Alessio stormed out of the elevator. He turned his head to the side and grabbed Dr. Morgan's arm. He turned her around and gave her a frantic look. "What happened?" he demanded.

Dr. Morgan sighed and pulled him into their office, away from prying eyes. "Someone came in and cuffed Ashley to the bed. We think he might have harassed her sexually."

Alessio's eyes widened. "Where is she?" he asked her.

"In her room."

Alessio nodded his head. "Come with me." he demanded. It took everything he had to stay calm when all he wanted to do was to put a bullet through a f*cker's head. But he had to stay calm in order to find out what had happened.

"She's sleeping right now," Dr. Morgan whispered, walking alongside Alessio. They got to Ashley's door and she opened it up.

Alessio nodded his head and walked in. His heart beat painfully in his chest, staring at the tear-stained face of Ashley. Her hair were scattered in all direction and had been coated with sweat. He lips were swollen and the side of her cheek looked red and raw. Yet, she was still beautiful.

He walked over to her and sat down on the chair. He brushed strands of her hair away from her face and wiped off the sweat that had formed on her forehead.

"Do you know who did this to her?" he asked, glaring up at Dr. Morgan.

Dr. Morgan looked down. "I didn't see his face, no one did. We only got a glimpse of his back as he walked out. We heard Ashley screaming and didn't think much until we came in and saw her cuffed to the bed."

Alessio closed his eyes and clenched his fist. This was his fault. Had he been here at the hospital, maybe he could have prevented Ashley from getting hurt. Maybe he could have saved her from the pain.

"Did he—"

"There are no physical signs of rape but something must have happened. The look of Ashley's face was filled with horror." Dr. Morgan walked over and placed a hand on Alessio's shoulder. "We need to upgrade our security."

"Have someone stand guard outside her room. Only permit her family members to come in." Alessio shrugged her hand off and stood up. He looked down at Ashley's face. Without thinking, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"What about her ex-husband? Could he have been the one who did this? He did assault one of the nurses."

Alessio shook his head. "It's not him. Dante is blinded by lies but he would never stoop as low as this. The person who did this, he's someone who would do anything just to get what he wants. He wants Ashley and he will stop at nothing until he gets her."

"She's due soon. We can't have something like this happen again." Morgan muttered.

He nodded. "I'm not leaving anytime soon. Not until we find him so I can send a bullet through his head."

Morgan gasped. "Do you solve everything using violence?"

Alessio looked at her. "You don't hurt the ones I care about and expect me not to hurt you." he answered, not hesitating for a second.

Morgan gulped and then looked down at Ashley. "Are you going to ever tell her about—"

"Not after what just happened." Alessio wrapped his fingers around the railings of the bed. His knuckles turned white and his veins threatened to pop.

Morgan sighed. "She deserves to know, Alessio."

Alessio snapped his head towards her and glared. "I don't want her to die on me."

Morgan looked at him and shook his head. "What if she dies on that table? Doesn't she deserve to say good-bye?"

Alessio closed his eyes and breathed heavily. "She needs to be free of stress."

"If you say so." Morgan said before walking out of the room,

Alessio turned back to Ashley. He pushed her hair back and smiled. "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." he whispered. "You will live no matter what happens. Even if I have to die, trying to keep you alive, I will."

He leaned his head down on the bed and closed his eyes. His hand reached out and grabbed hers, holding onto it as if she was going to slip away from him. He let out a sigh of content and allowed sleep to take over him.

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"Alessio."

Someone called out for him. He groaned and moved his head to the other side, his eyes still closed.

"Alessio, wake up."

He groaned again and opened his eyes. He lifted his head up and looked towards Ashley who was looking at him with fear in her eyes. He got up from the chair and backed away from her. It hurt seeing the fear in her eyes. He knew it wasn't directed towards him but it pained him to have too such an emotion in her face.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, scooting away from him.

His heart dropped in his chest and he staggered. Maybe she did really fear him. He gulped. "Morgan told me what happened."

Ashley stiffened. She looked down, tears slipping down her face. She grabbed the sheets and pulled it further up her body. It was as if she was ashamed. Ashamed of her own body so she felt the need to cover it up. "Please go."

"I'm not leaving you." Alessio said a little too harshly.

Her body jerked upward. She stared at him, fear standing strong in her eyes. She cowered back and held in her hand in front of her.

He didn't think he could be hurt any more than he was in that moment. She feared him. "Ashley," he whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you."

She shook her head. Her eyes looked at anything but at him. "I want to be alone, Dr. Morcelli. Please, go."

It broke him apart to see her like this. Ashley had always been a strong woman but now she wasn't anymore. In this moment, she looked like a child, vulnerable to anything and everything. Her eyes were filled with hurt, pain, and anguish. The light that were once in her eyes turned dim. It was as if they were never there in the first place.

He didn't want to leave her alone like this. But hearing her refer to him by his last name pained him more than anything else. And through that, he knew that him being there was just going to make things worse.

So he nodded his head. "Alright." he whispered. "You know what to do if you need me."

"It didn't help me earlier. It won't help me now." she whispered.

Alessio sighed. She had lost her hope in him. He clenched his fist and walked out of her room. It pained him to walk away like this but she needed her space. He would use this time to find him. Find the man who had hurt Ashley if it was the last thing he did.

He won't rest until he find this man.

When he does, he will rip the man to shreds and make sure that he would never be able to feel, touch, or smell anything for the rest of his life. That man will go through torture at Alessio's hand. He will be lucky if he can even move by the time Alessio is finished with him.

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"Ashley got attacked in her room yesterday."

Dante dropped everything he was holding. He snapped his head towards Thomas. Fear crept into his body and he rushed over to Thomas. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "What do you mean she was attacked?" he asked frantically.

Thomas sighed and pushed Dante away. "Someone attacked her room. They turned off all the cameras and everything that connected her with the doctors and nurses."

Dante's eyes widened. He pushed his hair back and gripped it. Pacing, he rushed towards his office. He grabbed his phone and shoved it into his pocket.

"Where are you going?" Thomas asked him, pushing him back as Dante rushed out of the door.

Dante glared at him and pushed him away. "I need to go to Italy. I need to make sure she and the baby is okay."

"They're fine." Thomas sat down.

Dante shook his head. "I'll see that for myself. I won't be able to do anything without seeing her for myself."

"So now you want to see her? Now you want to be there for her?" Thomas said calmly but there was a hint of anger in his voice.

"I love her." Dante looked at Thomas. "You wouldn't understand what that feels like. Love blinds you and makes you put the person you love before yourself."

"And you couldn't do that when she apparently cheated?" Thomas raised his eyebrow up and smirked. "Is that what love is? Not trusting your wife?"

Dante closed his eyes. His face began to heat up. "I made a mistake, Thomas. And now I'm trying to make up for it."

"Don't you think it's a little too late?" Thomas stood up and walked around Dante in circles. "Don't you think that you ended everything when you stopped believing in her? In the woman who you claim you love?"

Dante opened his eyes and glared at Thomas. "What are you getting at Thomas?"

"All I'm saying Dante is that you screwed yourself over. And now you're trying to make up for it but sometimes, things are meant to be made up for." Thomas looked into his eyes. "Somethings are not meant to be fixed. Yours and Ashley's relationship would be one."

Dante scoffed at him. "It will be fixed. Everything will be fixed once I go and see my wife. Now move Thomas."

Thomas smiled at him and moved away. He mock saluted Dante. "I wish you the best of luck, best friend."

Dante glared at him and walked off. He practically ran down the stairs and into the parking lot. Grabbing his keys, he opened his car and started to drive towards the airport. He looked at the time on the dashboard.

Looking back onto the road, he prayed for there to not be any traffic. Luck seemed to be on his side for once as he got to the airport in record time. He raced towards the front desk and purchased his ticket.

Grabbing it out of the woman's hand, he raced to the gate.

"Hold on Ashley. I'm coming." he whispered, shoving the ticket towards the gate keeper.

"Just hold on for me." He closed his eyes and sat down on his seat. "Keep holding on for me."

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Ashley opened her eyes just as the door snapped open. She jumped and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up her body. Her eyes moved towards the door and she froze seeing him standing in front of it.

He was out of breath, as if he had just finished a marathon. He locked eyes with her. "Ashley," he whispered. He walked over to her and sat down by her side.

She followed his movement but didn't do anything else. Her eyes remain locked on him and only him.

"I'm sorry." he whispered to her.

That was all it took for her to burst out into tears. She grabbed his arms and cried into his chest. Her hands circled around his neck and he pulled her onto his lap.

He wrapped his arm around her body and whispered sweet nothing into her ear. "Sh. I'm here. Everything will be okay."

"I want to forget it all." she sobbed into him.

They fell back on the bed. She laid on top of his chest. Her tears dampened his shirt like they did so many times before. But just like those times, he didn't comment on it. He just continued to hold her, making her feel safe.

In that moment, everything they went through seemed to vanish. He became her shoulder to cry on again. He became the person who she went to when she needed someone to tell her everything was going to be okay.

"I have you Ash. I will always have you." he whispered.

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