Page 49 of Breaking the Annulment

Aurelia settled into one of the chairs, her foot tapping anxiously against the floor.This is the right thing to do,she told herself.Michalis doesn’t need to know. This is my choice.

Her name was called a few minutes later, and she followed the nurse into a small examination room. The doctor entered shortly after, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a professional demeanor.

“What brings you in today?” the doctor asked, settling onto a stool.

“I’d like to get on birth control,” Aurelia said, her voice steady despite the knot in her stomach.

The doctor nodded. “That’s easy enough. We’ll just need to do a quick pregnancy test first—it’s standard procedure.”

Aurelia hesitated, then nodded. “Sure, that’s fine.”

The nurse handed her a cup and directed her to the restroom. When she returned, the nurse took the sample and disappeared, leaving Aurelia alone with her thoughts.

Minutes ticked by, each one dragging longer than the last.

She shifted uncomfortably in the chair, her fingers twisting together as she waited for the doctor to return with the results of her pregnancy test. The antiseptic smell of the room was sharp, the clinical lighting stark against the pale walls.

When the door opened, the doctor entered with a warm smile, holding a clipboard. “Well, the test is positive,” she said gently.

Aurelia blinked, her stomach flipping. “Positive?” she repeated, the word foreign on her tongue. “That…can’t be right. I haven’t missed any periods.”

The doctor nodded, her expression kind but professional. “That’s not uncommon. Hormonal changes can sometimes cause light bleeding that mimics a period. But we can confirm how far along you are with an ultrasound, if you’d like.”

Aurelia hesitated, her heart pounding. “Okay,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor guided her to another room and gestured toward the examination table. Aurelia lay back, the paper beneath her crinkling loudly in the silence. She pulled up her shirt, exposing her abdomen, and tried to focus on the ceiling tiles instead of the cold gel being spread across her skin.

“This will just take a moment,” the doctor said reassuringly, moving the transducer across Aurelia’s lower belly.

The screen beside them flickered to life, and Aurelia’s breath caught as the grainy image appeared. At first, she couldn’t make sense of it, but then the doctor pointed. “There,” she pointed, her tone gentle. “I’d say you’re about eight weeks along, and there’s the heartbeat.”

A faint, rhythmic flutter filled the room. Aurelia’s chest tightened, tears springing to her eyes as she stared at the tiny, pulsing dot on the screen. “That’s the heartbeat?” she whispered.

The doctor nodded, her smile soft. “Yes. Everything looks good so far, but I’d recommend following up with an OB to monitor the pregnancy. Early care is important.”

Aurelia nodded absently, her mind spinning. She barely registered the rest of the doctor’s instructions as she wiped the gel off her stomach and got dressed. When she stepped outside into the sunlight, the warmth on her skin did little to ease the chill that had settled in her chest.

The drive back to the estate passed in a blur, her thoughts swirling with questions she didn’t have answers to. She was pregnant. With Michalis’s child.It must have happened the first week we were together.Oh, my god.

Her hand drifted to her abdomen, resting lightly over the spot where the doctor had shown her the heartbeat. A strange, fierce protectiveness bloomed in her chest, cutting through the confusion and fear. She didn’t know how she felt about Michalis, about their relationship, but she knew one thing with absolute certainty—she wanted to protect this baby.

But how could she bring a child into Michalis’s dangerous, violent world? He’d said it himself. ‘This isn’t some storybook where everyone gets to live happily ever after. My world is dark. Dangerous.’He’d said if she knew half of what he did, she wouldn’t just run, she would hate him.

I have to tell him. The thought made her stomach twist.But not yet. Not until I know what to do.

Aurelia’s hand rested over her flat stomach as the car sped toward the estate. The rhythmic thrum of the engine wasn’t enough to drown out her racing thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about the ultrasound image tucked in her purse—thefaint outline of a tiny life that now shaped every decision she had to make.

I can’t stay here. Not with Michalis’s enemies waiting in the shadows.

Her heart twisted. At some point she’d fallen head over heels in love with Michalis. That much she couldn’t deny. But love couldn’t protect their child from the darkness surrounding him. His dangerous world, his position as head of the Giannopoulos family, meant a life of threats, fear, and violence. It wasn’t what she wanted for her baby.

If I tell him, he’ll never let me go. He’ll come after me, no matter where I run. But if he doesn’t know…Her throat tightened as the thought unfolded. Maybe, just maybe, she could slip away and give their child a chance at a different life.

David’s name came to mind, followed by a wave of unease. She hated involving him, but she couldn’t escape on her own. He was attending the party tonight. She’d ask for his help. It was a desperate gamble, but she had no other options. The security around Michalis was too tight—this might be her only chance.

By the time she reached the estate, her emotions were a tangled mess of fear, protectiveness, and uncertainty. She slipped through the front doors unnoticed, grateful not to run into Michalis as she made her way upstairs.

For now, she needed time to think.

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