Page 58 of Bride of Vengeance

The world stops.

Pregnant.

"Why did I collapse?"

"Exhaustion, primarily. You've been running on adrenaline, insufficient sleep, extreme stress. Your body simply shut down to protect itself. The pregnancy is incidental—you would have collapsed regardless."

"Multiples?" Mikhail's voice comes out strangled.

"Too early to tell. But the levels are quite robust for such an early pregnancy." The doctor smiles kindly. "Whatever the case, you're definitely pregnant. Congratulations."

Mikhail reaches over and takes the paper from the doctor's hand, staring at it like it's the Holy Grail.

"This is..." His other hand moves to my stomach, spanning it possessively. "My child. Our child."

"Mikhail—"

"You're carrying my baby." His voice has gone rough with emotion.

"It's been just a couple of weeks!"

"Days, weeks, doesn't matter." He's folding the blood test results carefully, tucking them into his wallet like they're made of gold. "My woman. My baby. Both mine. My own family."

"You can't put blood test results in your wallet!"

"Watch me." He pats his wallet with satisfaction. "I'm going to look at this whenever I need to remember everything I'm fighting for."

Alexei clears his throat. "Perhaps we should give them a moment, Doctor."

They leave, and suddenly it's just us in this sterile room with life-changing news between us.

"You're taking this very well," I say carefully.

"Well?" He laughs, but it sounds slightly unhinged. "Mariana, you just gave me everything I never thought I could have."

"It's a bundle of cells! It's been barely weeks, a couple of days!"

"It's ours." He cups my face in his hands. "Do you understand what this means? You and me, we created life. In the middle of all this mess, we made something perfect."

"We don't even know if it'll stick. It's so early—"

"It'll stick." His thumb brushes my cheekbone. "You're strong, I'm stubborn, this baby's going to be unstoppable."

"You're insane."

"I'm happy." He kisses me, soft and reverent. "I'm terrified and overwhelmed and completely in love with you and our weeks-old bundle of cells."

Despite everything, I laugh. "This is not how I pictured finding out I was pregnant."

"How did you picture it?"

"I don't know. Married, stable job, maybe a house with a yard. Not as a fugitive in an underground clinic and with a criminal as my baby’s father, that’s for sure."

"Former criminal. Current father-to-be." His hand is back on my stomach, like he can't stop touching. "Marry me."

"What?"

"Marry me. Today. Tomorrow. As soon as Alexei can arrange it."