Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“I thought…” I started but couldn’t finish my sentence. My gaze drifted down to her stomach. She took my hands in hers and placed them on her belly.
We both waited, and then I let out a laugh. I figured laughing would stop me from crying and embarrassing myself any more.
“Doesn’t it hurt? That was a hard kick,” I said, looking at her round stomach.
Ayla’s attention was on her belly. She was still smiling, and my chest expanded with something, a feeling akin to warmth. “He gets stronger every day.”
“He’ll be here soon?” I questioned. Her stomach appeared bigger than when she was pregnant with Maila.
She nodded at the same time the baby kicked my palm again. I grinned like a damn fool.
“I guess the plan worked, huh?” Ayla said, her eyes now on me. The smile was gone, but her eyes shone with tenderness.
“Ayla?” I asked as she picked up the call. I tried to make my voice calm, I tried to appear at ease, even though I felt anything but. My hand clenched around the phone, and then I took a deep breath. My lungs squeezed with each inhale and exhale. This was so fucking hard.
“Yes? Viktor, is that you?” She sounded a little out of breath, and it made me wonder if she was running around again after Maila. I almost grinned. Alessio was probably blowing several blood vessels.
Shaking the thought out of my mind, I chose to focus on the important part. “I need your help.”
“Is something wrong?” she questioned, now worried. I could imagine her chewing on her lips nervously.
“No. Not yet. But something will be wrong soon.” My cryptic words made her even more nervous. Deciding to give her a break, I started to tell her about my plans. Word by word, I slowly explained.
She was silent throughout, her breathing calm and quiet. I hated that I couldn’t see her face. It prevented me from studying her expression and seeing what she was thinking. And it made this shit so much harder. This was something I wanted to discuss face to face, not over the phone and oceans apart.
When I was done, she stayed silent for a few more seconds. Now, it was my turn to grow nervous. If she refused…if she said no…then it would ruin my whole plan, my whole game.
I couldn’t put Ayla or Alessio at risk; I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt them.
But Valentin was a cruel bastard and difficult to please.
And to play this game right, to win his favor…I had to be ruthless.
Heartless enough to hurt the ones I vowed to protect.
Alessio liked to say I was a sick bastard, sick enough to eat someone’s heart out of my hand if I could. This should have been easy.
Wrong. It was the most fucking difficult thing I had ever done in my life.
I was asking Ayla to put not only her life in danger, but also her unborn baby.
Yeah, if she could, she was probably thinking of how to stab me in my sleep right now.
“Does Alessio know?” Out of all the things she could have said, she asked me that.
I swallowed past the lump that had now formed in my throat and then let out a small fake chuckle. Ayla sighed over the phone. “Viktor…”
“If he knew, would I be calling you?” Of course not, because I would have been a dead man for merely suggesting my plans.
“He will be angry when he finds out. I don’t know if I should…I mean, this…” Ayla started to stammer, and I could imagine the wheels turning in her little head right now.
She was scared. And I hated that I was the one who put the fear in her. It was the last thing I had ever wanted to do, but here I was, playing the Devil in their happily ever after.
“This could go really wrong…in so many ways, Viktor. I can’t risk my baby.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned back against the headboard of my bed. I tried to shoot down the frustration building inside of me. Time was running out. I was treading on a thin line with Valentin.
He wanted blood.
And I had promised him death. I had promised him the Ivanshovs’ cruel ending.
I knew there was a possibility Ayla would disagree. Being the stupid fucker I was, I hadn’t thought of ways to convince her. I thought maybe…just maybe, she would see this was the only option.
The devil on my shoulder snickered in response. You were wrong, he laughed in my ears.
“Alessio is here. I have to go,” Ayla said quickly over the phone. I heard someone in the background, probably Alessio. She must have pulled the phone away from her ear because I could hear her voice in the background too. It sounded muffled and little far away.
There was more movement, and then she was back on the line. Agitation started to take over my body, and I bounced my legs up and down. I was holding my phone too tight. The screen could probably crack under the pressure.