Whether I kept the baby or not, I’d have to leave the country. To protect the child’s identity, or to make sure I never crossed paths with Avit or his family again.
Still…a small, fragile part of me had hoped he’d ask me to stay. After the second time we’d made love, something between us had shifted. I hoped that maybe he felt it too.
But who was I kidding? Men like Avit had wives and mistresses. I'd be a fool to believe that he had remained faithful while we were married.
Besides, he made one thing perfectly clear, repeatedly—that when this was over, so were we.
Love couldn’t be begged for. It couldn’t be forced into existence.
I refused to become my mother, trapped in a loveless marriage, clinging to a man who never chose her.
I wouldn’t make that mistake.
According to him, we'd get a divorce, and I'd get my freedom and return to the life I had before I met him.
The only problem was that life no longer existed.
How pathetic I was, falling in love with a man who’d only married me because he was forced into the mess my father created. A man who, in any other world, would’ve walked right past me without a second glance. And then I made it worse. I slept with him without protecting myself, didn’t guard the one thing in this world that had always been mine, my future.
Now my body carried the proof of that mistake, and whether I kept this baby or not, no decision I made from this point on would come without consequences.
A sob tore out of me so violently it felt like if my chest had been split open. Avit reacted instantly. He flipped me toward him and hauled me against his chest. My fists twisted in his shirt, needing to hold onto something, anything, to anchor me. My sobs came out broken and gut-wrenching. I cried for the father I’d lost the day my mother first got sick…and for the father I still couldn’t save, even when I tried.
He murmured soft, comforting words against my hair, his hand rubbing slow circles on my back. And for a moment, I almost let myself collapse into it. Into him.
But the more I cried, the more his comfort felt like a slap in the face. It was something borrowed. Not something I could have permanently. No matter how much I wanted it.
What I wanted didn’t change anything; it didn't carry any weight in Avit's world. He held all the cards.
And my reality was that he didn't want me.
Not beyond the deal. Not beyond the terms. Not beyond convenience. Everything between us—the touches, the softness, the bonding—wasn’t real.
I needed to get out of here. Now.
Slowly, I pushed myself away from him, my hands trembling as I peeled myself out of his hold. Then I made myself meet his eyes.
“It’s time for me to leave.”
A look of confusion washed over his features. “What? Why?”
“My father is dead,” I said, my voice cracking though I tried to steady it. “I helped you uncover who he was supplying. And now that he’s gone, there’s no reason for me to stay. Our deal is over. So is my time in your home.”
It felt like someone was twisting a blade in my chest. Every word hurt. Leaving him would hurt, but staying would hurt worse.
“Sienna…you just got word your father passed. You’re hurting, you’re angry, you don’t have to leave right away.”
I forced my tone to harden as I shifted further away from him into a sitting position. “Are you going back on your word, Mr. Avit?”
He froze. “Sienna, it’s not that. Let me help you through this. You don't have to do it alone. Losing a parent isn’t easy.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “You seem to have forgotten that I had a life before you. Friends who would support me withoutneeding a contract or benefits.” He flinched, and I continued, my voice rising with each word. “My world didn’t start when I stepped into your house, Mr. Avit. I had one before I came here. And I’ll have one after I leave.”
He sighed. “Sienna, you’re lashing out because you’re hurting. I know you are. Please…I don’t want to fight with you. Let me take care of you. Stay as long as you need.”
I shot off the bed. “Stay and let you take care of me? Until when? Until your family realizes this marriage was a farce? Until they find out my father stole from your family? Do you think they’d still accept me when they find out the truth? Staying here will only keep me under their scrutinizing gaze. I've already paid for a crime I didn't commit. It's time for me to be released from this prison.”
His eyes darkened as he rose. He wore the same stoic expression from the first time we met. “If you want to leave now, then it’s your choice. I’ll honor our agreement. Wexler will contact you when the divorce papers are ready. You’ll sign them, and that’s it. I wish you the best, Ms. Romonoff. I hope you get the life you’ve always dreamed of.”
