“I—I think so. I don’t know. I still had a month left!”
“Okay. Okay. Let’s go.” I grabbed her arm gently, already scanning for the car keys.
Irina jumped up from her chair, her book falling to the grass. “Oh my goodness, I’ll get the hospital bag! And don’t worry about the food, just go! This is exciting!”
“Exciting’s one word for it,” I muttered, steering Kira toward the car as calmly as I could.
Within minutes, we were on the road, speeding toward the city. The ride started out fine, but then the contractions began—slow, then sharp, tearing the calm to pieces. Kira sat in the passenger seat, gripping the edge of her seat with white knuckles. One of our cars trailed behind—my men, of course. I couldn’t go anywhere alone these days.
“Malaya, breathe,” I said, reaching over to rub her thigh. “You’re doing great. We’re going to meet him soon.”
“If this car slows down even once,” she said, eyes blazing, “I will personally remove your kidneys.”
“Speeding it is,” I said, gripping the wheel tighter.
When we reached the hospital, I didn’t bother with the parking lot. I pulled straight into the ambulance lane and slammed on the brakes right in front of the entrance. I jumped out, yanked open her door, and helped her out, her arm clutching mine as another contraction hit. One of my men from the second car wasalready there, slipping into the driver’s seat behind me. I didn’t have to say a word—they knew the drill.
The hospital staff clocked us the moment we rushed in. Whether it was the urgency in our steps or my face they recognized, I didn’t care—as long as they moved fast. And they did. Within minutes, we had a room. Nurses hovered. Monitors beeped. Kira’s breathing quickened. I paced the length of the room, again and again, for hours. Eight of them, to be exact.
And then, finally—finally—we saw him.
Our son.
They laid him on her chest, this tiny, red, squirming miracle. Kira wept as she kissed his forehead, whispering his name.
“Anton,” she breathed.
I leaned in and kissed them both, wrapping my arms around her, pressing my lips to her damp hair. My heart felt like it was bursting. She was the most incredible woman in existence—not just the world, but every fucking corner of it. The strongest soul I’d ever known. The bravest thing that ever drew breath. She was my reason. My life. My everything.
It was as if reality had slipped into a dream. After everything we’d endured—the blood, the fear, the darkness—we had arrived at this moment. She was safe. Radiant. Unbreakable. And Anton—born too soon, but screaming like he was already declaring war—came into the world pink, furious, alive. Ours. My boy. My legacy.
But the moment was short. A nurse appeared and gently explained they needed to run checks. Premature. Routine, she said. I didn’t want to let go, but Kira nodded, and we watched as they took him away.
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. I didn’t even try to blink them away. I held her tighter, kissed her again and again.
“What can I get you?” I asked, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face, voice rough. “You still haven’t eaten. Sushi?Red caviar? Champagne? Tell me, love—whatever you want, it’s yours.”
She laughed softly, exhausted but glowing. “Honestly? I’d kill for a pizza. Maybe with Parma ham.”
“Done,” I said, already pulling out my phone and placing the order through the app. “It’ll be here soon.”
While we waited, I brought her water, tucked the blanket around her legs, adjusted it twice just to have an excuse to touch her. I couldn’t stop staring—my girl, the mother of my son, the only thing that ever made sense in this blood-soaked life.
Eventually, the delivery arrived. I stood up to go fetch it, brushing a kiss to her temple.
As I stepped out into the hallway, one of my men was standing guard just outside the door. A nurse brushed past me on her way in—her face familiar, though I couldn’t place it. I didn’t stop to think about it. I just kept walking.
I grabbed the warm box from the courier and hurried back through the corridor, phone still in hand, half-watching the seconds crawl across the screen—not that they mattered. Everything outside that room had stopped meaning anything the moment I saw our son.
Soon, I would be bringing them home—the woman who carried my child, my son, the small family I never thought I’d have. It still felt unreal. Like I’d fallen headfirst into someone else’s dream and hadn’t yet woken up. I’d never known I wanted this—never dared to imagine it. But now that it was here, it was all I wanted.
I needed to pinch myself.
What the fuck did I do to deserve this?
And still, beneath the glow of it all, something sharp coiled in my chest. I’d have to step down. Soon. Find someone else to wear the crown. I didn’t want Anton growing up surrounded by the kind of men I worked with. The kind of enemies that camewith power. I wouldn’t raise my son in fear. I wouldn’t want him to live the way Kira did—under constant watch, with a ruthless father and guards shadowing every step of his childhood.
I pushed open the hospital door with my shoulder, still cradling the pizza box like it held something sacred.
