This wasn’t fair! This couldn’t be happening. I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Jenna finally broke away from my stare, leaning down and resting her arms on my thighs, then buried her face into my abdomen. She sobbed quietly, her body convulsing. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, giving her comfort and reassurance.

As she cried, I found myself staring into space, trying to comprehend what had just transpired.

This is just some sort of sick joke…right?

It had to be, but I could feel my heart shattering further into pieces.

I wondered what would become of me. What would I do? What could I possibly do to make this all go away? How would I survive?

I needed help. I needed my mother.

Jenna lifted her head and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Looking up at me through bleary eyes, she smiled slightly.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered, squeezing my thigh reassuringly. “You’re going to be just fine.”

All my fears, doubts, and concerns faded into oblivion as a wave of relief washed over me. I was not alone.

Suddenly, another thought floated up: I had used the morning-after pill. How, then, was this possible? Was there some kind of drug that could cause pregnancy? What would I have done if there was? What was happening?

Questions raced through my mind in a million directions. They bounced off each other with sharp and sudden ferocity, demanding answers.

Chapter 8 - Dominik

My fingers drummed against the steering wheel of my Aston Martin Vantage, which hummed ominously as I slowed before the rows of buildings. I was looking for one, in particular, as I scanned the number of each building. My eyes narrowed as I counted four apartment complexes, each with its own small road leading to the gates.

Two apartments and a house sat next to two others, with a large parking lot between them. There were only three people on the street at the moment; everyone else seemed to be out shopping or busy with work.

Here was the sanctuary of the woman I had begun to grow fond of, one I was slowly becoming obsessed with.

It wouldn’t have been a problem to set someone to follow her—in fact, I had set a tail on her weeks ago—yet, here I was, thanks to the emptiness inside me urging and pressing me to visit her place of rest. After all, we were the Bratva, and as such, it was our duty to know where everyone lived.

Finding her apartment building, I stepped on the brake and looked through my rear-view mirror to see my men parking just far enough from my carto maintain the illusion that I had come alone.

I stepped out, staring at my reflection on the glass of my car, and adjusted my jacket and ran my hand through my hair; then, I aimed for Maya’s building.

When I reached it, I knocked on the door, but no response came. I knocked again; still no response.

Perhaps she was sleeping.

Deciding it was best to let myself in, I placed my hand on the doorknob, turning, and surprisingly, the door swung open.

I shuffled forward in the silence, then heard retching and coughing. I followed the sound and found her in the bathroom, her hands clutching the porcelain of the toilet, her face the perfect reflection of sickness. Her body heaved violently until she finally released the contents of her stomach, and her back hunched over.

She didn’t notice me enter the room. She was shaking so much, it took me a few moments to notice the single tear rolling down her flushed cheek.

My heart raced, watching her like this, helpless. It made me want to own her even more now—to protect her. Now that she was weak, wouldn’t she be easier to break? Easier to capture? Easier to make mine?

Yes. The excitement started to brew in my blood, and I had to hold myself back from acting on it right then.

She flushed the toilet and splashed water over her face, then took some water into her mouth to rinse, then spit out.

She muttered words to herself, things I didn’t quite catch, but wish I did. I thought I caught ‘My life is shit,’ and I smiled internally. Oh? What was this? She was just making this all the more exciting for me, wasn’t she?

However, all this while, I refused to say a thing as I watched her.

Quietly, I moved back into her room to give her the privacy she needed. When she was done, she stepped into her room; on seeing me, she froze.