The first night at Petyr’s mansion, I bartered away my body. I thought it was the only way to secure a future. To remain married to him and give him an heir so he could meet the provision in his father’s will.
In exchange, he’d let me leave when it was over. A wealthy woman with a child, able to start again. Finally free of the shadows of the family I’d run from years ago.
For a while, I believed him. I thought maybe, for once, I could stop looking over my shoulder. That I wouldn’t have to wait in fear for my father’s hand to drag me back.
I thought Petyr could be my way out.
Then came the night he admitted the truth. He knew exactly who I was all along: the daughter of his family’s enemies, the Danilos, the ones who ordered the hit that killed his father and left his brother in a coma.
That’s how I found out that everything between us had been built on lies.
He told me he never intended to honor our deal. From the very beginning, he’d always planned to take the baby from me, then hand me back to the family I’d bled myself dry trying to escape. Once I was no longer useful to him, I’d become a bargaining chip.
He was never going to let me go.
And he was never going to keep me, either.
My hands tighten in my lap until my nails bite my palms. I might have been foolish enough to fall for his lies once. To fall forhim.
But I’ll be damned if I’ll make the same mistake twice.
3
PETYR
She’s even more beautiful than I remembered.
Her curves have softened as the pregnancy has progressed. I let my gaze sweep over her brown hair, much longer now than when she left. She has tied it up in a messy bun, but loose strands have slipped out, framing her face.
Her eyes lock on me. Wide. Afraid. Those doe eyes looked much different when she was beneath me. She wasn’t afraid when she was begging for my touch.
The sweetness of seeing her again doesn’t last long, though. It curdles into something heavier.
I spent months chasing shadows, following whispers, rumors, lies. Every time I thought I might be close, I was wrong.
For a while, I thought I’d lost her forever. I was hollow without her. Not knowing where she was—if she was even still alive—was worse than any kind of torture.
Now, she is here, right in front of me. Alive. Breathing. Carrying what is mine.
And instead of relief, all I feel is fury.
I’m furious at her for running. And I’m furious at myself, too, for letting it happen. All the nights I sat awake, thinking of her, fearing the worst, come back to haunt me now.
I thought she was dead. But she was just living her new life far from me.
The longing is still there. A treacherous reminder that, no matter how much I fight it, she has her claws in me.
But I will not let that longing make me weak again. I cannot.
She left me. She chose to run. And even now that I’ve found her, she still thinks she can fight me. That she gets to choose how this ends.
Not this time, little fox.Not ever again.
“We had a deal.” My voice is hard as I remind her what she owes me. “You promised me an heir.”
Her eyes flash, sharp even through the fear. “And you promised to honor that deal.” She holds her chin high. “But you never intended to, did you?”
I keep my face locked down the way I was trained to. On the outside, I’m stone. On the inside, everything burns.
