Dikayadidn’t understand that I was keeping her safe behind these walls. Now that she was carrying my child, if word got out, all my enemies would have their eyes on her.
This baby had just put a giant bullseye on her back, and it was my job to keep both her and the baby safe.
“Get comfortable,” I said to her. “You’re gonna be here a long time.”
With that, I walked away, leaving her to her thoughts and anger.
Chapter 17 – Blair
He knows. He fuckin’ knows.
My plan to hide the pregnancy until my mission here was accomplished was now busted. His possessive words of ownership still echoed in the back of my mind, and I hated how much authority he had over me.
I’d been too numb to speak last night when he stumbled onto me with the test tube in my hand. This was because he was the last person I expected to see in my room. He’d never come in before—for any reason—yet last night, he walked in like he was determined to find out what I was hiding.
His presence in my room was proof that my avoidance had sparked something in him. I had unintentionally drawn his attention, giving him reasons to suspect my behavior. He’d come around with one goal: to make me talk. In his head, he was already thinking the worst, suspicious of my every move.
The truth was, the only thing that saved me from his wrath last night was this pregnancy. It diverted his attention and focus from the real deal.
The second he found out I was carrying his child, his dark expression lightened. His mask of fury slipped, replaced by something that looked a lot like delight. He was pleased with the revelation, and because of that hidden joy, he didn’t push—didn’t ask questions about anything else.
He likely assumed that my strange behavior was tied to the pregnancy. Good. That meant that he was still in the dark about my true mission. I was grateful that I wasn’t caught—that my cover wasn’t blown. However, there was just one problem now: one big problem.
The twenty-four-hour surveillance over me.
I didn’t need to see the guards watching me to know I was being monitored. I felt their presence everywhere around the house—shadows in the garden, in the hallways, and even outside my window.
It was like he’d doubled the security around my room just to make sure I wouldn’t try anything stupid. Like attempting to run away again. I felt more like a prisoner now than I had in a long time.
I couldn’t so much as walk around the house without sensing someone’s unwavering gaze. And each time I looked back, I’d always spot a guard standing in the distance. I missed the days when I could roam the halls and the vast estate without worrying about anyone breathing down my neck.
I’d lost that freedom now, and it was so frustrating. I felt trapped: unable to run, and unable to complete the mission with all these eyes on me.
Angered by this new order, I stormed into his study that morning, furious. I pushed the doors open and stormed in, ready to cause trouble. My confidence was based on the fact that I was carrying his child; he wouldn’t dare hurt me in this state.
“What is wrong with you!” I barked, my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
Seated in his swivel chair, he gave me the look that said,God, not this again.“Good morning to you, too,” he said softly, brows raised in shock.
“Why are you watching my every move? Why are your men always breathing down my neck?!” The words burst out of my mouth in an angry rush. “Everywhere I turn, I see them. I need some space, for Christ’s sake. Stop suffocating me!”
He leaned back in his chair, his cold eyes never leaving my face. “You need space?”
“Yes!” I blurted out. “I need some time to think, to process things, and I can’t do that within these walls.”
His eyebrows arched, and a small mocking grin crept across the corners of his lips. “You can’t think within these walls?”
Oh, girl, that’s a trap. He’s mad,a voice whispered in my head.
I panicked when he slowly rose from his chair and walked around his desk. My jaw tightened as I watched him approach me with menacing steps, his black suit gleaming in the soft light. The closer he drew to me, the faster my heart raced in my chest.
Nik halted before me, his imposing frame towering over me. “How long do you think you’ll last in the outside world?”
My eyes narrowed, scowl deepening. “I was doing just fine on my own before I got dragged into your world. Or did you forget?”
“You weren’t pregnant with a Tarasov baby at the time,” he said, his voice calm but disturbing. “That child in your womb is a blessing. But it’s also a curse because now, it’s made you a potential target for anyone who has a grudge against me.”
Shit. He’s got a point.
