Page 13 of Porcelain Vows

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. His words should be comforting, but something about them sends a chill down my spine. Safe now? Safe from what? From whom? Was I not safe before?

As we drive on in silence, I rest my free hand on my swollen belly, feeling the baby move within me. At least this still feels real— this connection to the life growing inside me. Everything else might be blank, but this, I know.

I’m going to be a mother.

What I don’t know is whether I should be afraid of the father.

The rational part of my mind says no— he’s been nothing but gentle and concerned since I woke up in the hospital. But there’s another part of me, something deeper and moreinstinctive, that whispers warnings I can’t quite hear. Like my body remembers something my mind won’t let me see…

I look at our joined hands resting on the console between us. His is so much larger than mine, strong and capable, with expensive rings glinting on his fingers. A hand that I sense could protect or destroy with equal ease.

Which has it done to me?

I wish I knew.

Chapter Six

Aleksei

The car glides to a stop at the entrance of Blackwood Manor.

I turn off the engine and sit motionless for a moment, Dr. Malhotra’s words about Bobik echoing in my mind.

My son’s diagnosis hangs over me like a dark shroud. Experimental surgery. Slim chance of success. And I put him through that. It doesn’t matter that he’d begged to do it. I am the parent. I have the final say.

I sink back into my seat, forcing myself to breathe slowly through clenched teeth. My son deserves better than coin-flip odds. The Bentley’s leather seat creaks as I shift, the silence of the car amplifying the storm in my head.

The doctor’s final words keep replaying in my mind: “We will get him up and running, Mr. Tarasov. Trust me.” But trust isn’t something that comes easily to me.

I push the thoughts away. Right now, I need to focus on Stella.

Circling around to her door, I open it smoothly and look down into the car. She looks up at me, those green eyes that once flashed with desire and rage now clouded with confusion. My jaw tightens. I’m a stranger to her now— a blessing in disguise, maybe.

“We’re here,” I say, extending my hand.

She hesitates before taking it, her fingers cool against my palm. As she steps out, her gaze travels up the imposing facade of the manor. Nothing in her expression suggests recognition.

I watch her carefully, noting how she pulls her hand away a moment too quickly. That instinctive withdrawal from my touch— it’s irritating. This woman who once knew every inch of my body now shrinks from the barest contact.

The wind catches her chestnut hair, blowing strands across her face. I resist the urge to brush them away. Such a gesture was never one we shared easily— I’d made sure of that, but now it’s something I want to do. I don’t. Instead, I straighten my shoulders and step back, giving her space to take in my home in all its cold, symmetrical glory.

“This is where we live?” she asks, her voice small.

“Yes. Blackwood Manor.” I watch her face carefully for any flicker of memory. Nothing.

Something instinctive stirs within me as a thought takes hold— this could be a second chance. Before, she looked at me with apprehension. I was the man who’d forced her into my world to bear my child. Now, that slate is wiped clean. We can start over.

“Let me show you around,” I say, guiding her toward the entrance.

We move through the grand foyer, my steps measured and deliberate. I maintain perfect composure despite the storm inside me— my son’s failed operation, Stella’s memory loss, the opportunity it presents. My hand hovers near the small of her back without touching her, maintaining the illusion of distance while keeping her within my orbit.

“This is the main house,” I explain as we walk. “There are two wings— the Right Wing, where my personal quarters are, and the Left Wing, where you’ve been staying.”

“We don’t stay together?” She glances at me and then looks away, her cheeks turning pink.

Blyad.

This is something I hadn’t considered. Why would a couple live in separate parts of a house like this?

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