Page 73 of Innocent Bratva Twins

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I blink, trying to stop the bright lights from stabbing at my eyes. Am I still outside? No. I’m in a bed. I’m warm. I’m comfortable. My body aches, though. It’s like my muscles are bruised and my limbs are heavy.

I blink again and groan, lifting my hand to shield my face from that piercing light.

“Serafina, hi there, welcome back. How are you feeling, young lady?”

A man is talking to me. I don’t recognize his voice or the smells around me. Chemicals. Detergent.

“Where am I?” My throat is dry, and my words crackle when I speak.

“You’re at St. Mary’s Hospital. You’re doing great, though. Everything is going to be fine. And don’t worry, they are fine, too. You’re healthy, everyone is healthy—I think you just had a moment of stress? Do you remember what happened? Have you eaten anything today?”

The doctor leans over me, holding a stethoscope against my chest and tilting his head as he listens to my heartbeat.

Everyone is fine? Who? What are you talking about?

“Your heart is nice and healthy. Your blood pressure has returned to normal. Feeling faint in the first trimester is actually really common, but you were gasping like you couldn’t breathe. Have you ever had a panic attack? Do you know what those are?” he chatters on, and what he’s saying slaps into me in a wave of shock. Trimester. What?

“A baby?” I mutter in disbelief.

“Yes,” he says, his brow furrowed. “Did you not know you're pregnant?”

“I didn’t,” I whisper in shock. “Who brought me here?”

“Luka, is he the father…?” The doctor is looking at me with his face comically empathetic. I want to shake him and demand that he just tell me the important stuff and stop talking so much about everything else.

“And—the baby, it’s healthy?” I ask nervously.

“Yes, very healthy. You have nothing to worry about,” he smiles broadly.

“Please don’t tell anyone. I would like to be the one to tell the father.”

“Do you want me to get him?” His brows rise so high he looks like a character from a comedy.

“No, I just need to think for a second. I’m so tired,” I sigh.

“You rest for as long as you need. Ring that bell at your side there if you want to call for a nurse.” The doctor marks something down on my chart and then clips it to the base of my bed before he leaves.

My head is spinning, not like I’m going to pass out again, but from absolute shock.I’m pregnant? This is unbelievable.

What am I going to do?

Gently, I rest my hand over my stomach. An intense fear washes through me. I realize it's a fear of losing my baby. Of this tiny creature being in danger.

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” I whisper, fighting tears.

Someone walks into the room, and I quickly pull my hand away from my stomach as I look up.

Luka smiles tensely at me. His face is taut with stress.

“Hey, Serafina. Are you ok?” he asks.

He shifts nervously from one foot to the other, staring down at me from the side of the bed. His hair is a mess. He looks tired.

I push myself up a little, resting against the back of the hospital bed. “I’m okay. The doctor said that you were the one who brought me in?”

“I was. I came out of the building, and you were right by the doors. You looked pretty bad. When you passed out, I just picked you up and brought you straight here. What happened—what did the doctor say? Fuck, I got such a fright, I thought someone had done something to you—like um, poison, or something—“