Page 35 of The Stowaway

“No, Misha, stay inside,” he said before he snapped at him, “Ostavat'sya.”

I scowled at his tone as Misha whined, and then I heard him run on the wooden floor, his claws scraping along.

My poor baby.

He came straight to me, and I held his collar while I peeked out into the hallway to see the front door close. Misha was rubbing his face on my belly and hip in excitement.

“You can come with me, you poor baby. I won't be mean to you,” I said opening the front door to listen for Ivan’s car while holding Misha’s collar.

The sky was still dark, but rather than black, it was dark blue, which gave me enough light to see the direction Ivan was moving towards. It wasn't where the cars were parked or the garage. Perhaps he wasn't the rat bastard I thought he was.

I followed him as best I could but was slow and clumsy. Ivan had the advantage of knowing this part of the estate, as I usually spent my time in the orchard or gardens. I thought it was just more woodland around this side. I snickered as I wondered if he was a werewolf because if he was out for a jog, it would have been impossible to run in this terrain.

Misha was a good boy and did not drag me along with him. I watched his graceful movements, much like Ivan’s, whereas I felt fat and frumpy in comparison. My eyes widened when we finally reached Ivan’s destination. It was a massive dark green steel cladded outbuilding. There was a large shuttered door that could be used for vehicles at the front, but I heard a door close, and I let Misha go to see if he would lead me to the door.

I held my belly as I felt a more insistent pressure on my bladder, but I ignored it and followed Misha. He took me to the side of the building where the door was, but it had a numbered keypad on it as a lock. I walked around to peer into the window but couldn't see anything.

I fucking knew he was up to something. The need to pee made me admit defeat because if I managed to get into a squatting position out here, there were no guarantees that I would be able to get up again.

“Come on, Misha,” I said as I began the walk back home, with wild thoughts swirling in my head about what could be inside the building.

He did have a lot of security staff that the building could house, but leaving to meet them this early was strange. I glanced back as I walked further away. The building was well camouflaged in its surroundings, and it was a new structure compared to anything else on the estate. Misha came beside me, and we walked home together.

It was a mystery I intended to solve.

∞∞∞

I lay on my side so I could see the time when Ivan came back. When I heard the door open, it was almost half past six. I’d worked myself into a frenzy trying to figure out what he was up to. When he snuggled into me and put his hand on my belly, I felt my heart soften for a millisecond before I recalled his secretiveness. It didn't stop me from falling asleep in his arms.

Chapter 15

Ivan

Amelia wasn't eating the way she used to. It had been the third day, and it was driving me crazy because she said nothing was wrong. In the first trimester, she had felt queasy, but it hadn't hindered her eating.

“Shall I ask Lena to make you something else?”

She blinked up at me in surprise before looking down at her plate.

“No, this is fine,” she said, but her voice was lacking enthusiasm.

“No, it’s not fine, Amelia. You're not eating properly, and you haven't for days. Tell me, what's wrong?” I implored. “It's not good for the baby.”

“Oh,” she said, dropping her fork and clutching her belly.

I jumped up and turned her seat towards me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked in a panic, reaching into my pocket to grab my phone and call the doctor.

“I felt the baby—it moved. It was like a flutter,” she said with her eyes wide and astonished.

Her face softened as she stroked her burgeoning belly. The panic slowly subsided within me, but I still watched her to see if anything was causing her pain. She glanced at me, and her eyes dropped to my chest.

“Oh, Ivan,” she whispered and pulled my hand away from my chest and placed it on her belly. I hadn’t realised I had been rubbing my chest.

I placed both hands on her belly and spread them to cover the bump in the hope I could feel the baby move. After waiting a few minutes, I couldn't feel anything.

“I missed it,” I said with disappointment.

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