My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 29

chapter 25
BELLA’S POV

The air outside the supply room was cold, but I didn’t focus on it. I was just stepping out when Jasmine caught up to me. She was older than me by at least fifteen years, with kind eyes that never seemed to go hard, even when she was scolding someone.

“Hey,” she said, reaching out to pat my hand. Her touch was warm and motherly. “Don’t take Shay’s words to heart. She’s only venting her anger on you because she likes Justin from the Fleet.”

I blinked, confused. “Justin?”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

She chuckled softly. “You don’t know who I’m talking about? Justin’s one of our drivers. The tall one with dark hair, always wears that green cap. He seems interested in you. He always greets you when you come in.”

I frowned slightly, trying to recall. There was a driver who always smiled and nodded when I passed, but I had never thought much of it.

“Justin’s a nice guy,” Jasmine continued. Her voice lowered like she was sharing a secret. “The hospital had plans for him. His parents already bought him a house for when he gets married. You might want to consider… accepting him.”

I blinked again, this time in surprise. “Accepting him? Are you matchmaking now, Jasmine?”

She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. “Maybe. It’s just that you’re a good girl, Bella. You deserve someone decent.”

Her kindness made something in me soften. She meant well, unlike Jane or Shay with her barbed words. Jasmine wasn’t mocking me. She was trying to help in her own way.

“I appreciate it,” I said gently, “but no thanks. I don’t have any intentions of getting into a relationship.”

Jasmine frowned. “You’re young now, Bella, but as a woman gets older, it gets harder to find a partner.”

I smiled. “Then I guess I’ll just remain single till I’m ready. I don’t mind, really.”

She shook her head at me. She looked like she couldn’t believe it. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” I said quietly.

Honestly, love was the last thing on my mind. It had been that way ever since I got out of prison.

Damien had sworn to love me once. To mate me. To stand by me when everything went wrong. He knew I was pregnant. He promised he’d protect me, that our bond meant something.

And then he destroyed me. He never visited me. Not once.

The image of his cold eyes still burned in my memory. My chest ached, not from love but from the ghost of it.

But it wasn’t even him I grieved anymore. It was what I lost. The tiny life that never got a chance to exist. The little heartbeat that I carried for too short a time.

My baby.

I pressed a hand to my stomach without meaning to. The ache was familiar. I thought of what could have been — the laughter, the small hands, the unconditional love I would’ve given.

But I shook the thoughts away. How could I have raised a child in prison? How could I have protected a baby when I couldn’t even protect myself?

And being rogue… that would’ve doomed us both. Damien’s pack, or worse, my father’s, would’ve claimed the child and taken them away from me.

Still, I would’ve given everything. I would’ve given my life, my freedom, just to have that child alive and healthy.

But fate didn’t allow it.

The accident had taken more than just my freedom. The doctor had told me quietly, after the surgery, that the internal damage might make it impossible for me to conceive again.

That broke me more than any prison cell ever could.

Which was just one more reason I didn’t want love. I didn’t need it.

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