Page 166 of Konstantin

“Hey, babe. That was fast.”

“You’re lucky I left at all.”

Even with the men stationed at her door, I still hate to be away from her.

Blyat, her skin is so pale, and I know she still carries the shock of what happened. Every time I remember what her brother tried to do, my hands twitch, needing something or someone to break.

The doctor threads another stitch through the torn skin of her arm. And when she winces, I immediately see red.

Grabbing the doctor by the collar, I jerk him an inch away from her body. “You hurt my wife again, and I will do the same to you. Except worse.”

His mouth goes slack, terror filling his eyes. “I-I’m sorry.”

I drop my hand away. He works for me. He knows damn well I don’t bluff.

Emilia shakes her head with a soft laugh. “Don’t mind my husband. He gets a little sensitive when I’m in pain.”

When I peer down at her, a hand around her stomach, I swear something in my chest cracks wide open.

I don’t deserve this. Her. The child inside her. But I will burn the world to protect them both.

I should never have let myself get captured. I should’ve been smarter, played the game like I always do, but I didn’t. I let my heart take the lead, and it almost cost me everything. It almost cost me her. The family we’re trying to build.

But with Emilia, all I want is to feel—every moment, every touch. I want to love her through the darkest of times, to protect her with every breath I take. She’s not just my wife. She’s my equal. My queen. And nothing will ever change that.

This woman, this force of nature, risked everything for me. Again.

And I would die a hundred deaths to have her at my side.

Emilia. Tessa. My wife. My salvation.

She’s strong, fierce, more independent than half the men I’ve ever commanded, and twice as dangerous. And yet she’s mine.

The doctor finally leaves, muttering something about pain meds, but I don’t even glance his way. As soon as the door clicks shut, I move to her side, lowering myself to the edge of the bed. My knuckles brush against her cheek, and I press my lips to her forehead, lingering there, still needing the reassurance that she’s alive.

Her lashes flutter under my touch, eyes meeting mine, tired but full of light.

God, how did I ever live without this woman?

My palm finds her belly. The quiet promise of everything we have yet to become.

“I will love this child and you every day that I live. And I swear on everything I am, I will protect you both.”

Her hand slides over mine.

“I know you will,” she whispers. “And he or she will love you too. Because you’ll be an amazing dad.”

I search her face, every part of her, and I see it. The truth. The trust. The strength.

“And you know you’ll be a good mom too, right, katyonak?”

She nods, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. “I feel it already. This overpowering love I’ve never felt before. Not like this.”

Dropping my forehead to hers, I exhale slowly. “It terrifies me, having you and this baby, but it’s the best fear I’ve ever felt. Because it means I finally have something that matters.”

She smiles through her tears. “You’ve always mattered too, Konstantin. Even when I hated you.”

I smirk. “You’re so good with your words, moya lyubimoya.”