Page 77 of Ruthless Daddies

The driveto Staten Island is tense, with Ivan at the wheel and Dmitri flipping through his phone in the back seat.

“You look like someone ran over your dog,” Dmitri says, smirking at me.

“Shut up,” I mutter, staring out the window.

“Let me guess,” he continues. “Alice?”

I glance at him, scowling. “She’s upset.”

“No kidding,” he says, leaning back. “What’d you do?”

“I told her we couldn’t make time for her dinner,” I admit, the words tasting bitter.

Dmitri chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re an idiot.”

“Not helping,” I snap.

“Focus,” Ivan says sharply, his hands gripping the wheel.

I bite back another retort, my mind drifting to Alice and the look on her face when I called her needy. I’ll make it up to her. Somehow. But right now, there’s no room for anything else.

Staten Island awaits, and so do our enemies.

29

ALICE

Ican’t stop pacing. My room feels too small, the walls closing in as my thoughts spiral. Nikolai’s words still sting—needy.Was I really being too much? Or was he just too preoccupied to care?

But that’s not the real reason my stomach churns. No, it’s the other realization, the one I’ve been pushing to the back of my mind for days now. I’m late. Too late. And every little ache, every strange craving, every wave of nausea feels like a neon sign flashing the truth in front of my face.

I want to see a doctor, but I know I can’t. The plan was to break the news at dinner, but that’s not happening anymore.

The Morozovs don’t allow me to leave the estate unless I’m accompanied by someone. Which leaves me with one option—Jenna.

I grab my phone and dial her number, pacing again as I wait for her to pick up.

“Hey, Alice!” Jenna chirps, her voice a bright contrast to my frazzled mood.

“Jenna,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “I need your help.”

“Of course,” she says immediately. “What’s going on?”

I hesitate, biting my lip. “I need you to bring me…something. Quietly.”

Her tone shifts, concern creeping in. “Alice, what’s wrong?”

“A pregnancy test,” I blurt out before I can second-guess myself.

There’s a pause, and then she says, “Okay. When?”

“Today,” I say quickly. “As soon as you can. But you have to be discreet. No one can know.”

“You’re seriously freaking me out,” she says, but I can hear her grabbing her keys. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

I don’t realizehow tightly I’m gripping the doorframe until Jenna walks in, holding a small paper bag.

“This is insane, Alice,” she whispers, handing it to me. “Are you okay?”

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