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But sleep wouldn't come. My heart was too full of fear for the future, despair for the present.
Could our love be saved? When the truth came out, would he forgive me for hiding it?
I didn't know. All I knew was that I couldn't stop loving him.
Even if that love was tearing us both apart.
Chapter 21
Cassie
At four in the morning, I gave up on sleep. All night, I'd tossed and turned, my body weighed down by a heavy, gnawing ache in my gut, like a cold anchor chaining me to a waking nightmare. Every time I closed my eyes, Gennady's back—rigid, wounded, desperate—burned into my mind. "Maybe you don't have to pretend to love me anymore." Those words sliced through my heart like a dull blade, over and over, each cut sharp and raw.
I sat by the window, hugging my knees, staring out at the estate's perimeter. The guards' shadows flickered in the morning mist, a constant reminder of the danger lurking beyond these walls. But the real threat wasn't out there. It was inside me, growing, a secret that felt like a shadow swallowing my peace.
My phone sat on the nightstand, and I stared at it for what felt like hours. I needed my mom. I needed her voice, her comfort, something to ground me.
My fingers, cold and trembling, dialed her number. The ringing stretched on forever until her sleepy, raspy voice came through. "Cassie? Baby, what's wrong? It's so early…"
Her concern broke me. "Mom." My voice cracked, tears spilling out.
"Oh, my sweet girl, are you crying?" Mom's voice sharpened, sleep gone. "What happened? Who hurt you?"
"Mom, I-" I took a shaky breath, trying to choke back the sob in my throat. "I'm pregnant."
The line went silent. Then, a sharp, stifled gasp. "Oh, my baby!" Her voice trembled with heartache. "Are you sure?"
"I think so. Nausea, vomiting, my period's late." I wiped at the tears streaming down my face. "Mom, I'm so scared."
"Don't be scared, honey," she said, her voice wrapping around me like a warm blanket. "I'm right here. Does he know? Gennady?"
My body shook, teeth chattering. "No. Mom, I haven't told you. He's not just a businessman. He's a mob boss. Like the people who killed Dad."
The silence that followed was deafening. I heard something clatter faintly on her end, like she'd knocked something over. "My God," she whispered, her voice quaking with fear. "Cassie, are you safe? Has he hurt you?"
"He hasn't hurt me," I said, managing a bitter smile. "He says he loves me, wants to protect me. But Mom, I don't know if I can trust him. I'm terrified if he finds out about the baby, he'll control me even more."
The thought of his suffocating possessiveness sent a chill down my spine.
Mom was quiet for a long time, her soft, muffled sobs piercing my heart like needles. "Mom?"
"I'm sorry, baby," she said, sniffling. "I just want to hold you right now. My little girl, so young, facing this all alone, when you need someone to lean on."
Her crying set off my own tears, hot and relentless. "Mom, what do I do? I'm falling apart."
"Do you love him?" she asked, her voice soft but steady.
"I love him," I said without hesitation, fierce and reckless, like diving headfirst into a fire. "So much it's driving me crazy. But I don't know if he loves me or just the idea of owning me."
"And the baby?" Her question cut straight to the core. "Do you want this child?"
My hand drifted to my flat stomach, fingers brushing the fabric of my nightgown. A strange, subtle connection stirred there, beneath the fear—a deep, primal pull. "I do," I said, my voice firm despite the chaos. "Even with everything so messed up, I want this baby."
"Then that's enough," Mom said, her tone suddenly strong, resolute. "Cassie, if you want this child, that's the most important reason to keep going. I'm behind you, no matter what."
"But Mom," fear gripped me again, "what if he doesn't change? What if he sees this baby as just another way to tie me down?"
"Cassie, listen," she said, her voice warm but fierce. "You remember your dad? He made mistakes, took wrong turns. But when he found out about you, he changed. For us, he tried to be better."
