I do want her. Want her trapped and mine and unable to run.
But not like this.
Not with my mother pulling the strings.
"She'll hate me." It's a statement of fact.
"Probably. But she'll be yours. She'll bear your children. She'll legitimize your claim to this family." Bianca's voicesoftens slightly. "You could do worse, Adrian. She's young. Pretty. Intelligent enough to work with rare books. And most importantly, she has no connections. No family allies to complicate things. No one to protect her except you."
The words should horrify me.
Instead, they feed something dark and primal in my chest.
She's alone. Vulnerable. Completely dependent on me.
Mine.
"What about the Morozovs?" I ask. "What do you want to do about Alexei?"
"I'll reach out and offer compensation. Explain that Dimitri attacked a pregnant woman under Nero protection." She waves a hand dismissively. "He won't be happy, but he'll accept it, especially when he learns that she is your fiancée. The alternative is war, and war is bad for business."
"And if he doesn't accept it?"
"Then we go to war." Her eyes harden. "But that's not your concern right now. Your concern is ensuring the legitimacy of your child."
Her silver eyes bore into mine.
"Make her agree, Adrian. I don't care how you do it. Seduce her. Threaten her. Bargain with her brother's life. But make her agree." She stands, moving to the window. "You have forty-eight hours. After that, I handle it my way."
"Why forty-eight hours?"
She turns back, and for the first time, I see calculation mixed with something almost like concern. "Because in forty-eight hours, Alexei is meeting with the Commission to formally request restitution for Dimitri's death. If you walk into that meeting as an unmarried man with a pregnant mistress, you look weak. Reckless. Like someone who can't control his impulses." Her voice hardens. "But if you walk in as a married man who defended his pregnant wife? That's honor. That's strength. That changes the entire narrative."
The political strategy is sound. Infuriating, but sound.
"And if she refuses?"
"Then Gabriel Romano dies, and I present your child's mother to Alexei as restitution. A life for a life." Bianca's smile is cold. "I've built this family through calculated ruthlessness. Don't make me use it on your child's mother."
The threat is clear. Unmistakable.
Marry Sera. Control her. Or Bianca will.
I stand slowly, folder in hand. "You're going to regret threatening me."
"Am I? Because from where I'm standing, I just gave you everything you wanted. A reason to keep her. A way to make her stay. An heir to secure your position." She tilts her head. "You should be thanking me."
I should walk out. Should tell her to go to hell and find a way to keep Sera safe and hidden.
But I'm calculating now. Really calculating.
Bianca thinks she's forcing my hand. Thinks she's controlling the situation.
But she's wrong.
I wanted Sera from the moment I had her. Wanted to keep her, trap her, make her mine in every way that matters. The pregnancy just gave me an excuse. Bianca's ultimatum just gives me leverage.
And once Sera is my wife, once that ring is on her finger and my name is attached to hers legally—not even my mother will be able to touch her.
