“That’s not what this is.”
“Isn’t it? You bought me and lied to me. You’ve been controlling every aspect of my life ever since I was a little kid. And now here I am, not even allowed to leave the house.Yourhouse.”
“I’m keeping you alive, Thea.”
“By treating me like a prisoner?”
I’m acutely aware of how I sound, but I can’t help it. I feel like I’m being crushed from all sides.
“No,” he says, “not a prisoner. I’m treating you like someone whose life matters. I’m treating you like someone whose life I can’t afford to lose.Cristo, Thea—do you have any idea what I’d do if something happened to you? If Kolya got his hands on you?”
He goes on.
“This is a world that you’ve been hidden from, one you still barely understand. I hate treating you this way, taking your freedom, locking you up. But it’s the only way I can keep you sa?—”
“I’m pregnant.”
The words tumble out without any thought on my part.
He pauses mid-sentence, looking at me with an expression of total bewilderment. I’ve never seen him look so completely caught off guard.
“You’re what?”
I take his hand and place it on my stomach.
“I’m pregnant,” I repeat.
Silence.
He stares at me. His hand is warm against my stomach, and it feels good to have his touch there, his palm flat over the place where our child is growing. I can see his mind working, processing, trying to catch up with what I’ve just told him.
His mouth opens slightly.
“You’re pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“With my?—”
“Yes.”
“How far along?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I want to see a doctor. But I took a test. Two of them, actually.”
“Thea…”
I wait.
I wait for him to be angry or overwhelmed, or whatever it is he’s feeling. I wait for him to tell me this complicates everything, that we can’t possibly have a child right now, that it’s too dangerous,that it’s not the right time. I wait for him to tell me this makes his job of keeping me safe that much harder.
I wait for him to pull away.
But he doesn’t.
CHAPTER 32
THEA