Valentina didn’t even flinch. Instead, she smirked. “Fine. Trace this location and come get her.” Then she hung up.
I gaped at her. “What are you doing?”
She shook her head. “Something bad is about to happen to your husband.”
Dread coiled in my stomach. “Valentina... don’t. Please, don’t hurt him.”
She lifted her gaze, eyes unreadable. “You don’t love him more than I do.”
My blood ran cold.
“You’re a villain in our love story.” My voice trembled.
She didn’t even blink. “There is no love story.”
Another ring.
She exhaled. “It’s the doctor.”
My heart pounded hard against my ribs as I watched her end the call. This time, she hadn’t put it on speaker, so I had no idea what was said.
She turned to me, her expression unreadable.
She knew.
She had known all along that I was lying.
A fresh wave of panic rolled through me as she stepped closer. Would she slap me? Strangle me for wasting her time?
I forced myself to meet her gaze, though my hands clenched in my lap.
“You are carrying the family’s heir,” she said flatly.
My stomach lurched.
The words didn’t register at first. My forehead creased as I searched her face, waiting for her to clarify, waiting to hear something else, anything else. When I noticed she seemed to mean what she said, I asked, disbelief tightening my throat. “I’m pregnant?”
She nodded, her voice gentle. “I thought you already knew.”
My breath caught. Pregnant. The word rattled inside my skull like a gunshot. No turning back. No undoing it. The very thing this marriage was built on was now real, sitting in my stomach like a ticking bomb.
“You will be heavily protected, not just by Gleb’s men but by ours as well,” she continued. “I won’t have to send you back. At least, not until you give birth.”
The air in the room felt too thin.
My mind raced. How would Gleb react? We had never really talked about children, even though this marriage had always been about producing an heir.
“Gleb won’t let you send me back, not after today. Stop dreaming.” I said boldly, my voice steady with newfound resolve, knowing I now carried what both our families needed.
Valentina smiled, slow and cruel. “You think Gleb can stop me? I have senators, judges, and old allies who owe me favors. If he so much as tries, I’ll make sure his reign crumbles, before your baby is even born.”
I wanted to argue. To fight.
But what was the point?
She spoke about the next nine months as if she were certain she’d still be alive.
I stared at her. She wouldn’t be.
