Page 3 of Baby for the Bratva

My stomach drops and my heart leaps up into my chest when I see his name on the phone. There’s no way he could know where I am right now.

Or is there?

2

Stella

My hand is shaking as I stop in the middle of the hallway to answer the phone. “Hello?” I ask, trying to sound annoyed. In reality, I’m just confused.

“Hey, Stella, care to tell me what the fuck is going on?” His voice is deep and harsh, and I almost feel like apologizing until I remember I haven’t done anything wrong. He’s trying to make me feel bad about leaving him, but he’s the one who deserves to feel bad.

And I bet he does. That’s why he’s taking it out on me like this.

“I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about,” I reply, feigning ignorance to see how much he knows.

“First of all, I haven’t heard from you in days, and then I find out you’re taking a cruise? Is this for real?”

How the hell did he find out I was on a cruise? Is he stalking me?

“Tyler…” I begin, but I don’t know what to say. I’m freaked out by how much he knows.

He chuckles, and his voice turns cold. “You’ve been caught, Stella. Give it up. You dumped me so that you could go on your little cruise alone and get fucked by guys you barely know. And then, at the end of it, you’re going to come home acting like nothing happened.”

I scoff at his ridiculous suggestion, not only because it’s completely false, but also because even if I had done all that, it’s not a crime. I’m a free woman, and I’m under no obligation to involve anyone else in my life.

We aren’t married, he’s an asshole, and we’re no longer together.

I should hang up the phone right now, but I feel like arguing. I wasn’t able to express my anger when I found the text messages on his phone. I couldn’t tell him how disgusted I was with him because I was scared how he would react.

But he isn’t here right now. He can’t hurt me, and once I’m miles away in the ocean, he won’t even be able to get to me even if he wanted to come find me.

My phone almost slips from my hand as I grip it tighter. I was already sweaty before the call, but now I’m drenched. “You have no right to make those kinds of accusations, Tyler. You’re the one who was caught cheating, and you blew up our relationship like it meant nothing to you.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to explain!”

I hesitate, but only for a moment. “There’s nothing to explain. I saw the pictures.”

“Those were old, from before we started dating. You’re blowing this way out of proportion,” he whines, and I know he’s trying to manipulate me again. He’s so good at it that it makes me sick.

“Just shut up,” I snarl. “It’s embarrassing to hear you whining like a bitch.” My entire body is electrified with adrenaline the moment my harsh words leave my mouth, but I know in my heart he deserves them.

Several seconds of dead silence follow before Tyler can muster up a response. “Wow… Just wow.”

“Wow is right,” I reply with a swell of excitement at my victory over him. “And now maybe I will fuck some other guys. Sounds like fun.”

“You’ve really lost it.”

I laugh. “Sure, believe what you want, but you’re the one stalking me to find out what I’m doing. It’s fucking creepy.”

“You’re not hard to find,” he grumbles. “Your email is still logged in on my phone.”

I’m struck by a hard bolt of realization. Tyler knows everything about my trip, and even if I managed to log myself out on all devices, that’s not going to change what he’s discovered.

Every stop, every port, even the day and time of my final destination – he knows. I’m tempted to run off the ship and book a hotel for a month instead.

Can you cancel tickets this late?

I hang up on Tyler immediately, thumbing through my apps until I find my email. It only takes me a few seconds to figure out how to log myself out everywhere, which will prevent him from discovering any of my next moves.

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