30. Zara

30

ZARA

My body shivers with cold, and I curl my knees up to my chest to try and contain my body heat, though it’s clear I’m fighting a losing battle.

I groan, my teeth chattering as I wrap my arms tighter around myself.

Did Dimitri turn up the AC? I swear the bedroom didn’t use to be this cold… But then again, I normally wake to find Dimitri’s body wrapped around mine like my own personal heater.

Where the hell is he?

The thin mattress beneath me barely has any stuffing, so each of the springs digs into my side as I turn over.

I could have sworn the bed was more comfortable than this…

My eyes fly open, and I bolt upright, suddenly remembering where I am, or rather where I am not .

I’m not tucked up beside Dimitri in our bed at the penthouse. His strong arms are not wrapped around my waist, holding me close against his broad chest as he softly kisses my neck to rouse me from sleep .

“Oh god.” I may never experience that again, and the thought brings tears to my eyes.

The future I saw for us is slowly starting to slip away with every second that passes. My hands move to my stomach, and my heart aches for the two lives that I carry inside me.

Will I ever get the chance to hold my babies? To tell them that I love them?

This is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so weak, I could be living that future right now. Instead, I tore it to shreds by admitting the truth to Bianca right under Giovanni’s nose.

I should have known better, and I’m about to pay the ultimate price.

I screw my eyes shut as tears start to leak down my cheeks. This can’t be the end of us, not when we’ve barely had a chance to be an us .

I think I must have finally exhausted myself a few hours ago, which is the only reason I managed to get any sleep at all.

My stomach growls, and my mouth is painfully dry. I desperately need water, but Massimo hasn’t been by in hours, though it’s still dark outside the window. How long have I been out? Doesn’t feel like much.

Why has Dimitri not found me yet? He must have worked out I’m missing by now and that Massimo is the one to have taken me.

He promised me he would protect me, and Dimitri Koslov does not go back on his promises. I have to hope that we can survive this, if not for us, then for the babies that I carry inside me.

I need to speak to Massimo, to try and explain that he’s got this all wrong, if only to stall him in his plans to torture me before Dimitri can get here .

He doesn’t seem like the negotiating type, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing while I wait to die.

My babies need me, Dimitri needs me, so I’m going to do whatever I can to get the hell out of this mess.

Climbing off the bed, I stumble over to the door.

My body’s weak, and it takes all the energy I have to bang my fists against the door to try and get Massimo’s attention.

“Help!” I cry. “Please!”

The skin over my knuckles starts to crack as I pound them harder against the wooden door. I have no idea if Massimo is even nearby, but I have to try.

“Massimo!” I yell, though my voice comes out hoarse from a lack of water. “Massimo, I need to talk to you!”

I pause, gasping from the effort as I strain my ears to listen for any signs of his heavy footsteps approaching.

When it becomes clear that he’s not coming, I rest my forehead against the door and screw my eyes shut.

In reality, nothing I say is going to change his mind. He won’t stop just because Dimitri and I are in love. All he cares about is Dimitri marrying his daughter, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

My stomach churns at the thought of Dimitri with someone else. His hands on someone else’s skin, his lips kissing someone else’s mouth?—

“Oh god.” My stomach heaves, and I fight the urge to vomit.

As I’m about to throw up all over the floor, the key turns in the lock, and I stumble backwards just in time for the door to fly open, revealing a very aggravated-looking Massimo.

“Fucking be quiet,” he growls, his eyes flashing as he glares down at me.

“No, you don’t understand—” My stomach churns, and the next thing I know, I’m doubled over and emptying the contents of my stomach all over the floor.

Massimo darts back as I narrowly miss his pristine shoes, cursing under his breath as I dry heave.

“For fuck’s sake.” He wraps his huge hand around my forearm. “Come with me.”

I wince at his tight grip, stumbling over the mess I made on the floor as Massimo drags me down the corridor.

“In here,” he snarls, throwing open a door and forcing me inside.

It’s a tiny room with only a toilet and a sink inside. I glance nervously over my shoulder at him, swallowing the bile in my throat as another wave of nausea hits.

“You’re going to watch?” I whisper.

“I’m not about to leave you alone here.” He waves his hand impatiently and stares at the wall. “Go.”

My cheeks burn as I drop to my knees before the porcelain bowl and hurl my guts up. I feel Massimo’s eyes on me as I wipe my mouth on the sleeve of my jumper, but he remains quiet.

I sit back on my heels, closing my eyes as I try to catch my breath, but it seems my body has other ideas.

I gasp, clutching my stomach as I’m hit with the most intense stabbing pain in my abdomen.

Massimo rolls his eyes. “What is it now?”

I go to reply, but the pain hits again, knocking the air from my lungs.

Something wet rushes between my legs, but it doesn’t feel like urine.

Frowning, I reach between my thighs and let out a strangled cry as my fingers come away bloody.

“Oh god,” I choke .

“What?” Massimo barks.

I turn, my hand shaking as I hold it in front of me.

He eyes the blood on my fingers and wrinkles his nose.

“I can have someone bring you supplies.”

I blink in confusion.

I tilts his chin at me. “For your cycle.”

For the first time in my life, I wish I had my period. But I know that bleeding while pregnant is never good, and my body has been put through a great deal of stress in the last twenty-four hours. Honestly, throughout the whole pregnancy, but tonight more so.

It was bound to take its toll on my body, and Dr. Waite warned me that a twin pregnancy comes with higher risk.

I need to take it easy, and I can’t do that if I’m locked away in some damp room without food or water.

“Please, I-I need a doctor.” I wipe my mouth on my sleeve.

“How stupid do you think I am?”

My stomach cramps, I double over, crying out in pain.

Massimo growls, “I have a daughter. I know how this works.”

“No.” I screw my eyes shut as I try to breathe through the stabbing pain in my abdomen. “I-it’s not my period. I’m…pregnant.”

Massimo curses, and I flinch as I realize I might have just handed him the ultimate weapon.

Massimo locks me back in my room while he decides what to do.

I try to stay calm, but the amount of blood that is pooling between my thighs is making me panic. I was told to expect a little bit of spotting, but this is more than that.

Something is wrong.

I’m probably having a miscarriage.

I clutch my knees to my chest. The bleeding doesn’t seem to have stopped, and the pain isn’t subsiding.

All that fills my mind is the look on Dimitri’s face when he heard the heartbeats on the ultrasound, his dark eyes wide with wonder as it finally sunk in that he was going to be a father.

I rest my head on my knees as my body starts to shake with silent sobs.

He was so happy. We both were…

Eventually, footsteps stop beyond the door, and I lift my head and squint as the door opens, and the room floods with light from outside.

“Dr. Harlow is going to check your baby.” Massimo steps aside to let an older man into the room.

The doctor’s wearing a crisp blue shirt and slacks, and a heavy medical bag is slung over his shoulder, and he carries a portable ultrasound machine in his hand.

“You’re not to speak to him,” Massimo orders.

I glance at Dr. Harlow, but he keeps his eyes down as he steps into the room and begins to fiddle with the machine.

My lip trembles, but I nod, my throat too thick with tears to speak anyway.

“Remove your pants and lie back on the bed,” Dr. Harlow instructs without looking at me.

I glance at Massimo, but he moves to stand in the doorway, turning his back to the room to give me some privacy.

His huge frame blocks almost all of the light that is streaming in from the corridor, but there’s still enough for me to notice the amount of blood that is caked between my thighs as I strip out of my leggings and lie back on the mattress.

Dr. Harlow rummages in his bag and pulls out some wipes for me to clean between my legs. The room is silent except for my whimpering at the sight of all the blood.

I need Dimitri .

“You might feel some discomfort,” Dr. Harlow says as he inserts the probe.

“I’m pregnant with twins.”

I catch Massimo’s shoulders tensing out of the corner of my eye, but he says nothing.

Dr. Harlow nods as he adjusts the probe, keeping his eyes on the screen.

I hold my breath as I wait for the sounds of their heartbeats to filter through the machine.

But there’s only silence.

“Are there no heartbeats?” I whisper, pushing myself up onto my elbows to catch a glimpse of the screen as I try to contain the panic building inside me.

Dr. Harlow frowns for a moment, and I collapse back on the mattress, covering my face with my hands as I realize I was right, I’ve lost my bab?—

Thump thump thump.

“Oh, my god.” My eyes fly open at the sound of the heartbeats. “They’re okay?”

I look to Dr. Harlow for confirmation who nods, turning the screen so I can see for myself.

“They’re doing just fine.”

“But the blood…”

“It was just some heavy spotting, nothing more. Though you should rest up?—”

Massimo stiffens at the door. “You’re done here.”

I whimper as Dr. Harlow nods, averting his eyes as he shuts off the machine, silencing the sound of my babies’ heartbeats.

Tears of both relief and despair run down my cheeks as I pull my bloody leggings back over my thighs.

My babies are alright, but for how long I can’t be sure.

I try to catch Dr. Harlow’s eyes, praying that he’ll try to help me somehow, but he scurries from the room the moment he’s finished packing up his things.

Massimo grips the handle and starts to close the door behind him, ready to lock me inside once more.

But I can’t let him. This might be my last opportunity to try and convince him to let me go, to let Dimitri go. “Wait!”

Massimo pauses, glancing over his shoulder as I climb off the bed.

“Please, Massimo.” I stagger over to the door where he stands, his huge body towering over me. “You can’t do this. Dimitri and I are a family?—”

“If you think Dimitri Koslov is going to stick around and raise those babies, then you’re even more delusional than I thought.”

“What if I were your daughter? What if someone was holding your pregnant daughter hostage? Please, where is your humanity?—”

“My daughter wouldn’t be stupid enough to get herself kidnapped in the first place, so I suggest you shut the hell up before I decide to silence you for good.”

“Fuck you. Dimitri will come after you and your daughter. He won’t let you get away with this.”

“I look forward to it.” A smirk tugs at his lips before he slams the door in my face.