I laugh bitterly. "Your compromises usually involve me doing exactly what you want."
"Not this time." He runs a hand through his hair. "There's a safe house. About two hours outside the city. Private, secure, but not here. You could have your own space, some independence."
I sit up straighter, hardly daring to hope. "What's the catch?"
"Security detail. Twenty-four seven. You won’t have to share a roof with me, but you will be under my protection. You will receive medical care. When that child is born, it will remain in my custody. You will choose whether to stay with the child or leave.”
My heart pounds as I consider his words. A safe house. Away from here. It's not freedom, not really, but it's something. And the choice he's offering at the end—stay with the child or leave—that's more than I expected from him.
But there's something else in his offer. Something that makes my blood run cold.
"You're planning to take my baby from me," I say, the realization hitting me like a physical blow.
"I'm planning to keep my child safe."
"By stealing them from their mother?"
"By giving you a choice you wouldn't have if you stayed here." His jaw tightens. "In this house, you'll always be a prisoner. At the safe house, after the baby is born, you can walk away if that's what you want."
I stare at him, trying to read between the lines. "And if I choose to stay with my child?"
"Then you stay. As the mother of my child, under my protection, but not as my prisoner."
It's not perfect. It's not even close to what I want. But it's better than this gilded cage where I'm slowly losing my mind.
"I want to leave," I say quietly. "Now. Today."
Something flickers in his eyes—hurt, maybe, or disappointment. For just a moment, the cold mask slips and I see the man underneath. The one who held me in that hospital bed like I was precious.
“Alexei will be ready. One hour.”
He turns and walks out without saying another word.
The decision to leave breaks something inside me that I didn't know could break.
I should go say goodbye to Mila. I should explain somehow that this isn't about her, that I'm not abandoning her. But I can't face those blue eyes without falling apart completely.
I know I have to do this. He’s probably going to kill my father if he hasn’t already. I can’t be with him.
Despite the violence and the impossible situation—I love him. God help me, I love him. I'm walking away anyway because staying feels like slowly drowning.
Alexei appears in the doorway. “Ready?”
"As ready as I'll ever be," I say, zipping up my suitcase.
I head downstairs. It looks like everyone has disappeared. There’s no one around to say goodbye. That’s not a surprise. I’ve been awful to all of them.
My heart hurts for Mila, but I know this is for the best. The longer I stay, the closer we get. Alexei is at the door waiting. I glance over my shoulder one last time hoping to see Dante.
But he’s nowhere to be found.
Resigned, I follow Alexei to the waiting SUV.
The drive from the estate is too quiet. There is an occasional crackle of the radio as other security personnel check in. They’re speaking in Russian, so I have no idea what they’re saying. There's another SUV following us—more guards, more protection, more evidence of just how dangerous my life has become.
I stare out the tinted windows and try to figure out when everything went so wrong. Was it that first night in the bar? The moment I swiped right on a dating app? Or was it inevitable from the moment Dante's storm-blue eyes met mine?
"You don't have to do this," Alexei says quietly.
