Page 20 of King of Shadows

“Chloe?” I hear him following me. “What’s happening? Are you all right?”

I drop to my knees in front of the toilet and throw up. I hear Kazimir curse softly before he kneels beside me and gathers my hair away from my face. His hand moves gently through it as I continue getting sick until there’s practically nothing left in my stomach.

When I finally stop, I’m exhausted. Kazimir reaches for a tissue and hands it to me.

“Here.”

“Thank you.”

I wipe my mouth, then sit back on my heels. He helps me to my feet. I move to the sink and rinse my mouth while he flushes the toilet behind me. When I look up, he’s watching me with concern.

“Are you all right? Are you coming down with something?”

“Yeah.” I rinse my mouth again. “I think I might be.”

I grab a towel and wipe my face. “At first, I thought it was work stress. But now I think I might have caught some kind of bug.”

Kazimir steps closer and presses the back of his hand against my forehead. “How long have you been feeling this way?”

“About two days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t think much of it. I’ve only been feeling tired.”

He listens as I list the little things I’ve noticed over the past few days. And then I stop. My heart suddenly skips. Wait. I stare at him. No. I turn and rush into my bedroom.

“Chloe?” Kazimir calls after me.

I go straight to my nightstand and grab the small calendar I keep there. I flip through the pages, my eyes scanning the dates. And that’s when I realize I’m late. I’m a week late.

“Oh my God.”

“What is it?” Kazimir asks beside me.

I look at him. “I’m late.”

The confusion disappears from his face. His eyes widen slightly. “Do you think you could be…”

“But I’m on the pill.”

Kazimir stares at me. “You of all people should know it’s not one hundred percent effective.”

Fuck. He’s right. I look around the room. Do I have a test? I start searching through the drawers. I should have one somewhere. I finally find a small box tucked away in the back. I look at the bottom, then grimace.

“It’s expired.”

I’ve had it for a long time, but I never had any use for it. My last boyfriend before Kazimir was over a year ago.

He reaches for his phone. “I’ll have one of my workers run to the drugstore and get a new one.”

“What if I’m pregnant?” I mutter, after he’s done with his call.

He pulls me into his arms. “Then it will be okay.”

I press my face against his chest, trying to calm my racing heart. A few minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. Kazimir releases me and walks out. When he returns, he’s holding two different pregnancy test kits. He places them in my hands. And suddenly, this feels very real.

“Whatever the result is, nothing changes.”