Chapter 21
Sarah
I wake to the smell of coffee and the quiet clatter of pans from the kitchen.
For a moment, I forget where I am, then the memories of last night come flooding back of Yarik’s hands on my skin, the way he looked at me like I was something precious, and the words he whispered in the dark that felt like promises he wasn’t quite ready to make.
I pull on a robe and pad barefoot to the kitchen, where Yarik stands at my small stove wearing only his pants from last night. He’s making eggs and moving around my cramped space with an ease that suggests this is something he’s done a hundred times before.
“Good morning.” He glances over his shoulder with a small smile that transforms his usually guarded features.
“You didn’t have to cook.”
“I wanted to.” He plates the eggs and turns to face me fully. “How did you sleep?”
“Better than I have in weeks.” I accept the plate he offers, and our fingers brush in the exchange. “Thank you for last night.”
Something flickers in his expression, an emotion I can’t quite read. “You don’t need to thank me for wanting to be here.”
The front door opens before I can respond, and Nina walks in carrying grocery bags. She stops short when she sees Yarik, her eyebrows rising slightly, but she doesn’t comment.
“Morning.” She sets the bags on the counter and looks between us with barely concealed approval. “Should I come back later?”
“No, stay.” I feel heat rise in my cheeks. “Yarik was just leaving for a meeting.”
He nods, already reaching for his shirt. “I’ll drive you to the estate after I’m done. Should be back around three.”
Nina busies herself unpacking groceries while Yarik gets dressed, but I catch her watching us with keen interest. After he leaves with a kiss that lingers longer than necessary, she turns to me with raised eyebrows.
“So. That happened.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Honey, the best things usually are.” She pours herself coffee and settles at our small table. “You look happier than you have since we got here.”
I join her, cradling my mug between my hands. “I am. Which terrifies me.”
“Why?”
“Because what if it doesn’t last? What if when everything comes out, when the engagement situation gets resolved one way or another, he realizes this was just a distraction?”
Nina reaches across to squeeze my hand. “From what I saw this morning, that man isn’t treating you like a distraction.”
I want to believe her, but doubt gnaws at me. The ultrasound folder sits in my purse across the room, reminding me of the three babies I carry now. Three tiny lives that will change everything between us, and I still don’t know how to tell him.
When Yarik returns a bit later, he drives me to the estate in comfortable silence. “I’ll be back by six,” he says as he drops me off. “Try to stay in the main areas of the house.”
The protective undertone in his voice makes my chest warm. “I will.”
He kisses me briefly before driving away, leaving me with a stack of paperwork to organize in his office. I settle at his desk, my work bag beside the chair, and lose myself in the familiar rhythm of filing and organizing.
The afternoon passes quietly. I work through vendor contracts and shipping manifests, and everything is legitimate and above board as far as I can tell. Around four, I realize I need supplies from the main filing room down the hall, so I leave my bag by the desk and head out to gather what I need.
The filing room is larger than Yarik’s office, with built-in cabinets containing what looks like decades of business records.
I find the forms I need and spend nearly an hour making copies and organizing them by date.
When I finally return to Yarik’s office to collect my things, I’m already thinking about whether he’ll want to stay at my apartment again tonight.
“Sarah.”
The voice stops me just outside Yarik’s office door. I turn to find Katya approaching, looking effortlessly elegant in a cream-colored suit. Her smile is warm and friendly, but something about it makes my skin crawl.
“Katya.” I force my own smile, hoping it doesn’t look as strained as it feels. “I didn’t know you were here today.”
“I had a meeting with the wedding planner.” She stops just close enough to invade my personal space without being overtly aggressive. “You know how these things are, with so many details to coordinate.”
The casual mention of her upcoming wedding to Yarik is like a slap, but I keep my expression neutral. “I’m sure it will be beautiful.”
“I think so.” She studies me with unnerving intensity. “You’re looking well. There’s something different about you lately. A certain glow.”
My mouth is suddenly dry, but I force myself not to react with micro-expressions, or touch my still-flat stomach, or step backward. “Thank you. I’ve been sleeping better.”
“Mmm.” Her gaze drops to my midsection, lingering for just a beat too long before returning to my face. “That must be it.”
The look is sharp, knowing, and settles in my bones like a warning. She suspects or knows something, and the predatory gleam in her eyes tells me exactly how dangerous that makes her. “I should get back to work.” I take a step toward Yarik’s office, desperate to escape this conversation.
“Of course. Don’t let me keep you.” She moves aside with graceful ease. “Have a lovely evening, Sarah.”
I slip into his office and grab my bag with shaking hands, my pulse jumping erratically. That wasn’t a casual comment about my appearance but a threat. It was delivered with a smile and wrapped in false pleasantries, but it was still a threat.
The workday doesn’t end for another twenty minutes, but I need to get out of here. Now.
Instead of going to my car, I head for the guesthouse, where I can have privacy to call Nina.
The small building sits at the edge of the estate grounds, originally built for visiting family but now used mainly for storage.
It’s quiet and isolated, which makes it perfect for a conversation I don’t want overheard.
I dial Nina’s number with trembling fingers, pacing the small living area while it rings.
“Hey, how’s work?” Her cheerful voice only makes my panic worse.
I blurt it out in a rush. “Nina, I think we have a problem. A big one.”
She sounds alarmed. “What happened?”
“Katya knows.” The words are still a jumbled mess. “She made some comment about me having a glow, and the way she looked at me... she knows about the baby. Babies. She has to.”
She inhales sharply but sounds calmer when she speaks again. “Slow down. What exactly did she say?”
“That I looked different and had a glow. Then she stared at my stomach like she could see right through me.” I sink into an armchair covered by a dusty cloth, my legs suddenly unable to support me. “Nina, if she knows, if she tells people before I tell Yarik...”
“Okay, breathe. Maybe she was just making conversation. Lots of people comment when someone looks happy or rested.”
I let out a harsh sound that’s mostly bitter amusement and fear. “This wasn’t that kind of comment. This was a warning. She’s letting me know she has ammunition against me.”
She goes quiet for a moment, and I hear traffic in the background. “What do you want to do?”
Panic seizes me. “I don’t know. Maybe I should leave. Pack up and disappear before this gets any worse.”
She exhales slowly. “Sarah, you’re spiraling. You can’t run every time something scares you.”
“Can’t I? It worked before.” I press my free hand against my still-flat stomach, thinking about the three lives growing inside me. “What if she tries to hurt me? What if she goes after you?”
“She’s not going to hurt anyone. She’s a socialite, not a hitman.”
I shake my head instinctively. “You don’t know these people like I’m starting to. They’re not ordinary rich people, Nina. They’re dangerous.”
She sounds worried again. “You have to talk to Yarik and tell him what happened.”
The suggestion makes my chest constrict with fresh panic. “Tell him what? That his fiancée might know I’m pregnant with his children? That’s assuming he even wants to know about the babies, which I haven’t told him yet because I’m terrified he’ll choose obligation over love.”
“Sarah—”
“What if seeing Alex yesterday wasn’t paranoia?
What if he really is here, working with Katya somehow?
What if they’re both coming for me and I’m sitting here like a target?
” My voice rises with each question, the fear spiral taking hold completely.
Everything that felt safe and possible last night now seems fragile and threatened.
The ultrasound folder in my bag feels like evidence of a crime I haven’t committed yet.
“You need to calm down before you make any major decisions,” she says firmly.
“Staying calm is what gets you hurt. Staying calm is what lets dangerous people get close enough to destroy you.” I tremble. “Waiting to see what happens could get me and the babies killed.”
I think about Alex’s charming smile in the early days, how he seemed so perfect and attentive before the control and manipulation started. I consider Katya’s cold beauty and intelligence, certain she’s probably been planning my destruction since the moment she realized Yarik cared about me.
“What if I can’t protect them?” The question comes out as a whisper, my hand moving unconsciously to my stomach again. “What if I’m not strong enough to keep my children safe from these people?”
“You are strong enough. You survived Alex, you rebuilt your life, and you’ve been handling working for a man you know is dangerous because you saw something in him worth the risk.”
Tears scald my eyes. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the risk is too high.”
“Or maybe you’re letting fear make decisions that love should be making.”