Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
"I thought you'd wanna know," Polina says quietly. "Be gentle with her. That's excruciating pain."
I don't tell Polina that I already know this because I put my little witch through pain with my own damn hands. She fucking revels in it. Now she's crying. I shake my head, wishing that I could find whoever did this to her and end it right now.
Rafail announces, "We'll talk later."
They leave, and before I go inside to Anissa, I need a fucking minute.
She's not pregnant.
There's no baby. Not this time, anyway.
I wait until I'm alone to brace my arm against the wall. I press my forehead to my arm and let out a ragged breath.
She's not pregnant.
God.
I told myself from the very beginning that I had to make her stay, that I had to ensure she could never escape me. If she carried my child, even if she ran, she’d never truly be free—she’d have a part of me inside her.
But now I know the truth. It was never just about that. The need to keep her goes deeper, far beyond blood, far beyond possession. With or without her, she belongs to me. And I won’t ever let her go.
She's my responsibility now.
It killed me to see her face contorted in pain.
And I need to make it better.
Then I’ll find out who did this to her.
Chapter 21
ANISSA
I drift off to sleep, and this time, I don't dream. Thank god.
If I have to relive that night one more fucking time…
I wake to hear Matvei on the phone. I don't know what he's talking about, but I can tell he's asking questions, and he keeps saying things like, "Okay, that's good to know. Perfect. Yeah, of course I can do that. Thank you."
When he comes to me a few minutes later, he's holding a tray in his hands.
"What is this?"
I sit up in bed, the pain still there but not as excruciating as before. The medication Polina gave me helped, and so did the heating pad.
"These are the foods you need right now," he says, his brows knit in consternation.
Why is this so adorable? He's never done anything that actually made me think, that's adorable, but this?
"This is a bowl of berries with antioxidants, and there are walnuts and eggs. And some beef sausage." He looks up at me, serious and stern. "There's, like, iron and stuff."
"Did you make this for me?"
"Of course I did. Why do you look so surprised?"
"Because you're the same man who caged me," I say, tilting my head to the side. I wink.
"And I'll cage you still if you don't eat your fucking breakfast," he says.
Aww. On brand for being an asshole.
"There's spinach in the eggs. You need your leafy greens. And this is sourdough bread, toasted with butter. It's for digestion."
"Oh my god, you sound like some kind of fitness influencer."
"A what?"
I shake my head and smile. "Never mind. This looks delicious. Thank you."
"How's your pain level right now?"
"Tolerable."
"Scale of one to ten?" he snaps sternly.
I shrug. "I mean, like… six, seven."
"Holy shit! A six? Are you serious right now?"
He sets the food down and picks up his phone, checking something. "You can't have any more meds for another couple of hours…"
"I can deal with a six. I'm starving. Just let me eat. Maybe it'll bring it down or something."
Eating is not gonna bring my pain level down, but he's freaking out.
My appetite is ravenous. I eat one bite after the other, and I smile at him over a mouthful of food.
“You did good. Thank you. Did you eat too?”
He shrugs. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, no, that’s not an answer. Sit down and eat.”
“That’s for you.”
“Matvei, you made enough food to feed a football team.” I stare at the mountain of eggs and toast in front of me.
He scowls. “You need to eat.”
“I am eating. But seriously, how many eggs is this?”
“Four.” He folds his arms. “You need protein.”
I point at the ridiculous pile of toast. “And what’s with six slices of toast? Worried I’d run out mid-bite?”
He shrugs. “The first two didn’t toast right, so I just… kept going.”
Despite everything, I feel a small smile tug at my lips. “I think you accidentally made an entire loaf.”
“Maybe.” He gives me a look. “Are you gonna eat or just keep running your mouth?”
To appease him, I take a few more bites. It’s actually really good. I pick up the water he gave me, pausing when I notice the pink tint. I narrow my eyes. “What’d you do to the water?”
“Electrolytes.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. I take a sip, shaking my head. “You really don’t half-ass anything, do you?”
He smirks. “Not when it comes to you.”
"And the bathroom is filled with… supplies and stuff." The tips of his ears turn pink.
If I wasn’t already falling for this man before, this might have done me in.