Page 181 of Dirty Damage

“It’s over,” I rumble, ripping off the Band-Aid off in one go. “Sutton and I. We’re done. The contract is broken and our arrangement is at an end.”

Oksana doesn’t say a word.

Not the reaction I was expecting.

“I thought you’d be happy,” I remark.

“What makes you think I’m not?”

“For one, I expected an ‘I told you so.’”

She purses her lips and tosses her perfectly dyed mane of hair back over her shoulder. “Do you think me so cold?”

“Yes, and I happen to believe it’s one of your best qualities.”

She narrows her eyes. “You’re being sarcastic now. I take it that you’re not happy about the state of affairs?”

“On the contrary, I’m exceedingly happy not to have a conniving snake carrying my child.”

Oksana’s jaw drops. “What?—”

I hold up my hand. “I’m not here for comfort or advice. I feel nothing about the contract breaking. I came here to tell you that you win.”

“I… win?”

“That’s right. You win. You can find me a suitable girl. I will marry anyone you suggest, no questions asked.”

Her carefully composed mask wobbles. “Oleg… are you serious?”

I meet her gaze and for the first time, I see her coldness reflected back at me in the black pits of her eyes. “Yes, Maman. I am.”

53

SUTTON

I’m losing the baby.

There’s a tragic poetry to it, really. I’ve lost the father; why not the baby, too?

But despite my body and mind telling me that perhaps this is the universe’s way of saying that Oleg and I were never meant to be, my heart and soul are telling me something else entirely.

I want this baby.

I can’t lose it.

Please don’t let me lose it.

I stare down at the text Mara sent me fifteen minutes ago, complete with a smiley face and a bunch of heart emojis. Mara’s not an emoji texter. The fact that I’ve gotten so many is a surefire sign that she’s worried about me.

She doesn’t know about the pregnancy, though.

She doesn’t know about the bleeding that started sometime in the middle of last night.

Just a few red spots to start with. I’d written it off as stress.

But then this morning, there were more spots. Bright red. Almost blinding.

I’d scoured the internet but it did nothing to calm me down. Breakthrough bleeding isn’t always serious. But it can be.

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