“My baby—” I barely rasped, my throat dry and scratchy, probably from the screaming when I fell down on the street.
A bright light blinded as the door into the room opened wide and a female voice questioned, “Who are you?” She had green scrubs on, probably a nurse or another doctor then.
“Doctor Alan.” He showed her his nametag on his shirt. She nodded, albeit remaining confused if her frown was anything to go by. Then her eyes widened as she noticed I was awake. Standing next to me, she adjusted IV drips and brought ice to my lips.
“You're awake now.” She grinned brightly. “That’s good.”
“My baby?” I needed her to tell me the truth, to let me know it was okay and I hadn’t lost our little bean.
She patted me gently while applying soothing cream on my forehead. “Thank God people found you on the street quickly. Nothing is broken and you have only a slight bump on your head, and lightly scratched skin. The baby is okay, darling.” Her voice turned stern when she added, “You may have a slight fever due to the stress and the medication we had given you, but it’s safe for the baby. You were lucky.”
Relief washed over me, and if I hadn't been on the bed already, I would have probably collapsed to the floor.
Okay, little one, you are okay.
Even though I just found out about the baby few days ago, I already loved it with everything I was and couldn't wait to share the news with Radmir.
Then the door shut loudly as the doctor who treated me disappeared behind it without saying anything else.
Weird. But part of me was glad, because he didn't inspire the best emotions inside me.
“Your fiancé is waiting outside, pale as hell. He hasn’t left your side since you were brought in.”
Frowning in confusion, I was about to ask who she was talking about when Alex walked inside the room holding a bucket of red roses.
The nurse winked at me. “I’ll allow this visit for a few minutes, but she needs to rest.” With that, she left, leaving me in a room with the man I least expected to see.
Alex and I were childhood friends, until he’d traveled abroad to study. When he’d returned, we didn't reconnect or anything. But after my father brought up this… alliance—because what else could a person call something like that?—he changed his behavior at once.
Simply put, he had no place in my life, and I didn't know how to make it clearer. We hadn't seen each other since that gala charity dinner, right before I left for Russia.
“Vivian,” he greeted, placing the flowers on the only chair available in the room. The room was small and didn't even have TV. I just hoped my insurance could cover it. One more problem I would have to think about.
“What do you want, Alex?”
He chuckled. “Not so much in for the conversation, are you?” He leaned against the wall, his eyes on me while he held his jacket in his hand. “We could solve each other’s problems.”
What?
“I’m pregnant.” He needed to know, and I hoped with the news he’d leave me alone. It felt like an act of betrayal, though, saying those words for the first time to the wrong man.
Radmir deserved to hear it first, to have his eyes alight with joy. Instead, my man was locked away, and he couldn’t possibly know we had created a life together. My heart ached when I thought about him in prison, but hope still lived on that they would find the real murderer. Not for a second did I believe he was part of it. Someone had framed him, and when I lay awake at night, I cried myself to sleep, hoping with everything in me it wasn't my father.
He’d turned into someone I no longer recognized.
“I know.”
“I love another man. I chose him. Please give up.”
He walked closer, resting his palm on the top of the bed. “A man who got sentenced for life for murder. A Bratva member, I’m aware.”
“There'll be an appeal!” Radmir’s lawyer promised him they could win it, but the guy was so nervous and twitchy I wondered if he even believed his own words.
“This will take years, Vivian, and neither you nor your baby have this time.”
My panic came back. “What do you mean?”
“Your fall was not an accident. Someone tried to help you naturally miscarry.”
