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Anger flashes in Benedikt's eyes. "I'm not here because I can't accept the marriage," he says, and there's an edge to his voice now. "I'm here because I want to make sure she's safe."

"Are you implying I can't keep my wife safe?" My tone is low and dangerous and the bodyguard finally realizes he's crossed a line that could end in his punishment or death.

"No, I⁠—"

"I suggest you leave, now," I order. "You need to choose who you want to work for, Ivan or myself, but if you choose here, you will work where I tell you to."

I don't give him a chance to answer. If it were someone else, I'd get rid of the person right then and there. But I keep hearing Ana's voice, telling me that he's her best friend and like a brother to her. Fuck, I'm getting soft!

It's late, well past midnight, so I head upstairs to the bedroom, expecting Ana to be sound asleep. Instead, she's sitting on the edge of the bed, still fully dressed, her hands folded in her lap. The bedside lamp casts soft light across her face, highlighting the tension in her expression. She looks up when I enter, and something in her eyes makes my chest tighten with sudden apprehension.

"Ana? What's wrong?"

She doesn't answer with words. Instead, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out something small, white, and plastic. She holds it out to me without speaking, her hand trembling slightly.

I cross the room and take it from her, looking down at what she's placed in my palm. My heart stutters then speeds up so quickly, I can't catch my breath. It's a fucking pregnancy test, and it's positive!

41

ANA

I'd been carrying the pregnancy test in my pocket all afternoon, the plastic stick weighing like a thousand pounds. Every excuse to delay showing Samuil flooded my mind, but I kept stalling. I'm actually terrified of his reaction. He made it clear he never wanted children. No heirs. No legacy beyond what he's built. I agreed because I felt the same way. Children were never part of my plan. But the two pink lines have rewritten our entire future, whether we're ready or not.

Sitting with him and my father while we went over the books had been agonizing. I needed to get this burden off my chest, but at the same time, I wanted to tuck it away and keep it hidden, as stupid as that may sound. When we ended for the night, I'd gone to our room, expecting Samuil to follow me soon after. But he didn't and my anxiety grew.

When Samuil finally walks into our bedroom well past midnight, exhaustion evident in his shoulders, I stay seated on the edge of the bed. My hands are folded in my lap to keep them from shaking. The bedside lamp casts warm light across the room, but I feel cold all over.

I don't trust myself to speak. So instead, I reach into my pocket with trembling fingers and pull out the pregnancy test, holding it out without saying a word.

Samuil takes the test from me and stares down at it for what feels like an eternity. His expression is completely unreadable, his face a careful mask that reveals nothing. The silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating. I watch his eyes move over the two pink lines, then to my face, then down to the test again.

"I never expected this." His voice is quiet, and somewhat stunned. He sinks down onto the bed beside me, still holding the test like he's not quite sure it's real. "I told you I didn't want children. I meant it when I said that. I never planned for this, never thought it would happen."

My stomach drops. This is exactly what I was afraid of. He's going to be angry, disappointed, maybe even resentful. I open my mouth to apologize, though I'm not sure what I'm apologizing for, but he continues before I can speak.

"But it has happened." He sets the test down on the nightstand and turns to face me fully. A slow, genuine smile spreads across his face, transforming his features and sending hope rushing through me. It's not the controlled, calculated expression he wears for business or the heated look he gives me in bed. This is something different. "We're having a baby."

Relief floods through me so powerfully that tears spring to my eyes. I didn't realize how much I needed him to be okay with this until this moment. My hands are still shaking, but now it's from the release of tension rather than fear. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"You're not angry?" My voice comes out small and vulnerable, and I hate that I sound like that, but I can't help it.

"Angry?" He reaches out and cups my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away the tears that have started to fall. "Ana, this child is Galkin blood now. My blood. Our blood. And I swear to you, no one will ever touch either of you. I'll burn this entire city to the ground before I let anyone hurt you or our baby."

The fierce protectiveness in his voice sends warmth spreading through my chest. This is the Pakhan who destroys anyone who threatens what's his. And now I'm carrying his child, which means we're both under that protection. Instead of scaring me, it makes me feel safer than I have in weeks.

"Come here." He pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me in a possessive yet tender hold. I can hear his heartbeat, steady and strong, and I let myself relax into his embrace. For the first time since I saw those two pink lines, I feel like maybe everything will be okay.

We stay like that for a long time, neither of us speaking. His hand moves to rest against my stomach, which is still flat and shows no sign of the life growing inside. But we both know it's there now. Everything has changed in the span of a single conversation.

When he finally pulls back, his expression shifts into something more serious. The Pakhan is back, already thinking through logistics and potential threats.

"No one is to know about this." His tone leaves no room for argument. "Not until I'm sure it's safe."

"My father has to know," I protest gently, thinking of how he will react to the news that he's going to be a grandfather. "He deserves to know."

"We'll tell him tomorrow," Samuil concedes after a moment. "But no one else. I need time to put additional security measures in place."

The reminder of the danger my father is still in settles in my stomach. We still don't know who was behind the assassination attempt or the kidnapping. Whoever it was, they're still out there.