“Are you sure you want to keep the child? Because none of us will stop you if you decide not to. Motherhood is not easy, and you are already going through so much, and Fyodor is not here.”
“Yes,” I said after a few seconds, Ilana’s words ringing through my years. “Right now, this feels like the only thing I feel sure about. This child belongs to Fyodor and me. This is the symbol of our love. I can never give up on it.”
“But what if he doesn’t come back? You will still want to keep this child without him?” Clara asked, appearing concerned.
“He will come back. He has to.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Zhenya asked, repeating Clara’s question.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
“Then I’ll make him.”
For the first time in a week, something inside me felt clear. It was not easy or calm, but at least I was certain. They had stormed a penthouse, believing they were rescuing me. They had fractured a man who thought I betrayed him. They had writtena narrative I hadn’t agreed to. This changed the story. This changed the stakes.
I stood slowly, my hands steadier now as if having this child had somehow filled me with newfound confidence.
“I am not staying here much longer. I am going to him, and no one will be able to stop me from that,” I said, a little more sure of myself with every passing minute. I was done being a pet in everyone else’s game.
It was time I did this for myself.
Chapter 24 - Fyodor
Walking into the Chernykh estate alone was either the bravest thing I had ever done or the stupidest thing I would ever live long enough to do because Iosif would certainly shoot me the minute he saw me.
Or it could possibly be both.
The iron gates loomed ahead, flanked by guards who had likely rehearsed shooting me in their spare time. The mansion beyond them stood as it always had, imposing, immaculate, and built to intimidate. But I wasn’t here to intimidate anyone. I was here because the assumption had almost destroyed everything. And I wasn’t going to make that mistake ever again. The plan, if it could even be called that, had not been mine.
Ilana had arrived at the safe house two nights ago with Clara and, inexplicably, Zhenya trailing behind her like an accomplice who hadn’t fully processed the danger.
“This is reckless,” Viktor had said.
“Yes,” Ilana agreed calmly.
“We could start a war.”
“Only if he escalates.”
Zhenya had leaned against the wall and looked at me critically.
“You look terrible, by the way. Are you sure you want to barge in the Chernykh mansion and confess your love for my sister, looking like that? Please try to fix your face.”
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind,” I had replied dryly.
“The plan is simple,” Ilana had said. “We create a distraction and make sure someone gets you inside. We willguide you straight to her room so you can speak to her. It won’t be that difficult since she is dying to speak to you. The two of you can sort things out quickly and leave before anyone is alerted of the breach or anyone finds out about you being inside the house.”
“Oh yes, Iosif and Avgust should never find out about this until after you two are gone and somewhere safe,” Clara had added gently.
“That’s not the objective,” I had said.
All three of them had stared at me.
“You’re not running?” Zhenya had asked incredulously.
“No.”
“You need to.”
