"Fine." Mathew leans forward and it takes all my restraint not to shy away from him. "You have one month."
"Excellent." I pull back and smile widely. "Bye."
How I make it out of the bistro without collapsing on my jelly legs is a mystery, but soon I'm back outside with the sun baking down on me and Calvin at my side. His face is a picture of worry but as his lips part to speak, I hold up my hand and silence him.
"I might throw up," I murmur.
"What happened?" Calvin finally asks. "What did they do?"
My mind swims with adrenaline, fear, and the new panic that I am indeed pregnant. And now I have one month to work out how the hell I'm going to save everyone. I walk to the end of the street with Calvin by my side, and then I stop and grab his arm.
"Calvin." We turn and face once another. "I need your help."
28
ROSE
Calvin calls one of the cars over and takes it from the driver, telling him to get a lift with the rest of the entourage dotted around to keep me safe. Then he climbs into the driver's seat while I slide into the passenger seat and close the door.
"Alright," Calvin says with a deep sigh. "What do you need?"
"You can't tell Kon."
"Rose." He turns in his seat to face me. "I am not keeping another secret from him."
"I know! I know it's a lot for me to ask, especially after…" I motion to his face and my heart breaks slightly at my part in his pain. "But please. I don't have anyone else to talk to or turn to and I need help. I can't do this on my own."
"And you can't tell Kon because…?"
"Because…" My heart skips a beat as a dawning realization sweeps through me and I slump slightly. "Because I think… I think I'm in love with him and I would really like to do everything I can to avoid hurting him. Please?"
Calvin's brows knot together as if he's debating with himself, then he nods and drags a hand down his face. "Alright."
"Promise?"
"I… promise."
"I'm pregnant."
Calvin's hand drops like a rock from his face. "What?!"
"I'm pregnant. I think. Two tests say I am and I don't… I don't fully understand how or why, but I am."
"Rose, isn't this amazing news? Isn't this what you wanted? I know Kon will be over the moon!" Calvin can't keep the smile from his face but it falters slightly. "Why don't you want to tell him?"
"I can't…" My voice cracks slightly and I take a deep breath. "Calvin… I told you about my father’s gambling debts. The kidnapping. We were supposed to be motivation for him to clear his debts but…" My heart begins to race as the nausea in my gut tightens. "He couldn't. Or he wouldn't. Honestly, I'm not really sure. They held us hostage for months. They hurt us. I took what I could to protect my sister but when it became clear my father wasn't going to get the money, they were going to kill us until my father… he wanted to sell us." My voice wavers. "He thought servitude could pay off his debts, and the Vasiliev brothers saw a deal."
The shadow on Calvin's face grows darker the longer I talk, but I keep going, surging through as much of the information as I can.
"The deal was to marry me to Kon in order to get pregnant so that they could… they could take his baby and use that to bring down his empire. Kon is too strong and powerful for them totake head-on. But they have my family. My mom and my sister. Everything I've been doing is to keep them safe."
The silence in the car is thick and heavy.
Calvin hasn't moved or said a word.
The grim expression on his face almost makes me doubt whether telling him was a good idea. I see no other choice.
"So you see? If I tell him… he'll think everything I feel is a lie, that everything I've done is to lie and trick him when I was just trying to save my family because my father won't. But I have fallen for him. Honest to god, I've fallen for him and I don't want to hurt him. And if I tell him I'm pregnant, he won't let me out of his sight and then I won't be able to help my family. But if I tell the Vasiliev brothers, they'll make their move and kidnap me, leaving me captive until the baby is born. I don't know what to do, Calvin. I don't."
