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We were supposed to be enemies, yet here we were. I couldn’t fathom the concept. I didn’t think I had the ability to.
***
Thirty minutes later, I stared at the test on the counter, the two faint pink lines glaring back at me.
I was pregnant.
The air left my lungs in a whoosh and I stumbled against the counter, touching my stomach. There was a child inside me, mine and Aleksey’s child. In another short eight months or so, I would hold that child in my arms.
“Elia?”
Swallowing the hysterical laugh that threatened to overcome me, I walked over to the bathroom door and opened it. Aleksey stood there, no expression on his face.
“I’m pregnant,” I said, feeling a sudden rush of emotion at the words. “It’s happened.”
His expression broke then and for a moment, I saw something that looked like hope flash in his eyes before he shuttered it away, pulling me into his arms instead. “Elia, I don’t know what to say.”
I cuddled against his chest, soaking in his warmth. “There’s nothing you need to say. But I could kill for that ginger ale.”
He let out a choked laugh and held me tighter, likely thinking about the ramifications of this startling discovery. I was pregnant with his heir, the heir to the Korolev Bratva. This child would keep me safe from whatever dastardly plans his uncle had for me.
The realization suddenly hit me. The stakes were now higher than ever for us.
“Youhaveto go to New York,” Aleksey said.
“What?” I looked at him. “Aleksey, we just discussed this. Ican’tgo to New York. Your uncle would know something’s up if I did.”
“He will know something is up regardless.” He clenched his jaw. “I can’t take that risk. Not now. You’ll be safe in New York.”
“And what about you?” I touched his cheek. “Don’t tell me you’re just going to stay here to face your uncle alone?”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.” He took my hand in his and held it tightly. “You’ll be safe in New York. I can say that there’s an emergency that requires your presence there.”
“The only emergency I could have would involve my father, and I’m sure your uncle would know about that in an instant!” I protested.
“Then I could tell him that you’re pregnant with my child. We’ll force him to act earlier than he thought possible.”
“Aleksey, no.” I shook my head. “You can’t face him alone like this. You need me here.”
“I need you safe!” he bellowed suddenly.
Whatever happiness had erupted between us evaporated. He had never raised his voice at me before, never shown me any outburst of emotion. I found myself staring not at the father of my child, but the man I was forced to marry.
He’s afraid…I realized.
“Elia, I know we talked about this, about how this child would fuck up my uncle’s plans. But it doesn’t change the fact that he intends to kill me.” Aleksey gently gripped my shoulders. “Even if he won’t have you, he’ll have our child if he manages to kill me. This child binds both our families together. If you’re here in Chicago and I’m dead, then there will benothingto stop my uncle from taking that child from you and raising it under his tutelage.Thatis why you need to go home to your father. You’ll be safe with him.”
I laughed. “You really think I’ll be safer with my father than here with you?” He had no idea the kind of relationship I had with my father. The moment that man had signed me away, he was my father no longer. The man never gave a shit about me.
“I know he won’t allow the baby to be in danger,” he replied, dropping my hand. “I don’t think even you can dispute that.”
He was right. As much as I knew that my father didn’t give a shit about me, I knew that he might give a shit about this baby growing in my belly. But Aleksey was ignoring the possibility that my father might have his own plans that he wanted to enact. I wouldn’t be safe in New York. I couldn’t trust my father, not without my brother to shield me.
“Please,” I begged Aleksey. “Don’t send me home.”
“There’s no other way.” He sighed, thrusting a hand through his hair.
“You can lie,” I said.
