"I think..." The words wouldn't come. Too terrifying to say out loud. "Lia, I think I'm pregnant."
The bathroom went silent. Lia's hand stilled on my back.
"Are you sure?"
"No. I don't know. I haven't taken a test. But my period is late and I've been sick and..." I looked at her with panic rising. "If I am, it's Kai's. It has to be Kai's. Salvatore never touched me. Never got close enough. But if I'm pregnant and he finds out before the wedding..."
"He'll know." Lia finished the thought. "He'll know you're carrying Kai's baby and he'll either kill it or use it against Kai or both."
I started shaking. Full body tremors I couldn't control.
A baby. Kai's baby. Growing inside me right now while I was locked in a room about to be forced to marry his father.
The universe had a truly sick sense of humor.
"We need to get you out of here." Lia stood abruptly. Started pacing the bathroom. "Now. Tonight. Before Salvatore can figure it out. Before the wedding happens. Before any of this gets worse."
"How? The guards are everywhere. Your father has this place locked down. Even if we got past the guards, where would we go? He'd find us. He'd kill us both and probably Kai too."
"Then we get word to Kai. Tell him what's happening. Let him know he needs to move faster." She pulled out a phone from her pocket. "I can text Marco. He'll get the message to Kai."
"And say what? 'Hi, your girlfriend might be pregnant with your baby and is about to be forced to marry your father in seven days. Please hurry'?" Hysteria was creeping into my voice. "This is insane. This whole situation is completely insane."
"I know. But it's our reality." Lia started typing rapidly. "Marco will know what to do. He always does. And Kai... god, Kai is going to lose his mind when he finds out. But he'll also move heaven and earth to get to you faster."
She finished typing. Hit send. The message disappeared into the digital void.
Now all we could do was wait.
Lia helped me up off the bathroom floor. Got me to the sink where I rinsed my mouth out. Brushed my teeth to get rid of the taste of bile.
I looked at myself in the mirror. Pale. Dark circles under my eyes. Bruise blooming on my cheek. Hair a mess.
I looked like a disaster. Felt like one too.
And I might be pregnant.
With Kai's baby.
The thought should have terrified me. Should have sent me into another spiral of panic.
Instead, something warm bloomed in my chest. Something that felt dangerously close to hope.
A baby. A part of Kai that would be mine no matter what happened. Proof that what we had was real and meaningful and worth fighting for.
If I was actually pregnant. Big if. Needed to confirm before I let myself feel anything about it.
"I need a test. A pregnancy test. Can you get one?"
"I can try. There's a pharmacy in the city that won't ask questions. I can send someone I trust to pick one up." Lia gripped my shoulders. "But Aria, even if you are pregnant, we're getting you out of this. You're not marrying my father. You're not carryingKai's baby while being forced into that monster's bed. We'll figure something out."
"How? How do we figure this out when we're both locked in rooms with guards outside? When Kai is wounded and exiled? When the wedding is in seven days and your father controls everything?"
"I don't know yet. But we will. Because the alternative isn't acceptable." She pulled me into a hug. "You're not alone in this. You have me. You have Kai fighting for you. You have Mrs. Rossi on your side. We're all working to save you. You just have to hold on a little longer."
I nodded against her shoulder. Tried to absorb her certainty. Her strength.
"What if we can't hold on long enough? What if time runs out?"
