith finally breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing weakly onto the bed. He placed a hand on his stomach, grateful that everything was okay.

He wondered if it was Austin who brought him here. Maybe Austin did care about him after all.

Then, a man in a luxurious suit walked in and stood straight in front of Keith.

Austin looked at Keith with deep, unreadable eyes. He spoke calmly, "When did this happen? How long has it been?"

Austin''s chiseled face showed no emotion, as if the baby in Keith''s stomach had nothing to do with him. This made Keith''s heart ache. He desperately hoped to see some other emotion in Austin''s exquisite eyes.

Keith lowered his head, his soft, pale hands tightly gripping the blanket on his lap. He bit his lip, thinking that Mr. Austin was becoming a father for the first time. Maybe he just couldn''t adapt yet and wouldn''t dislike the baby.

"Two months ago," Keith replied honestly. The memory of Austin''s out-of-control marking during his heat was still vivid for Keith. He couldn''t forget the rare gentle whispers in his ear, even though they weren''t calling his name.

For Austin, the memory was a bit blurry but still somewhat clear. He could tell the little guy in front of him wasn''t lying.

"Get a surgery later. I won''t acknowledge this child," Austin said, his tone flat and devoid of warmth. To Keith, it felt like a death sentence.

Keith''s pupils dilated as he stiffly raised his head, staring at Austin in shock. He couldn''t believe what he had just heard.

Austin said, "You should know better than anyone how that baby got in your belly. The person I love is Frank. I won''t acknowledge a child that''s not mine."

Austin''s eyes filled with disgust, his narrow gaze seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.

Keith''s pale fingers tightly gripped the bed sheets, his face turning even whiter. With a voice hoarse and choked with sobs, he pleaded humbly, "Sir, I want to keep him. Please, I don''t want to have the surgery."

Keith''s trembling hand carefully tugged at Austin''s arm, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, his emotions completely unrestrained.

Austin''s eyes darkened. "Do you think I''m negotiating with you?" he said, shaking off Keith''s hand without a second thought, not caring that one of Keith''s arms was still bandaged.

Keith begged desperately, his tear-filled eyes shimmering. He pulled out the needle from the back of his hand, letting the blood flow freely, and rolled off the bed, hitting the floor heavily.

Keith knelt in front of Austin, bowing his head low, his forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud. Tears splashed onto the floor as he clutched at Austin''s pant leg like a lifeline, looking up with a bruised forehead stark against his pale skin.

His voice was hoarse and barely audible, "Sir... I beg you, please don''t... make me get rid of him... Sir..."

Austin kicked his leg, nearly hitting Keith''s stomach, his eyes filled with disdain. Tsk, how did he ever think this person resembled Frank and waste so much time on him?

Without looking back, Austin walked away, leaving Keith kneeling on the cold floor.

Keith buried his head in his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. He was so scared, truly terrified.

Now that the needle was out, he didn''t want to stay in the hospital any longer. He was so afraid that the next moment he opened his eyes, he would find himself in the operating room, watching his child disappear before his eyes.

Meanwhile...

"Montague, the doctor has already told me, I... understand."

Frank looked utterly dejected, his eyes red as if tears would fall any second, making him look pitiful.

Austin held Frank, wiping the moisture from his eyes, feeling deeply guilty. "You don''t have to be so understanding. It was just an accident with him, Frank, you have to believe me."

Frank sniffled, pretending to be troubled. "But now he has your child. I can''t accept having another person''s child between us."

He turned away, and as he opened the door, he glanced back at Austin, "Montague, now that you have your own family, I... I will wish you well." Though he said this, the sadness in his eyes was unmistakable.

Austin clenched his fists, his face dark and grim. There was no way he could have a family with that guy. The only person who could be the other parent to his child was Frank.

When Keith returned home, he saw the terrifyingly grim Austin sitting in the grand master''s chair, his long legs casually crossed. The dim light cast shadows on Austin''s chiseled face, making his features even more pronounced, but when he looked at Keith, his sharp eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.

Austin tapped the table with his long fingers and said coldly, "Drink it."

Keith''s fingers shrank back, retreating several steps. "What... is that?"

Austin didn''t intend to answer, repeating, "Drink."

Keith''s legs felt weak. He didn''t need to guess to know what kind of medicine it was. His eyes were filled with disbelief that the man in front of him could be so cruel. "No... I won''t drink it, I don''t want to drink it!"

Keith tried to run, but his frail body couldn''t move fast. He tripped over some pebbles on the ground after just a few steps.

Austin picked up the bowl of soup and slowly walked towards Keith, exuding a powerful Alpha pheromone that rendered Keith immobile. Austin grabbed Keith''s chin harshly and forced the still-hot medicinal soup down his throat, ignoring Keith''s struggles.

Keith''s tear-filled eyes were full of disbelief. He never imagined that the cologne-scented pheromone, which used to comfort him during his worst moments, would one day become a weapon to hurt him.

After making sure Keith had swallowed the entire bowl of soup, Austin tossed him aside. Keith coughed uncontrollably, desperately trying to vomit the soup, but it was futile. He looked up at Austin, who was wiping his hands with a silk handkerchief, a look of slight disdain on his face.

Dragging his heavy body, Keith slowly approached Austin, reaching out with his bandaged hand to touch him. His voice was hoarse and choked with sobs, "I was wrong. Please give me back the child... I''ll be good from now on, I beg you..."

However, Keith''s eyelids grew heavier, and his consciousness became increasingly blurred. He could faintly hear the sound of an ambulance siren.

"It hurts... Sir... Keith hurts so much..."