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“Bianca?”
I glance up and see Dimitri hurrying down the stairs into the foyer, an anxious looking Zara following behind him.
“Dimitri, my office, now,” Alexei demands from behind me, his voice like ice.
“Bianca?” Dimitri glances between me and Alexei.
“You can catch up later,” Alexei snarls. “But first, we need to talk.”
Zara opens her mouth to speak up, but I shake my head and glance toward the kitchen. She narrows her eyes at Alexei but darts down the stairs, bypassing Dimitri to follow me. Neither of us speak until the sound of their footsteps disappears upstairs.
Zara holds my hand. “What the hell happened?”
I can’t breathe. The weight on my chest is crushing, and bile starts to make its way up my throat.
I dart straight for the sink and hurl up my guts, my stomach wrenching as it brings up the crackers I’ve managed to keep down over the last few hours.
“B…” Zara rushes to my side. “Are you okay?”
She rubs soothing circles on my back.
“I’m fine.” I turn on the tap and splash some cold water on my face.
Closing my eyes for a second, I take a breath.
More than anything, I want to know what Alexei and Dimitri are talking about, what he actually thinks about this baby, but I know if I go storming up there, he’ll shut down again.
I hope that Dimitri can get through to him better than I can.
“I don’t know how he found out. He called Dimitri out of nowhere and said you were at the gynecologists. How did he know?”
I turn around and lean against the counter, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. “My phone.”
“What?”
“Mikhail put a tracker in my phone and I didn’t think to leave it behind. I should’ve realized.” I almost laugh at how ridiculous it all sounds. “I can’t even go to the fucking doctor without being followed.”
“Bianca, this isn’t normal. You can’t stay locked up in this house for the rest of your life.”
“Try telling that to Alexei.” I sigh.
I look sidelong at Zara, and her green eyes shine with tears.
I reach for her hand and squeeze it tightly.
Zara squeezes back. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I-I can’t even bear to be around him when he’s like this. You should have seen him when I was having the ultrasound, Zara. It was like he was a completely different person. It…it scared me.”
“Come home with me, B.” Zara pulls on my hand.
“You know I can’t do that. Regardless of if he is happy or not, if I thought he was being overprotective before, it’s about to get ten times worse.”
We’re both silent for a moment. This might be the last time I see Zara for god knows how long.
“How was I so stupid to think that he might be happy about this?”
“Maybe he’s just in shock. It’s a lot to take in. Not that I’m excusing his behavior, but he might just need Dimitri to talk him down. Becoming a parent is a big deal, and he might just need some time.”
