Chapter 27 Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Irina's POV
I slit my throat.
There was so much blood.
It sprayed across the leather seats. I saw it splashed onto Alexei's newspaper. It soaked into my clothes, turning everything red.
I saw the shock on Alexei's face. His eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open.
He wasn't expecting it.
"What did you..." he started to say.
But I did not hear the rest.
Everything was spinning. The world was tilting sideways.
Alexei shouted orders immediately.
The vehicle screeched to a stop. The doors flew open and I felt strong hands grab me.
"Pressure! Apply pressure!" A guard was yelling. "She is bleeding out!"
I felt something press hard against my throat and it hurt. Everything hurts.
"Irina!" Alexei's voice came, angry and desperate. "Irina, what did you do? What did you do!"
I tried to smile. I wanted to tell him that I won. That he could not control me anymore. That I chose my own ending.
But I could not speak. Blood filled my mouth. Everything was getting darker.
“Start the car!” Alexei ordered. "Drive faster!" He screamed. "Get us to the safe house! Now!"
The vehicle lurched forward immediately. I felt strong hands pressing harder against my throat. And a cloth was wrapped around my neck.
"Stay with me," Alexei said and I wanted to laugh. Stay with you? I’d rather die. "Stay awake. Do not close your eyes." He said, his voice was trembling.
I was getting tired. So tired.
I closed my eyes finally. Everything faded and went black.
After what felt like a few minutes, I heard voices again. But it was distant and muffled. Like they were coming from under the water.
"...blood loss was severe..."
"...lucky the blade missed the major artery..."
"...another centimeter and she would be dead..."
I tried to open my eyes but they felt so heavy.
Then I managed to open it a little wider.
All I could see was white. Everything was in white, the ceiling, the lights.
Was I dead? Was this heaven?
No. Heaven would not be this bright and it would not smell like antiseptic.
My eyes opened wider and I saw men in white coats. Doctors? They were moving around me.
I am still alive?
The realization hit me like a punch to the stomach.
I was still alive!
I had failed. Again!
"You are awake," a voice said, deep and smooth.
It sounded terrifyingly familiar.
I turned my head slowly. Pain shot through my neck and I winced.
And there he was, sitting in a chair beside my bed. He was still wearing the same clothes from before. The white shirt was still stained with blood. But his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a dangerous yet beautiful lion tattoo on his forearm.
Dimitri has the same tattoo.
I tried to speak but my throat was so dry. One of the doctors noticed and brought me water.
I drank it slowly, each swallow hurt.
"Why did you stop me?" I whispered. My voice was hoarse and weak. "Why did you save me?"
"Because you are carrying my child," Alexei said flatly. "And I am not going to let you kill yourself and take my baby with you."
His baby. Of course. That was all I was to him. An incubator.
"I hate you," I whispered.
"I know," Alexei said. He leaned back in his chair. "But that does not change anything."
A doctor approached. "She needs rest," he said to Alexei. "And she should not be stressed. The wound was deep. She is very lucky to be alive."
"Thank your God you did not lose the baby," Alexei said, ignoring the doctor. He was looking directly at me.
My heart stopped.
The baby was still alive.
My hands flew to my stomach immediately. I pressed it, trying to feel anything.
"The baby is fine," the doctor said gently. "The heartbeat is strong. There are no complications."
Relief and horror washed over me at the same time.
Relief because I had not killed an innocent life. Horror because that meant Alexei still had his hold over me.
I looked down at my stomach.
There was a baby inside me. A tiny life that had nothing to do with this war between brothers.
Tears filled my eyes. "Why?" I whispered. "Why am I still pregnant? Why did I not lose it?"
"Because you are strong," the doctor said kindly. "And your baby is strong too."
Strong. What a terrible joke.
I was not strong. I was weak and broken and trapped.
The doctors continued checking me.
They changed my bandages, checked my vitals and spoke in medical terms I did not understand.
I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, feeling nothing.
Alexei watched me the entire time. His eyes never left my face.
Finally, the doctors finished. They gave Alexei some instructions and then left the room.
We were alone.
"That was stupid," Alexei said. His voice was low and dangerous. "What you did was incredibly stupid."
I didn't respond.
"You could have died," he continued. "You could have killed my child. All because you are too stubborn to accept your situation."
"I do not want this," I whispered. "I do not want any of this. I want to go home. I want Dimitri."
"Dimitri thinks you are dead," Alexei said coldly. "By now, he has probably buried your body. He is probably mourning you as we speak."
His words were like knives. Each one cut deeper than the blade I had used on myself.
"You are lying," I whispered. But I knew he was not.
"Am I?" Alexei chuckled. “Everyone thinks you are dead, Irina. Everyone except the people in this room."
I could not breathe. I could not think. This could not be real.
"He is probably mourning you," Alexei continued cruelly. "He is probably destroying himself with guilt. Blaming himself for not saving you in time. And it is all because of you. Because you were too selfish to just accept that you belong to me now."
"I do not belong to you!" I screamed.
Pain shot through my throat but I did not care. "I will never belong to you! Never!"
The door burst open immediately. Guards rushed in with their hands on their weapons.
Alexei held up a hand. "It is fine," he said calmly. "Leave us."
They backed out and closed the door.
Alexei stood up slowly. He walked to the edge of my bed and looked down at me.
"You are wrong," he said softly. "You do belong to me. You have belonged to me from the moment I decided I wanted you. And nothing you do will change that."
"Dimitri will find me," I said desperately. "He will find out the truth. He will come for me."
"He will not," Alexei said. "Because he thinks you are dead. And as long as he believes that, he will never look for you. You are mine now, Irina. Forever."
I turned my head away. I could not look at him anymore. I could not bear to see the satisfaction in his eyes.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Alexei said.
The door opened and one of his guards entered.
"Boss," he said. He glanced at me then back at Alex
ei. "We have news."
"Speak," Alexei said.
The guard took a deep breath. "Dimitri believed the lie."
Time stopped.
The world stopped.
Everything stopped.
Dimitri believed the lie. He thought I was dead.
And I was here. Alive and trapped with his brother.
A sound escaped my throat. It was something between a sob and a scream.
"Perfect," Alexei smiled.