Page 82 of Ruinous Need

“Lisette.” She takes a seat beside the bed. Her warm brown eyes are guarded behind a shadow of concern. “Are you aware that you’re pregnant?”

My stomach flips with nerves but not with fear.Pregnant.

I fold my hands over my stomach. I wish I could tell Viktor. I wish I could see his face light up. He doesn’t believe it, but he’d be a great father.

“How long?” My voice is surprisingly clear.

“Very early. Maybe five weeks.”

She shows me the tiny dot on the scans. My baby. Viktor’s baby. Hot tears well up in my eyes, but they’re tears of happiness. This is new, but not in a bad way.

For the first time since he left me in the snow, I let myself hope that he will come back. He has to come back.

“And is the baby okay?”

“Perfectly healthy. But we’ll need to continue monitoring. Your hypothermia is still pushing your body into emergency mode every so often. Which could cause complications.”

“And… I have endometriosis. Will that create any problems?”

"As long as you keep checking in with us regularly, that shouldn’t be an issue. It can cause complications, so it’s important that we monitor you carefully.”

“I’ll try to stay here as long as I can.”

The real problem is the Bratva. This could be a death sentence. A child out of wedlock to someone who is not the Pakhan is not something I would imagine the Bratva will receive kindly.

“Please don’t tellanyone.” I bite my lip and look at the door where the guards are standing, their black suits visible through the window.

I wonderhow much I can tell this woman about my situation. Whether I can trust her. I guess I have no choice. “I need… time to process this.”

“Your fiancé will be excited, won’t he?” she asks. The way her brow comes together lets me know that the question is loaded with hidden meaning.

Semyon has been to visit and Dr Porter’s reactions have let me know she doesn’t approve of the wedding happening so soon after my recovery.

I remember her arguing with him, something I’ve never seen anyone else attempt. Certainly not on my behalf. “She has had hypothermia. She’ll barely be able to stand up. She’ll still need more than twelve hours of sleep a day. I implore you, move the wedding back.”

The fire in her voice was everything I wished my father would have had when Semyon came to him with the original offer. But Semyon isn’t going to let my health stop him from winning the competition. The wedding is in two weeks.

I decide to trust Dr Porter.

I lean forward and whisper. “I might not be safe. And the baby definitely won’t be,” I place my hands on my stomach. “Unless my fiancé can be led to believe that it’s his.” I grasp at her hand desperately. “The wedding is in another two weeks. If we can keep it quiet until then, I think I’ll be okay.”

Even if I have to go through the motions with Semyon, play the role of a loving wife in the bedroom in order to convince him that this baby is his, I’ll do it.

This child, Viktor’s child, is the one piece of joy I have in this stark white hospital room.

The one reminder that I made my own decisions.

That I didn’t just allow myself to be sold without a fight.

CHAPTER 35

VIKTOR

THE SUN IS as high in the sky as it will get today but the temperature doesn’t rise. Not one degree.

And this is the middle of the day, the peak of our daylight hours. We’re so far north I think we must be in Alaska.

Hard to tell, when all you can see is snow. In the distance, I think there are mountains, but that could just be an illusion reflected by the icy landscape.