“Her nausea could be related to gastritis. However, withoutabdominal pain or burning and with sensitivity to smells, I would recommend a pregnancy test to rule it out,” she said.
Dmitri looked at me, but my mind had already drifted elsewhere. The cigarette smell suddenly made me feel sick out of the blue. Even the garlic sauce I usually loved now turned my stomach.
“Let’s do the test,” I said.
Dmitri exhaled and turned to the doctor. “Give us a moment.” When she left, he sat beside me and took my hand. “I thought we were on pills.”
I looked at him. “You absolute bastard. You got me pregnant.” I hit his chest once, but he caught my hand and held it there as we stared at each other.
After a moment, he spoke. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
I exhaled. “I don’t know. How did this happen? I was on the pills. This is ridiculous. We’re not even officially married yet, Dmitri. What if something goes wrong?” I swallowed, then breathed to calm myself down. “I won’t leave. I will never leave our baby.”
“Hey.” He pressed his lips to my palm. “Let’s test first.”
“What is there to test?” I exhaled. “Those pills are useless. I want to sue whoever made them. They clearly don’t work. Dmitri, we should sue them.”
“We will sue them.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss on my lips. “Just to be sure, you didn’t miss a day?”
“I’m not stupid enough to forget something that important. You know—” I stopped as I traced my thoughts back, and heat rushed to my face. “Wait, I missed it on our first date,” I remembered skipping a day when Dmitri took me to the casino. We had wild sex on his motorcycle and didn’t return home. We went back to the penthouse and spent the entire night having sex as if we were possessed.
“Look.” He pulled me into a deep, unplanned kiss before hecontinued. “If you are pregnant, I will take care of you and the baby.”
He searched my eyes. I wanted to tell him I knew he would, but I remembered I used to say I didn’t want a child. That was why he was worried.
“You’d better do that. But in the next life, make sure I finish college first, or I will kill you.”
He smiled. “I will remember that. And also remember to find you sooner before you steal my money.”
A quick laugh escaped me, and I hit his shoulder. “We should call the doctor and get the test before we get our hopes up.”
He nodded and got up. “I will get her.” He left, and I sat there alone. My hand drifted to my stomach, resting there as I stared down at myself. The thought felt too large to fit inside my head. Could I really be pregnant?
After the doctor drew my blood, she left the house while Dmitri and I returned to the others. I assured everyone that everything was fine, and little by little, the party found its rhythm again. Conversations resumed. Glasses clinked. Laughter carried across the terrace as if nothing had happened.
But I couldn’t stop watching Alessia.
She ate without apology while smiling through conversations. If I were pregnant, Grandma would be expecting two great-grandchildren. The thought settled over me. This was not how I imagined her eighty-fifth birthday ending.
When Dmitri’s phone rang on the table, my heart lurched. It could have been anyone. But the moment he answered and looked directly at me as he listened, I knew it was the doctor.
The sounds around the table faded into the background. Everything seemed distant suddenly.
He ended the call without breaking eye contact and set the phone down. His expression gave nothing away, which only made my pulse climb higher.
“So?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer. His hand rose to my face instead, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“Dmitri, I swear to God. Just answer me.”
A smile touched his mouth. “We are pregnant.”
I let out a breath and stared at him, letting the words settle into something real. “We? Really?” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You and I are one.” His hand moved to my stomach, resting there as if it had decided that was its new place.
“Not until we officially get married,” I said. “But fine. I won’t argue with biology tonight.”
