Chapter 79

INTERLUDE

(ANASTASIA’S POV)

Pregnancy was supposed to come with strange cravings, mood swings, and a lot of hormonal crying. What I didn’t expect was for Nolan to turn into a full-time caregiver. 

It has been thirty weeks of pampering that bordered on suffocating. Since the doctor announced that I was pregnant, Nolan has barely left my side.

He rubbed my feet even when I insisted I didn’t need it. He read pregnancy books and argued with my mother about prenatal supplements as if he was a professional. At first, it was sweet. But now? It is borderline suffocating.

Just yesterday, he said I was walking too fast because I walked to the couch. And what was his response? “You should pace yourself. That’s... eight whole steps.”

On most days, I didn’t know whether to kiss him or strangle him.

And if Nolan was the overwhelming doting partner, Dimitri had become the chaotic uncle that no one asked for but somehow couldn’t get rid of. He was always around. 

I suspected he’d unofficially moved in the day my pregnancy hit twenty weeks, pretending to help Nolan with work but mostly cracking jokes, eating all the snacks, and badgering me with the same question daily.

“Can I touch the belly?”

Every. Single. Day.

“Can I touch the belly now?” Dimitri asked for the millionth time as he stood in the kitchen doorway, biting into a slice of watermelon.

“You touched it twenty minutes ago, leave me the fuck alone,” I muttered, not looking up from my magazine.

“Yeah, but I feel like that was the left side. I didn’t give the right side any love. It's about balance.” he said, taking another bite of his watermelon. “Plus, it’s the least you can do for making me carry Nolan's workload."

The journey has been a whirlwind.

My mother had practically made it her mission to get me into the clinic every weekend. “Are you sure they checked everything? Maybe it’s a boy, and boys are harder. Or it could be twins. We should scan again.” She sent multivitamins in bulk and called at odd hours to remind me to take them.

Meanwhile, Nolan’s mother had turned into a kind of maternal fairy godmother. She didn’t smother. She seemed to be the only one who hadn’t lost her mind. We’d grown surprisingly close. Of all the chaos around me, she seemed to be the only one who saw me—not just the expectant mother or Nolan’s wife.

Sometimes, I let myself enjoy the softness of it all. The way Nolan’s eyes lit up every time I said I told him the baby was kicking or if I had a craving.

Still, even in the softest moments, there were days when I’d find myself staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m., haunted by a question I couldn't shake off.

What if the baby isn’t for Nolan?

What if everything we were building would crumble the moment the truth came out? I hated myself for wondering and how I allowed the doubts to claw its way in.

And Ivan was making matters worse.

At first, he’d only sent the occasional off-handed remark in a text, but then, the messages got bolder.

“How’s our baby doing today?”

“Tell Nolan to be careful with my child.”

“This isn’t Nolan’s child. You know that. I know that. You think he’ll still want you when the truth comes out?”

He was taunting me. I’ve blocked him twice, but he always found a way to get a message through. Sometimes through burner numbers. And every effort to avoid him was futile, he was always around.

I considered telling Nolan I wanted him fired. But Nolan would only ask tons of questions since he believed I needed security and assistance the most now. So, I tolerated him.

I avoided being in the same space with him. Direct contact with him. Never responded to his texts.

But one evening… I couldn’t avoid him anymore.

Nolan had rushed out to handle an emergency at one of the manufacturing warehouses, so it was just Ivan and me in the house. I was in the living room and just hopped off a Facetime video call with Athena.

He walked in and was watching my every move. I didn’t acknowledge him at first, hoping he’d leave, but he didn’t.

“Still pretending, Anna?” he asked in a low voice. “You really think you can hide it forever?”

I looked up at him with a blank look. “Get out.” 

He stepped forward slowly. “You’re glowing. Pregnancy suits you. But let’s not pretend it’s Nolan’s child you’re carrying.”

“I said get the fuck out,” I repeated, my voice coming out sharper this time.

Ivan walked to where I was seated on the couch, standing directly over me. “Do you really think he won’t figure it out? Even when the child comes out looking like me?”

My chest tightened. I rose to my feet slowly, holding my stomach protectively. “You’re not going to do this. Not here. You don’t get to throw those shitty accusations at me.”

He laughed bitterly. “They are not accusations if they are true though.”

I took a step back. “This baby is mine. Mine and Nolan’s.”

He moved closer, voice lowering. “You’re scared. I can see it. You’re scared he’ll know the truth. That he’ll see it in the baby's eyes.”

“I said—”

“Because if the baby comes out with even a hint of me, Nolan won’t just walk away. He’ll break.”

“ENOUGH!” I screamed, shoving him hard making him stumble to the back.

The front door opened just then. Nolan’s voice rang out, “Anna? I forgot my—”

My heart stopped.

“What’s going on here?” Nolan asked in a harsh tone as he took in the look on my face. 

Ivan straightened quickly. “Nothing, boss,” he called out smoothly. “Just the mood swings. She was mad the pineapples were finished,” He said with a calm face. 

I turned quickly, forcing a weak smile as Nolan entered.

“Sorry,” I said, brushing a hand over my face. “I snapped at him. Mood swings. It’s nothing.”

Nolan blinked, looking between us for a second before relaxing. “You okay?”

I nodded quickly. “Yeah. Just… hungry. Again.”

He kissed my forehead. “I’ll bring back some of those cupcakes you like. Be back soon.”

And with that, he left again.

I stood frozen in the room until the door closed. Then I turned to Ivan, “If you ever come near me again, I will make sure you regret it.” I said in a cold tone. 

He said nothing, but the smug look in his eyes didn’t fade.

I sank onto the couch, trembling.

I’d managed to cover it up this time. But how long before the truth tears everything up?

Ivan never physically confronted me since then, but I always felt him watching and lurking around me.

And I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever peace I was enjoying now... wouldn’t last forever.