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But he doesn’t deny it, and I wouldn’t expect him to.

“This is what you always wanted, isn’t it?” I spit, the words tasting like bile on my tongue. “To trap me, to tie me to you forever. This pregnancy, this baby…it’s all just part of your sick little plan.”

He’s on his feet in an instant, his hand slamming down on the table with enough force to rattle the dishes. “Do not presume to know what I want, Katerina.” His voice is clipped and my self-preservation bleats in fear. “Or what I’ve planned.”

I match his glare with one of my own, refusing to back down. “Oh, I think I know exactly what you want, Nico. You want control. Over me, over my life, over every damn choice I make. And now you’ve got it, haven’t you? The ultimate leash, growing inside me.”

His nostrils flare, his lips pressing into a thin line. “You give me too much credit, Katerina. As if I could have planned for this. As if I could have predicted that you would be so…receptive to my attentions.”

I feel my cheeks flush with a mix of anger and humiliation. This fucker. “How dare you,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “How dare you try to make this my fault, my responsibility.”

“Oh, I’m not trying to make it anything, Katerina. I’m merely pointing out that you were hardly a reluctant participant in the activities that led us here.” His smirk is vicious, his eyes glinting with amusement. “As I recall, you were quite…enthusiastic in your responses.”

Something snaps inside me, a white-hot fury that obliterates all rational thought.

Before I know what I’m doing, I’ve snatched up my fork and hurled it at his head with all the strength I can muster.

He catches it effortlessly, his fingers wrapping around the tines mere inches from his face.

For a moment, we just stare at each other, chests heaving, the air between us crackling with tension.

I clench my jaw so hard my teeth ache. “Fuck you, Nico,” I snarl. “Fuck you and your twisted little mind games. I’m done playing by your rules.”

I turn on my heel, ready to storm out of the room, but his voice stops me in my tracks.

“Katerina, wait.”

There’s something in his tone, a note of urgency that I’ve never heard before.

Against my better judgment, I pause, my hand on the doorknob. I turn back to face him, and the sight of him almost makes me forget how to breathe.

He’s still standing by the table, one hand braced against the back of his chair as if it’s the only thing keeping him upright.

His usually impeccable suit is rumpled, his tie loosened and askew. But it’s his face that truly gives me pause.

Gone is the cool, collected mask he always wears.

Gone is the arrogant smirk, the glint of cruel amusement in his eyes. Instead, he looks…shattered.

Lost.

His brow is furrowed, his lips parted as if he’s struggling to find the right words.

For the first time since I’ve known him, Nico looks human. Vulnerable, even. It’s a startling realization, one that sends a strange pang through my chest.

“What do you want me to say?” he asks, and his voice is rough and ragged around the edges. “That I’m happy about this? That I’m ready to be a father? I’m just as blindsided by this as you are.”

I stare at him, trying to reconcile this version of Nico with the one I thought I knew.

The one who was always in control, always three steps ahead. But the man in front of me now, he looks just as lost as I feel.

“Then why the hell did you ask me what I want to do?” I demand, my own voice shaking. “As if I have any idea—as if I’ve had more than a few hours to process this?”

He rakes a hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end.

It’s such a genuinely frustrated gesture and it makes something twist painfully in my gut.

“Because I’m trying, Katerina. I’m trying to give you a choice, to let you have some control over what happens next.”