CHAPTER TWO

Dimitri's POV 

Something was wrong with Irina.

I noticed it the moment she entered my office that morning. She moved differently, and carefully. Like her body hurt. Like she was trying not to break.

Her face was pale. Her eyes were red and swollen like she had been crying. And she would not look at me. Not directly. Not the way she usually did.

"Your tea, sir," she said quietly, placing the cup on my desk. 

Her hands shook. The cup rattled against the saucer.

I frowned. "Irina."

"Yes, sir?" She replied, still not looking at me.

"Are you well?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. I am fine." Her voice was flat and empty.

She was lying.

I leaned back in my chair and studied her. Four years I had known this girl. For four years I had watched her move through my space like light through water. I knew every expression on her face. Every tone in her voice. Every small thing that made her happy or sad or afraid.

This was different. This was worse than afraid.

She was broken.

"Did something happen last night?" I asked carefully.

Her whole body went rigid. "No, sir. Nothing happened."

Another lie.

"Irina, look at me." My tone was soft. I had never raised my voice at her. 

She finally raised her eyes to mine. And what I saw there made my chest tighten. There was pain in her eyes.

"Who hurt you?" I asked, my voice dropping low and dangerous.

She shifted. "No one, sir. I promise. I just did not sleep well."

I did not believe her. But I also knew better than to push. Irina was gentle, but she was not weak. When she wanted to hide something, she hid it well.

"If anyone touched you," I said slowly, "you will tell me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." She whispered.

"I will kill them." I said firmly.

"I know, sir."

She turned to leave, moving carefully like every step hurt.

I watched her go and felt anger curl hot and tight in my gut. Someone had done something to her. In my house. Under my protection. I don't know what. But I will find out and when I did, they will be sorry.

The morning dragged on. I had meetings with my captains. Received territory report. Counted money. Planned for enemies . But my mind kept drifting back to Irina. To the pain in her eyes. To the way she flinched when I said her name.

By afternoon, I could not focus anymore.

I looked for her and found her in the laundry room, folding sheets with the other maids. She looked worse than this morning. Her skin had a gray tinge to it. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cold.

"Irina," I called from the doorway.

She looked up, startled. "Sir?

"Come here." I ordered gently.

She set down the sheet she was folding and walked towards me slowly. The other maids watched with curious eyes. They knew she was my favorite and I didn't care.

I gestured for her to follow me into the hallway, away from listening ears.

"You look ill," I said bluntly.

"I am fine, sir. I'm just tired." 

"You are not fine. When was the last time you ate?"

She hesitated. "This morning."

"You are lying again."

Her shoulders sagged. "Yesterday. I think. I do not remember."

"Why are you not eating?"

"I feel sick. My stomach..." She pressed a hand to her abdomen and her face went even paler. "Excuse me."

She rushed past me towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. I heard her retching, the awful sounds of someone emptying what little was in their stomach.

I waited.

When she emerged, she was shaking. Her eyes were watery. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.

"That is enough," I said firmly. "You are done working for today."

"No, sir, please. I have so much to..."

"I do not care. You are sick. You need rest."

"It is just a stomach bug. It will pass."

"Then it will pass while you are resting." I took her arm gently and guided her back towards my bedroom. She was too weak to protest.

I sat her down on the edge of my bed. She looked small and fragile sitting there, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"Stay here," I ordered. "Do not move."

I went to my bathroom and found the medicine cabinet. Pain relievers. Something for nausea. I brought them back with a glass of water.

"Take these," I said, handing her the pills.

She looked at them like they might bite her. "I do not need medicine, sir."

"Take them, Irina. That is an order."

She swallowed the pills with trembling hands, then drank the entire glass of water like she had not had anything to drink in days. Maybe she had not.

"Lie down," I said, pulling back the covers.

"Sir, I cannot sleep in your private bed. That is not appropriate."

"I am making it appropriate. Lie down."

She obeyed reluctantly, curling onto her side like a child. I pulled the blanket over her, tucking it around her shoulders.

She didn't look at me. She closed her eyes. I stood there for a long moment, watching her breathe. Watching the tension slowly leave her body as the medicine took effect.

"Rest," I said quietly. "Sleep as long as you need to."

"Where will you sleep?" She asked, her voice already thick with exhaustion.

"In my study. I have work to do anyway."

"I am sorry, sir. I didn't mean to disturb you." She said.

"Stop apologizing, it's not your fault."

But even as I said it, I wondered what she was apologizing for. What burden she was carrying that made her look so broken.

I walked to the door, then paused and looked back at her.

"If you need anything," I said. "I will be in the study."

She did not respond. She had already fallen asleep, her breathing deep and even, her face finally looked peaceful.

I closed the door quietly behind me and stood in the hallway, my hands clenched into fists.

Something was very wrong.

And I was going to find out what.

I sat in my study, looking through some reports when Alexei, my twin brother stumbled into my office.

He looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair was a mess. He moved like his head might explode if he stepped too hard.

"You look like death," I said.

"I feel like death." He collapsed into the chair across from my desk and groaned. "I drank too much."

"Clearly." I said, looking back into my report.

"I do not remember half the night." He rubbed his face with both hands. "Did I do anything stupid?"

CHAPTER THREE

Irina's POV 

Three weeks had passed since that night.

Three weeks of waking up and wishing it had all been a terrible dream. Of avoiding mirrors because I could not stand to look at myself. 

Three weeks of pretending everything was fine when nothing would ever be fine again.

I had not seen Alexei since that morning. He disappeared the day after the party, and I was grateful. I could not face him. I could not look into those forest green eyes without remembering.

Dimitri noticed something was wrong. Of course he did. He knew me too well. But I lied and lied and lied until even I almost believed my own words.

It was just a stomach bug, I told him. Just exhaustion. Just stress.

But it was not.

The sickness came every morning now. I threw up until there was nothing left. I stopped eating because food made it worse. I lost weight I could not afford to lose.

And I knew.

Deep down in a place I did not want to look, I knew what was happening to me.

I was pregnant.

With Alexei's child.

The thought made me want to scream. Made me want to tear my own skin off. Made me want to disappear into nothing so I would not have to face what was coming.

Because Dimitri would find out eventually. There was no hiding something like this forever. And when he did, everything I had built over four years would crumble to dust.

He would hate me.

He would think I betrayed him.

He would never believe it was a mistake. That I had thought it was him.

The fear ate at me like acid.

I tried to hide it. I wore bigger clothes, and avoided him as much as I could.

I did my duties quickly and left before he could ask questions.

But today, he had asked me to wash his hair.

It was something I did often. 

It was something intimate and quiet that I usually loved. But today my hands shook as I filled the basin with warm water. Today my stomach churned with nausea that would not go away.

Dimitri sat in the chair by his bathroom sink with his head tilted back, and his eyes closed. He looked peaceful. And very beautiful.

I poured water over his hair carefully, watching it darken and stick to his scalp. My fingers worked shampoo through the thick strands, massaging his scalp the way he liked.

"That feels good," he murmured.

I tried to smile but my face felt frozen.

I felt dizzy suddenly. Just a little. Just enough to make me pause.

I blinked hard and kept working, rinsing the shampoo away with shaking hands.

I felt dizzy again. Harder this time.

My vision blurred at the edges. My knees felt weak. The basin in my hands suddenly weighed a thousand pounds.

"Irina?" Dimitri's voice sounded far away. "Are you..."

The basin slipped from my fingers. 

Water splashed everywhere.

And then the floor rushed up to meet me.

I heard Dimitri shout my name, and felt strong arms catch me before I hit the ground. Then everything went black.

When I woke, I was lying in Dimitri's bed. The room was dim, and quiet. My head pounded with a dull, persistent ache.

I tried to sit up but a wave of nausea pushed me back down.

"Do not move."

I turned my head and saw an old man sitting in a chair beside the bed. Dr. Petrov. I recognized him from when one of the guards had been shot last year. He was the Volkov family doctor.

Fear shot through me like ice water.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"You fainted," he said gently. "Dimitri Volkov brought me here to examine you."

"Where is he?" I asked carefully.

"He had a meeting he could not miss. But he left strict orders that I take care of you."

I closed my eyes. Of course he had a meeting. Dimitri always had meetings. The Bratva did not stop just because a maid collapsed.

"I am fine," I said. "Just tired. I can go back to work now."

"I am afraid that is not possible." Dr. Petrov's voice was kind but firm. "You are very weak. You have not been eating. Your body is under significant stress."

"I will eat more. I promise. I just need to..."

"You are pregnant, Miss Irina." He said suddenly. The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

I stared at him. My mouth opened but no sound came out.

"About four weeks along," he continued. "That is why you have been so sick. The morning sickness should pass in a few weeks, but you need to eat. You need to rest. You need to take care of yourself and the baby."

The baby.

The word made everything real in a way it had not been before.

There was a baby growing inside me. Alexei's baby. A constant, living reminder of the worst night of my life.

"No," I whispered. "No, that is not possible."

"I am quite certain of the diagnosis." He replied calmly.

"Does Dimitri know?" My voice cracked on his name.

Dr. Petrov hesitated. "I have not told him yet. I wanted to speak with you first. But he will need to know eventually."

"No." I sat up too fast and the room spun. "No, you cannot tell him. Please. You cannot."

"Miss Irina, he is going to find out one way or another. It is better if he hears it from..."

"Please." Tears streamed down my face. "Please do not tell him. Not yet. I need time. I need to figure out how to explain. Please."

The doctor looked at me with sad, knowing eyes. Like he understood more than I was saying.

"I will give you one week," he said quietly. "One week to tell him yourself. But after that, if you have not, I will have to inform him. For your safety and the baby's."

One week.

Seven days to figure out how to destroy the only good thing I had ever known.

Dr. Petrov left medicine for the nausea and strict instructions to eat and rest. Then he gathered his things and left, closing the door softly behind him.

I lay in Dimitri's bed, staring at the ceiling, my hand pressed against my still flat stomach.

A baby.

I was carrying a baby.

And I had no idea what to do.

Hours passed. The light outside faded from gray to black. I heard footsteps in the hallway. Voices. The sounds of the house settling into evening routine.

I should get up, go back to my quarters, and pretend everything was normal for as long as I could.

But I could not move. I could not face the world outside this room.

The door suddenly slammed open. And Dimitri stepped inside. He looked furious. His jaw was clenched tight. His hands were balled into fists at his sides. His ocean blue eyes burned with rage that made my blood run cold.

I have never seen this side of him.

This was not the Dimitri who was gentle with me. This was the Pakhan. The monster Moscow feared.

I scrambled off the bed on shaky legs. My whole body trembled. I wanted to run but there was nowhere to go.

Dimitri took three long strides and stopped in front of me.

"You are pregnant." His voice was deadly cold. The kind of cold that could freeze hell over.

My eyes widened. My mouth opened but no words came out.

How did he know?

How did he find out?

But words traveled faster than light in this house. Someone must have told him. A maid. A guard. Someone who heard the doctor. Someone who could not wait to spread the news.

"Who dared touch you?!" His voice was low and lethal. Each word cut like a blade.

I took a step back. Tears filled my eyes. My throat closed up.

"Dimitri, please..."

"WHO?!" He roared.

CHAPTER FOUR

Dimitri's POV 

The word exploded from me like a gunshot.

"WHO?!"

Irina flinched. She wrapped her arms around herself like that could protect her from my rage. Tears streamed down her face. Her whole body shook.

"Dimitri, please..." she whispered.

"Tell me." I stepped closer. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Every muscle in my body was coiled tight. "Tell me who put their hands on you. Tell me who dared touch what was mine."

"I... I cannot..."

"You will." My voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "You will tell me right now or I will tear this entire compound apart until I find them myself. I will line up every man and put a bullet in their head one by one until someone confesses."

"I am sorry," she choked out through her sobs. "I am so sorry. I did not mean for this to happen. I did not want this. I thought..."

"You thought what?" I demanded. "You thought I would not find out? You thought you could hide a pregnancy from me?"

"I thought it was you!" The words burst out of her like a dam breaking. "I swear on my life, Dimitri. I thought it was you."

The world stopped.

I stared at her, trying to process what she just said, trying to make sense of words that made no sense.

"What did you say?" My voice was barely audible.

She looked up at me through her tears. Her amber eyes were filled with pain and desperation.

"The night of the party," she whispered. "Someone came into your room. It was dark. So dark. He wore your robe. The black silk one I laid out for you. He had your height. Your build. Your hair. And I was so sure it was you. I would never... I could never..."

Understanding crashed over me like ice water.

My brother.

It had to be.

We were identical. Same face. Same body. Same hair. Only our eyes were different. And in the dark, she would not have seen his eyes.

"No," I breathed. My chest felt like it was caving in. "No, it was not..."

Before I could finish, the door slammed open with enough force to crack the frame.

Alexei stood there, breathing hard. His forest green eyes were wild.

He had found out. Someone had told him what was going on.

"Dimitri, wait..." he started.

"You." The word came out quiet, amd deadly. I turned to face him fully. "It was you."

Alexei's face went pale. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I did not know," he said quickly. "I swear I did not know it was her. I was drunk. I could not see straight. I thought..."

"You thought what?" I took a step towards him. Then another. "You stumbled into my room. You put your hands on my woman. You took what was mine!."

"I did not know!" His voice rose. "How was I supposed to know you hid her in your room? You never told me about her. You never said anything!"

"I should not have to tell you to keep your hands off my personal maid!" I roared. "I should not have to tell you that she is off limits! That she is the one thing in this whole filthy world that belongs to me and only me!" I roared.

"I was drunk," Alexei said again, but there eas no regret in hos tone. "I do not even remember most of it. I just remembered..."

I hit him. 

My fist connected with his jaw with all the force of my rage. He staggered back, blood spraying from his split lip.

"Do not," I said softly, "talk about that night. Do not you dare talk about what you did to her."

Alexei wiped the blood from his mouth. For a moment, I thought he would fight back. We had fought before. Countless times while growing up. But we always fought together, never against each other.

"Dima... if I had known..."

"But you did not know." I stepped closer. Close enough that we were almost nose to nose. "You did not know and you did not care. You just took what you wanted like you always do. Women, territory, everything. You take and take and take and never think about the consequences."

"That is not fair..."

"Fair?" I laughed. A harsh, bitter sound. "You want to talk about fair? She thought you were me, Alexei. She gave herself to you because she thought you were me. And now she is carrying your child! Your bastard! Tell me, brother, what part of that is fair?"

Alexei flinched like I had struck him again. Behind me, I heard Irina sob. The sound cut through me like a knife.

"I will fix this," Alexei said. His jaw was tight. His green eyes were hard. "I will take responsibility."

"Responsibility?" I repeated slowly. "What does that mean?"

"It means..." He took a breath. "It means she is mine now. The baby is mine. I will take care of them both."

The words hit me like bullets.

I stared at my brother. At my twin. At the other half of my soul. And I saw a stranger.

"No," I said softly.

"Dimitri..."

"No." My voice was louder now. "She is not yours. She will never be yours. This was a mistake. An accident. You do not get to claim her just because you were too drunk to know whose bed you were in."

"The baby is mine," Alexei said firmly. "That makes her mine too."

"She belongs to me," I said through clenched teeth. "She has belonged to me for four years. I found her. I bought her. I protected her. She is MINE!"

"She is carrying my child." Alexei's voice dropped. Became serious in a way I had never heard before. "That changes everything."

"It changes nothing."

"Dimitri, be reasonable..."

"Reasonable?" I was shaking now. With rage. With pain. With betrayal so deep it felt like I was drowning. "You want me to be reasonable while you stand there and claim the woman I love?"

The words hung in the air.

I had never said it out loud before. I had never admitted it even to myself. But now it was out there. Raw and impossible to take back.

Alexei's smirked. "You love her?"

"Of course I love her," I said quietly. "I have loved her since the day she walked into my life. I have loved her through every moment of every day for four years. And I never touched her. I never forced her. I waited. I wanted her to choose me freely. To come to me because she wanted to, not because she had no other choice."

"Dima..."

"And you took that from me." My voice broke. "You took her. You took her choice. You took everything."

"You know I didn't not mean to."

"But you did." I looked at my brother. "You did, and now everything is ruined."

Silence fell between us. Heavy and suffocating.

Behind me, Irina's sobs had quieted. I could feel her watching us. Waiting to see what we would decide about her life. About her future. Like she had no say in it at all.

"She was mine first," I whispered, my voice deadly calm. "And you stole her from me."

Alexei straightened his shoulders. His jaw set in that stubborn way I knew so well.

"She belongs to me now," he said. His forest green eyes were serious. Determined.

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

"I know." Alexei's voice was quiet. "But the baby changes everything. You know it does. She is carrying my child, Dima. That makes her mine. That is how our world works."

My fist tightened. 

He was right.