Page 144 of Sweet Deception

A chill ran down my spine. “What do you mean?”

“This is bigger than both of us.”

“You mean you can’t protect your own child, Gleb. You have all this power, but you’re too scared to use it. What’s the point of being a king if you can’t even fight for your own family?”

“You think I’m scared? I’ve seen what happens when you fight the wrong people, Anna. This isn’t about fear; it’s about survival. I won’t let you and our child become pawns in a game.”

I clenched my jaw. “You’re not fit to be a father if you can’t even protect your own blood.”

He looked away. “Maybe I don’t want to be one.”

He exhaled painfully, “Do you think I haven’t seen what happens to children in this world? I grew up watching my father use my sister and me as tools to gain power. Every child is a target in this game, Anna. I can’t bring a child into this, knowing I could lose them just like my father lost us.”

“We are both products of terrible fathers,” I said, voice shaking. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be one. You won’t be, right?”

He exhaled harshly, rubbing a hand down his face. “Anna... I don’t want to have kids. Not yet. It will ruin what we’re starting to build. Let me deal with our families first. Let me get us out of these shackles before we bring a child into this world.”

I stiffened, my heart hammering.

My voice cracked slightly. “I don’t care about whether or not you want to have a child. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect our baby. If that means raising him alone, then so be it. But I’ll make sure he knows you were the one who couldn’t protect him.”

“I understand what you went through, Gleb. I get that you’re afraid. But I can’t live in fear forever. You have to make a choice too. either you fight for us, or we let this war break us.”

His head snapped up. “Would you really have a child I don’t approve of?”

“You think I won’t raise our child alone, Gleb? I’ll tell him his father is dead, because at this point, it feels like I’m already a widow!”

His expression twisted with anger. “Anna...”

“A man who can’t protect his own child is as good as dead,” I cut him off, my voice shaking with rage.

He let out a slow, controlled breath, but I could see the storm brewing behind his eyes. “I understand you’re emotional right now, but listen to me. You’re young. And somehow, I am too. You’re twenty, I’m twenty-eight. We still have years ahead of us. Do you really think this is the right time?”

I stared at him, stunned.

“All I’m saying is,” he continued, “you don’t bring a child into the world when you’re not mentally stable enough to protect them. We’re both still trying to survive. You think that’s the kind of life to raise a baby in?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Then why the hell have you been fucking me raw, huh? Did you think you were incapable of making kids?”

His jaw clenched. “I told Zoya to give you morning-after pills.”

“She did,” I snapped. “But I’m not taking a pill after every single time I sleep with my own husband. That shit doesn’t even work if you’re ovulating.”

“You should have told me,” he ground out. “If you weren’t taking them, I would have figured something out.”

“Oh, so it’s all on me?” My voice rose in disbelief. “You’re the one who doesn’t want kids! You could’ve used condoms, or hell, taken responsibility for something. Why should I be the only one pumping my body full of hormones when I’m not sick?”

He exhaled sharply, his hands flexing at his sides. “This isn’t just about you, Anna. This is about us, about our families, about the future of everything we’ve worked for. This choice is bigger than just whether or not you’re ready for a child.”

I was done with this conversation. “Enough of this. If you can’t protect my child, I will.” I turned sharply, ready to walk away, but his grip clamped around my wrist.

I yanked at my arm. “Let go of me!”

“You can’t just walk out on me,” he growled.

I glared up at him, my chest heaving. “You want me to stay with a man who won’t protect me or our child? You want me to stay here while my baby grows up knowing I had to fight alone?”

His fingers only tightened. “Maybe you should take some time to think about it.”