Chapter 122 Another Nightmare
Lila POV
I had no idea how long I’d been curled up in the corner, my knees pulled tight to my chest.
Time had lost all meaning and my thoughts had emptied out, leaving nothing but a hollow silence as I stared blankly ahead.
Nothing seemed real anymore too many lies and betrayal. It all blurred together until I couldn’t tell truth from illusion.
Nico Moretti was gone and no one knew where he was.
Would he find me in time and see past his brother’s deception?
And even if he did… what then?
If he burst through those doors and saved me, if he wrapped me in his arms again the way he used to, what would happen when the truth surfaced?
When he found out about what Nikolai had done… what I had unknowingly allowed?
Would he even listen when I tried to explain that I believed it was him?
That in my heart, in that moment, I thought I was with the man I loved?
What kind of woman did that make me?
What kind of woman couldn’t tell the difference between the man she loved and another man wearing his face in the dark?
The father of my child…
A sharp, painful breath caught in my throat.
Nico would never forgive me and I knew that even if he rescued me and he fought his way here then carried me out, the truth would destroy everything between us.
I knew the kind of man he was and the thought of another man touching me, being inside me while I still claimed to belong to him… it would break him beyond repair.
Then every time he looked at me after that, he wouldn’t see me.
He would see betrayal and another man’s hands on my body.
The thought alone tore through me like something was eating away at my soul piece by piece until there was nothing left but fragments of who I used to be.
The door creaked open, the sound slicing through my thoughts and dragging me back into reality and back into the very room that had haunted my dreams for what felt like forever.
“Well… right where I left you.”
Nikolai’s voice.
I flinched as he stepped inside, Damon following close behind him along with another man I didn’t recognize and my body tensed instantly, fear coiling tight in my chest.
“You’ll be pleased to know,” Nikolai continued casually, “that word of your little disappearance has reached my dear twin brother and I imagine it won’t be long before he comes charging in here, guns blazing.”
My heart jolted at the mention of Nico and hope flickered painfully in my chest but it was quickly overshadowed by dread because if he came… if he saved me… everything would still fall apart the moment he learned the truth.
I said nothing, my gaze shifting toward the unfamiliar man as he began moving around the bed, preparing something I couldn’t quite understand yet.
Nikolai stopped in front of me, his presence suffocating. “I have to admit,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “your pregnancy wasn’t part of the original plan.”
My brows drew together as I looked up at him. “What plan?” My voice was hoarse. “Killing me?”
He crouched down, reaching out to grip my chin between his fingers, forcing my face upward. Revulsion surged through me, and I jerked away from his touch immediately.
“The plan… changed,” he said simply.
My stomach twisted. “Changed how?”
Resting his arms on his knees, he studied me for a moment before answering.
“I’m not going to kill you, Lila.
It took some convincing where Damon is concerned, but we came to an understanding.”
My pulse quickened.
“What kind of understanding?” I demanded, panic rising. “What are you going to do to me?”
He reached for me again, but I recoiled before he could touch me.
“Don’t,” I snapped, my voice shaking. “Just tell me what are you going to do to me?”
Nikolai straightened to his full height. “I’m going to keep you.”
The words hit me like a slap. “Keep me?”
“Yes.” There was something unsettlingly calm in his tone.
“Despite everything, I did have feelings for you once and if I’m being honest… I still do.
Things didn’t align for us back then, but now…” He shrugged slightly. “Now they might.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “You’re insane.”
Damon stepped closer, his presence dark and suffocating, and I shot him a glare.
“So what exactly did you agree on with your twisted brother?”
Nikolai rolled his shoulders, tension flickering across his face for a brief moment.
“Let’s just say I’m not thrilled about all of it but in the end, I still get you.”
His lips curled faintly. “So I’m willing to make certain sacrifices.”
A chill ran down my spine. “What kind of sacrifice?”
He hesitated, glancing toward Damon before speaking again.
“My brother has… unfinished business with you, he asked for fifteen minutes alone.”
The words knocked the air out of me.
My throat tightened as panic surged violently through my body. “What… what does he want to do to me?”
Nikolai shrugged as if it meant nothing.
“I didn’t ask as long as he doesn’t kill you or leave anything permanent behind, it’s not my concern.”
“No.” My head shook instinctively, faster and faster as terror consumed me. “No, no..Nikolai, please...”
He raised a hand, silencing me without effort. “That’s not all.”
My breath came in uneven gasps as I stared at him, dread pooling heavily in my stomach.
“My brother agreed to let me keep you,” he continued, his voice cold now, “on one condition.”
Every part of me went still.
“We get rid of… that thing growing inside you.”
A strangled sound tore from my throat. “No… no, no, no…”
My hands instinctively moved toward my stomach as if I could protect what was inside me just by holding onto it.
Nikolai reached down, gripping my arm and yanking me to my feet.
“I have to agree with him,” he added flatly. “I don’t want it either.”
Before I could react, he shoved me backward onto the bed.
The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, and in the next second, Damon’s hands were on me forcing me down, pinning me in place.
“Please!” I screamed, struggling against him as panic exploded inside me. “What are you doing?!”
The unfamiliar man moved quickly, grabbing my wrists and securing them with straps against the bed. I thrashed wildly, trying to break free, but it was useless.
“No....stop! Please, stop!”
My legs were forced down next, strapped tightly as well, leaving me completely immobilized.
Damon finally stepped back, but it didn’t matter because I couldn’t move.
I fought against the restraints anyway, desperation clawing through me as the material bit harshly into my skin.
I barely felt the pain because all I could think about was escaping… stopping this and protecting my baby.
“Please!” My voice cracked as tears streamed down my face. “Don’t do this!”
Nikolai watched me with unsettling calm, his expression unreadable.
“Relax, Lila,” he said, almost gently. “By this time tomorrow… it’ll all be over.”