The product of that night in the hotel when I finally broke and gave her everything she asked for.
Everything I wanted to give.
"Are you certain?" I manage.
"I’m certain I’m late, but I’m not certain it’s because of pregnancy." Her eyes fill with tears. "If I'm pregnant… Maksim will kill me. And you. And our…" She can't finish the sentence.
My mind races through scenarios, and none of them are good. Maksim discovering she's not a virgin. Maksim learning she's carrying another man's child. Alessandro finding out I betrayed him. Death is the response for all of them.
Yet beneath the terror, I feel something else. Something warm and good.
I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing away tears. "Look at me, Valentina. If you're carrying my child, I will protect you both with my life," I promise.
“I don’t doubt that, I just…”
I don’t let her finish expressing her fear. Instead, I fuse my lips to hers, kissing her with everything I am.
When we break apart, I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in.
For one reckless moment, I allow myself to imagine a life with Valentina, our child between us.
Morning coffee and laughter.
Tiny hands reaching for mine.
Normal.
Safe.
Then the horror sinks in of what this means.
I won’t get to be the father.
She’ll marry Maksim, likely pass the child off as his, and I’ll be little more than a shadow in our child's life.
In fact, it's the only way to protect them all, Valentina, me, and the baby, as Maksim would surely seek to kill us all for this betrayal.
"We need to be sure," I say. "Tomorrow, I’ll get a test and bring it to you."
She nods, her fingers digging into my forearms. "If I am… what then?"
I want to promise her escape. A life together far from here. But false hope is crueler than hard truth.
"If you are…" I start but can’t find anything that doesn’t end in our deaths.
I pull her against my chest, feeling her heart race against mine.
“Maksim wants to move up the wedding. I’m supposed to go and talk with Alessandro in his office now.”
My arms are around her, but she already feels gone. I tighten my hold of her. “Then I'll find a way for us to disappear. Tonight, you meet with Alessandro, act normal. Tomorrow, we confirm, and then I start making arrangements."
She looks up at me, and I see the truth that we’ve been facing all along. The Dante family has connections everywhere. The Bratva'sreach extends across continents. There's nowhere we could run that they wouldn't eventually find us.
And when they do…
I press my lips to her temple. "Go.” I reluctantly release her. "Don't give Alessandro reason to suspect anything."
As she slips from my arms, the cold reality washes over me. I may have just created a child I'll never be allowed to know.