Page 53 of The Russian's Stalked Bride
We stand there in complete silence, and just like that, we wait.
It feels like the longest few minutes of my life, unable to control my thoughts in the slightest. Between the fear and dread, everything in me feels so heavy, like I’m weighed down more than I’ve ever been.
I think about how my brothers would react if they knew what something like this could mean for my situation, and it truly would be a cruel twist of fate after everything.
When I glance briefly at Ivan, I catch the slight crack in his composure. He’s so still, and so focused on nothing at all, that I know he’s trying to rationalize this too. With all that tension in his shoulders, he doesn’t look untouchable anymore. He seems almost scared, even. If someone like him can even be scared.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, that terrifies me even more.
I jolt as his phone goes off, but for a beat, neither of us moves.
It eats at me a moment longer before I finally step forward and reach for the test, barely registering its weight from how numb my fingers are.
Two lines stare back at me, and in an instant, my heart drops.
Positive, and utterly life-altering.
I stand there frozen for a moment too long, setting the test back down before turning away.
With a quiet shuffle of clothes, Ivan steps up and takes the test in complete silence.
When I muster the courage to look at him, I watch as reality hits him next, followed by what looks like a hundred thoughts at once.
Initially, his eyes widen with subtle panic, as if he could faint if he allowed himself to. It shifts, morphing into so many quick emotions that they’re hard to keep track of. Then, he squares his shoulders and snaps his usual control back into place like it was just a temporary lapse.
Ivan pulls in a deep breath. “Okay…okay, this is unexpected, but it’s fine.”
“Fine?” I question, on the brink of losing my mind right here in the bathroom.
“Yes,” he says, like this isn’t the most complicated thing that could happen to us. “We’ll handle it.”
I stare at him for an unknown amount of time before exasperation is the only thing I can manage. “You’re at war with my family. My brothers actively want me back for an arranged marriage.”
“I know.”
“Now I’m pregnant, apparently. And that’s fine to you?” I ask, not shaking my disbelief.
Ivan’s eyes meet mine, and he doesn’t waver. “Either way, we’ll protect you.”
My stomach aches. “That’s not the point!”
“Then what is?” He asks, frowning.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I start to pace without meaning to, putting a hand against my mouth. “For as long as I can remember, my life has always been about other people’s decisions. Where I go, who I see, and what is ‘acceptable’ for me to do. My worth has been measured by how I can benefit my family, and when I finally have the chance to live a bit differently, I have this. Now my body isn’t even mine.”
“That’s not true, Mila,” Ivan says, looking more understanding than I expect from him. “You have options.”
I stop and face him again, tone harsher. “Do I?”
He hesitates on what he wants to say, but he doesn’t even need to. We both already know.
“I can’t do that,” I say quietly, sounding more like an admittance. “I can’t abort it.”
Ivan’s eyes search mine then, more carefully now, and without judgement. “Are you sure?”
Tears burn the corners of my eyes, and I take in a slow breath to keep from crying. I nod. “I’m sure…I know what it’s like to be unwanted. I can’t do that.”
He nods slowly, not pushing for more. To my surprise, resolve settles in his gaze. “Then we’ll raise the child.”
