Kirill lets out a dry, humorless laugh as Dr. Silinsky gives me a soft smile.
“That positivity will help you heal quicker,” she tells me as she changes my bandage. “In the meantime, we have pain meds on hand that won’t affect the baby. Once we get a little something in your stomach I can give you some.”
“Speaking of stomach,” I say, moving my hand back over my womb, “Are you sure my baby’s okay?”
Dr. Silinsky gives me a kind look as she snaps off her gloves,
“Let me show you something,” she says, and pulls over one of the many monitors. “See this little line here? How it has these perfect spikes? That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
I’m so mesmerized by watching the monitor that I barely feel her pull my dressing gown up.
“These leads track your baby,” she explains when I finally look down. I’m relieved as I see that she’s left the blankets at my waist, protecting my modesty.
“I didn’t even know they were there,” I murmur, looking from the leads to the monitor.
“Well they are,” Dr. Silinsky says in a kind voice, pulling my dressing gown back down, “And they’re telling us that your baby is perfectly fine. I’ll do another ultrasound later so you can see him.”
My head and Kirill’s whip towards the doctor.
“It’s a boy?” he asks, his eyes wide with wonder.
Dr. Silinsky gives us both a warm smile.
“It’s a boy,” she tells us, “And he’s very healthy. You’ve got a fighter on your hands.”
My eyes start to water as Kirill looks back to me and takes my hand.
“I have two of them,” he murmurs as he kisses my knuckles.
The pride gleaming in his eyes has my heart swelling with love, and I blurt out the words before I can even think about it.
"I love you."
“Oh,devochka,”Kirill rasps, opening my hand. He kisses my palm sweetly as he lets me stroke his jaw with my fingertips. “I love you too.So much.”
“Well,” Dr. Silinsky sighs, moving toward the door. “Now that you know you’re both happy and healthy, I’ll leave you two be.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Kirill calls after her, and once we’re alone again, Kirill moves onto the bed with me, and we lose ourselves in a kiss.
I’m not sure if it’s minutes or hours that pass, but we don’t break apart until we hear a knock on the door. I can’t help but smile at the annoyed look on my husband’s face as he begrudgingly pulls away, and calls for the people outside to come in.
Edik enters first, then my sister and father. Yana follows them, closing the door behind her. My heart flutters as I see them all again.
“Doch,”my father sobs as he sees me, and he rushes to my bed.
Kirill, Edik, and Yana instantly step forward as if they’re about stop him, but one pleading look at my husband has him stopping himself and the two bodyguards. I raise my uninjured shoulder up and tightly hug my father. I start to cry as Valya joins us. I kiss them both on the cheek and hold them tight, thankful they’re still alive.
“They told us everything,” Edik explains as my father and sister situate themselves next to me. “Pyotr approached Valya and he flirted with her. That’s how he got in.”
“He was very charming at first,” Valya tells me, regret shining in her eyes. “He was different than how he acted at the hospital. I thought for a while that that was his true side, but then he started to change again. I could feel that there was something wrong, but by then, he’d already broken into Papa’s study, stole his accounting information. I tried to break it off when he wouldn’t leave one night, and that’s when he told me what he’d done.”
“That’s when he came to speak with me,” my father tells me, “He threatened to not only drain our accounts, but kill you and Valya if didn’t help with him lure thePakhaninto a trap.”
Tears coat my father’s cheeks as he looks from me to Valya, and my heart aches for him.
“I could live without the money. Without the support of our family. But I couldn’t live without you two girls.”
I lean forward, even though it hurts, and the three of us hug tightly.
