"You are far too sweet for your own good," he replies. "I am sorry I did not tell you. I did not wish to put any undue pressure on you, and I see now that I am the cause of it. Please, do not stress about it. It is not an expectation I carry at all."
I remain in a daze as I kiss him back and then allow him to scoop me up and carry me out of the library.
It's a mystery to me how we get from there to our bedroom, because I swear I blink and suddenly he's tucking me up in bed, then retreating to the shower.
Infertile.
The word weaves around my mind like a fever.
This is… horrifying news.
It could take months and months for us to have a baby.
Some people try for years before turning to artificial means, but Kon doesn't strike me as someone intent on getting IVF. He seems settled in his situation.
But if I can't get pregnant, then how the fuck am I going to save my family?
Another slow blink and Kon is kissing me, then settling down to sleep.
I don't sleep.
Even with his arms around me and the warm scent of his soap soothing my senses, I can't sleep.
Everything about my position here and the safety of my family rides on my ability to get pregnant so the Vasiliev brothers can use that child to control and enact revenge on Kon. In return, my family goes free.
It was supposed to be simple.
I remain numb throughout the night but at some point, sleep does draw me under.
I'm woken the next morning by the buzz of my phone on the bedside table.
Kon is gone but a mug of tea rests next to my phone on a small heating plate to keep it warm.
It's sweet, until the reality of last evening clashes back to the forefront of my mind.
Fighting a yawn, I grab my phone and my stomach plummets out my ass at the message on my screen.
[Mathew] I'm done waiting. You have two weeks.
18
KONSTANTIN
Leaving Rose without having a chance to speak to her isn't how I wanted the morning to go, especially after last night's revelation, but the world always has other ideas.
A higher-than-normal intake at one of my dance clubs demands my attention, as the manager fears counterfeit currency, so I travel there with Ethan as soon as I can.
"You're distracted," Ethan remarks as we climb from the car. "What's wrong?"
I shake out some light cramp in my legs and glance over at him as he walks around the car to my side. "Too much."
"It's only too much if you don't talk about it."
"Rose," I reply with a grunt. "I fucked up."
Ethan's brow lifts. "How? I thought you two were…" He clicks his tongue and smirks. "Is it not all sunny?"
Before I can reply to him, the doors to the club swing open and the manager, Teigan, rushes out with a pile of papers under onearm. "Boss! Thank god you're here. I want you to know that we shut early last night as soon as I noticed the discrepancy!"
