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“Will your entire family be there?” I ask as we drive towards the city holiday house where the Dubrovs are hosting a family getaway.

“Yes, everyone in the closer family,” Leon confirms.

I fidget nervously in my seat. The last gathering I attended with Leon’s family was actually a business event, and that was when I ran into Rico Nunes.

I’m relieved that this isn’t another business event, but anxious about attending a much more intimate event with his family. Especially one that is going to last almost a whole week.

What will they think of me? Did I pack the right clothes? Will I get on with everyone?

Won’t they think it’s really weird that he kidnapped me, and I’m not really married to him by choice? This is so awkward.

I sigh softly and Leon glances over at me. “Why do you look so worried?”

“It’s my first time meeting your entire family properly,” I shrug.

“Chiara and Maxim will be there. You’ve met them both properly. You got introduced to my other cousins at the party before—"

“I got introduced to so many people, I hardly remember them all.”

“I understand. But look, you’ll be fine. It’s just a relaxed family getaway.”

***

When I walk in holding Leon’s hand, Chiara comes rushing over to me.

“Oh good, you’re here. Come on, I want to introduce you to the other wives.”

I glance nervously at Leon, who chuckles and releases my hand. Chiara pulls me away and leads me towards a group of girls. She runs through their names and I try my best to remember them all. Darya, Kat…oh dear. I bite my lip.

One of the girls leans towards me, handing me a cocktail. “Don’t worry, honey, we don’t expect you to remember everyone’s names. Just relax, enjoy our family, get to know people and have fun. That’s the most important thing, have fun. We are going to be together for the next few days, so you’ll have plenty of time to remember everyone by the end of it.”

I smile at her, she’s gorgeous. I take the cocktail and sip it. Mango something. It’s tasty.

Chiara sticks close to me on the first day and I’m grateful for that. Leon keeps coming over to check on me as well, getting teased by all the girls for being overprotective. He teases back. None of them seem to know that it was a forced marriage. They ask me questions about him as though we are in love. They joke and laugh and share stories about their own husbands.

When Chiara and I have a moment alone, I take the chance to ask her if anyone else knows about Leon’s whole revenge plot and reason for marrying me.

“No one else knows. Just Maxim and me,” she reassures me. “Are you feeling okay?

“Yes, just—this family is so big, and everyone seems so happy and close to each other.”

“I know, it’s quite special, actually. They are such an amazing group of people. I was also nervous when I first met everyone, but you’ll see—you’ll fit in just fine.” She smiles and I begin to feel more relaxed.

The first night of the family getaway is fun, and by the next morning, I at least know half of their names.

Leon is sitting next to me at the breakfast table with one of the children on his lap, and I can’t believe how sweet and gentle he is with the little boy. The kid must be about three, and he’s deep in conversation about his new toy truck, telling Leon exactly how fast it can go and how it carries mud. Leon is engaging in this conversation with all seriousness. I giggle when he asks how much mud per hour the truck can carry, because he might want to hire him to work at one of his warehouses.

He’s great with the kids, playing along with their games, and they seem to adore him.

His entire family seems to adore him. They tease him often, which at first I didn’t understand was a good thing.

In this environment, I can see a completely different side to him.

Also, this environment is completely new to me.

I am not used to a family being this way. I hadn't understood— this is what is normal for families. Not what my father put me through.

All these years, I thought he was just training me, making me stronger, helping prepare me for the world. I guess I didn’t have any other frame of reference.

But now I do, sitting here at this breakfast table, watching everyone laugh and share and treat each other with respect.

I never knew that all my life, this is what I was longing for.

A family. A real one. Filled with love.

Watching Leon with the kids make my heart ache a little. Because I want that. Just watching him in general has my heart stirring in ways that might be dangerous for me.

I shouldn’t be falling for him.

I still don’t know what his plan is for me.

But I can’t stop the feelings that are growing.

***

After breakfast we all head towards the waterfront for an afternoon yacht trip. They picked the perfect day for it, because even though it’s a little chilly, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue.

We have a late lunch on the yacht, and I find myself constantly returning to the thought that I want children one day.

After lunch, sitting on the deck staring out at the ocean, I’m dreamily thinking about how my life has changed. When I was living with my father, having a child was something I never considered would ever be a possibility, because I would never bring a child into that kind of world. But now things are different for me.

Suddenly I sit up straighter in my chair and gasp.

Chiara looks up from the book she is reading and throws me a look with her brows furrowed. She drops her sunglasses. “What’s going on?” she asks.

“Um.” I just realized that I am a week late for my period. All this thinking about kids, and only now I realize I’m late.

“Um what?” She puts her book down and tilts her head. “Sasha, what’s wrong? You're worrying me.”

I glance around to see if anyone else is in hearing distance.

“I think I missed my period,” I whisper.

Chiara’s mouth drops open. “You’re kidding. Are you serious? Do you think you’re—"

“Shh. Not so loud. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Okay, it's okay. We’ll just stop at a pharmacy on the way back to the house later.”

“I don’t want anyone to know,” I whisper urgently.

“No one has to know anything for now,” she reassures me.

For the rest of the yacht trip I can hardly sit still. I walk around the deck, smiling, avoiding people, looking anxious, feeling anxious—Leon eventually comes up to me and takes my arm, pulling me to the side away from everyone else.

“What’s wrong, Sasha? You’re pacing like a caged lion.”

“I’ve never been on a family holiday before—like this, I mean. I’ve never been around so many people who care about each other and enjoy each other. It’s—it’s a lot.”

“Okay, but it's good, though. A lot good? Not a lot bad?” His brows knit together.

“It’s amazing. Like, really amazing.” I smile, my heart thundering in my chest as I stare up at his bright blue eyes. He might be the father of my child. And I might be falling in love with him. Oh my gosh, it’s terrifying and exciting at the same time.

“Do you want to come and have a drink with me? Try and relax a little? We are headed back in the next hour, so come and sit with me and enjoy the last bit of the trip?”

“Okay, I feel like an iced tea. Maybe peach?”

“I’m sure we can find that for you.”

I follow him through to the front deck, where some of his cousins are sitting with their wives. Chiara and Maxim are there, too. She shoots me a wide grin.

I manage to contain my nervous excitement until the yacht reaches the docks again and we are all stepping off onto solid ground. Everyone is bubbling with energy and talking about what we should do tomorrow.

“Ride me with us,” Chiara says to me as we walk towards the cars.

“No, she’s riding with me,” Leon responds before I can say anything.

“Oh, come on, let her ride with us.” Chiara pouts a little, but Leon is not budging.

“She rides with me. End of conversation.”

I bite my lower lip. There goes that plan. Chiara pulls me close and hugs me, quickly whispering in my ear, “I’ll stop at the pharmacy.”

A wave of relief washes over me, because I can’t possibly wait another day to find out what is going on. I need to know now if I am pregnant or not.

“Thanks,” I whisper back.

Leon is holding the car door open for me. “Sasha, come on,” he says loudly, and I obediently hurry over to get in.

“You’re getting on very well with Chiara,” he says questioningly.

“I really like her. She’s so sweet.”

“Sorry, but it’s too risky for me not to ride with you.”

“I understand.” I smile and fasten my seatbelt.

I watch the scenery fly past the window as we head back to the family holiday house in the city.

I wonder how Leon will take the news if I am pregnant. Will he be happy?

What if he’s angry?

My stomach is filled with butterflies, flapping around constantly.

I smile to myself.

I really want to be pregnant.

Even if Leon doesn’t want the baby, I can still be an amazing mother.

I want this.

I want it with Leon, but—I just hope he takes the news well.

Back at the house, everyone is tired and drifts off to do their own thing or relax in their rooms. Leon is out in the back having a drink with Kiril and Paval, his other cousins, and I am on the sofa reading a book. But I’m not actually reading at all. I’m waiting for Chiara to get home.

Lucky for me, it’s a short wait, and as soon as she arrives, she catches my eye and silently gestures for me to follow her upstairs. I put my book down as Maxim wanders outside to see what the other guys are doing.

Then I bolt upstairs after Chiara.

She pushes me into her ensuite and closes the door behind us.

“Here, I got two different ones. It’s always better to do more than one test, just in case.”

“Okay,” I say nervously, taking the boxes from her.

I pull them open and look down at the stick.

“Have you ever done one before?”

“No.”

“Okay, when you pee, hold this end in the stream. For both of them. That’s all you need to do. Then we wait.”

I sit on the toilet, and with Chiara sitting on the counter of the basin, I pee on both sticks and clip their lids in place.

Then I nervously wait while Chiara chats to fill the time.

“I was thinking, I know you said you didn’t want anyone to know, but maybe this is something you shouldn’t keep from Leon?”

“I just don’t know how he’ll react.”

“He’ll probably be a little shocked, maybe initially he’ll be freaked out, but ultimately he would be an amazing father.”

I nod. He would be.

“It’s time,” she says finally, and we both turn towards the sticks sitting on the counter.

She takes a deep breath, then smiles in a massive grin. “You’re pregnant, Sasha.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”

My mouth drops open and my heart bursts with excitement. “I really am?” I squeal loudly.

She cracks up laughing and pulls me into a hug. “You really are.”

When she steps away from me, her face is a little more serious. “Honestly though, honey, tell him. Don’t bottle this up. It won’t be good for you or the baby to stress like that. Just tell him what’s happening, and then you can deal with whatever he says.”

“You’re right. I’ll tell him.”

That night, I am still processing the news myself, but I decide that tomorrow morning after breakfast I’m going to tell Leon what’s going on.

Chiara is right, keeping this kind of thing a secret won’t help anything.

***

I wake up excited to tell Leon, and hopeful. But at breakfast, I notice how withdrawn and sullen he is. He’s hardly eating and hardly saying a word to anyone.

Something is definitely wrong.

What if he found out about the pregnancy before I could tell him?

My stomach flips with nervous tension.

After breakfast, I pull him aside.

“Leon, what’s going on with you today?” I ask gently.

“Nothing.” His reply is blunt and rough.

“You don’t need to hide things from me. If something is bothering you, I’m here to talk.”

“Sasha, it’s not something you can fix or change.”

“Okay. So something is bothering you, though.”

“Yes,” he sighs heavily.

“Well, talk to me about it.”

“Fine. Come with me.”

He takes my hand and leads me out of the house. We walk past the little coffee shops and a flower vendor, where Leon stops to buy a beautiful bunch of white roses.

We walk down a few quiet streets to a small, forested area nearby. Turning left, he leads me along the tree line, and finally into a cemetery.

“Leon?” I ask, confused. “Where are you taking us?”

He stays silent and continues to lead me until we stop in front of two large, ornate marble gravestones and one smaller one, a beautiful ornate fence around all three of them. He opens the fence and steps inside.

I follow.

Crouching down, I read the names on the graves. My heart sinks.

“These are your family’s graves,” I whisper.

“Today is the anniversary of their deaths.”

He steps forward and places the roses on the ground in front of their headstones.