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I rub soap over my belly, thankful that the babies are alive and well. I hope Niko comes home safe so I can finally tell him of my decision to stay and about the babies. My heart flutters with hope that he’s happy.
I turn off the water, stepping out into the cool air. I wrap myself in a plush robe and open the door to enter the bedroom. My heart stops as I see Niko, alive and well, sitting on the edge of the bed. Relief floods me. I want to rush to him, give myself over to him.
He lifts his head, and his eyes, dark and fathomless, steal away the happiness inside me. My breath catches, and for a moment, I'm a deer caught in the headlights. I have twin urges to flee and stand my ground, but from what?
“Why did you leave Long Island today?” His voice rumbles low. “Were you planning to escape?”
“What? No.” Is that what he thinks? “I was coming to see you. I, ah… I…” His dark gaze is menacing, making it difficult for me to think. What happened between this afternoon when he was so gentle and caring to now, where he looks like wants to throttle me? Fear seeps in, and I press my hand over my belly.
“What is it, Elena?”
"I…" My mind is tripping over all the words I want to say but can’t seem to get out. "I needed to… I came to tell you… I decided to stay."
"Stay?" His voice remains cool, nearly soulless.
I nod, my heart beating frantically. "And to tell you…" The rest of the sentence withers under his gaze. I wasn’t sure what he’d think about the babies, but I hadn’t considered that he'd hate the idea. But now I’m forced to consider that he’d find them to be a liability. Maybe he’d be a danger to them.
My stammering lingers in the air. His silence fills the room.
"About what?”
"About everything… about us." I swallow hard. "I wanted—no, needed—you to know."
"Know what?" He rises from the edge of the bed and takes a step toward me.
I’m shaking in fear. Had I been wrong to think there was goodness in him?
“Tell me,cara mia, how long have you known you were pregnant?”
My breath hitches. He knows. How? Then again, how doesn’t he? Rosa could have said something. The doctor today? Even Lucia could have let it slip. Or Kate.
"I… I was going to tell you?—”
“How long!” His voice bellows through the room.
I flinch and instinctively step back. “Since just before I was supposed to marry Romeo.”
His brow furrows in confusion. “Are they even mine?”
Despite my fear, a flash of anger surges through me at his insinuation. “Who else’s would they be? I sold my virginity to you!”
He shakes his head in disbelief. "I pulled out.”
"Apparently, not soon enough." The words tumble from my lips, bitter and tinged with a sadness that he’s not happy about the babies.
Silence stretches between us, and I know now that I was a fool to think I could have a happily ever after with him. Those don’t happen in our world.
“Were you with someone else after that? Did Romeo?—”
“No!” I want to slap him. I want to cry. I want to shake him. “You’re the only one, Niko. And I plan to keep them.”
His nod is slow, deliberate. “But you don’t want this world. You especially don't want to raise children in this world." He steps back. “That's why you wanted your freedom, isn’t it?”
I nod because initially, that was part of it. Before I’d considered a life with him. Before I started to love him.
“Fine. But you’re not going with your sister. You and those babies will always be a target. I’ll get in touch with Liam and get you new identities, protection…” He trails off, but the implication is as clear as day. He doesn’t want me or the babies.
I’m not sure what to say, but it wouldn’t matter as a knock on the door interrupts us.
