Chapter 19 Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Irina's POV
I had made up my mind.
If Alexei would not let me go, then I would make him wish he had never taken me in the first place.
I would drive him insane. I would be so difficult, so annoying, and so impossible to deal with that he would have no choice but to send me back to Dimitri.
It was a dangerous plan. But it was all I had.
That morning, I heard voices downstairs. I crept to my door and listened. Men were having a heated conversation.
It seems Alexei was having a meeting. An important one from the sound of it.
“Perfect timing.” I chuckled.
I took a deep breath, rubbed my eyes to make them red and messed up my hair. I put my hand on my stomach, then walked downstairs.
The guards tried to stop me. "Miss, you are not allowed…"
I pushed past them and threw the door to the meeting room open.
Ten men sat around a table. Maps were spread out in front of them and they all looked up when I entered.
Alexei sat at the head of the table. His green eyes snapped up to me immediately.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice cold as ice.
I ignored his tone and started walking towards him. I made my steps unsteady, like I was weak.
"The baby," I said. My voice trembled and I let fake tears fill my eyes. "The baby needs you."
His men shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They looked at each other and Alexei, none of them knew what to do.
Alexei's jaw clenched, looking me over. "I will be with you shortly."
"No!" I raised my voice, filling it with emotion. "Now! It needs you now! Something is wrong, I can feel it. If you do not come now, the baby is going to die!"
The men shifted again. One of them cleared his throat nervously. Another one looked down at the table, avoiding everyone's eyes.
"Pakhan," one man said carefully. "Perhaps we should…"
"Stay," Alexei ordered sharply. He looked at me. "Irina. I am in the middle of something important, go back to your room. I will come check on you when I am finished."
"The baby will be dead by then!" I cried out, fresh tears rolled down my cheeks. "Please! Please, Alexei! Your child!"
I rubbed my stomach in slow circles, making sure all the men could see.
But they looked away quickly, embarrassed and afraid.
No one wanted to be responsible for the death of their Pakhan's unborn child.
"Irina," Alexei said. His voice was strained now. I could hear the frustration in it. "This is not the time…"
"Then when is the time?" I demanded. My voice rose higher. "When your baby is dead? When you finally decide I am important enough to interrupt your stupid meeting?"
"Enough!" Alexei stood up suddenly. His hands slammed down on the table. The sound echoed through the room. The papers jumped. "Meeting adjourned. All of you, leave. We will meet here tomorrow. Same time."
The men did not need to be told twice. They gathered their papers quickly and rushed towards the door. Some of them glanced at me as they passed. Their faces showed pity.
The last one closed the door behind him.
Now it was just me and Alexei.
He stood aross the table, just staring at me. His green eyes were cold and dangerous.
I wanted to run. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to run.
But I stood my ground, kept my hand on my stomach and kept the tears on my face.
This was working. He was angry, frustrated and embarrassed in front of his men.
He walked around the table slowly and stopped right in front of me.
He was so tall, and so intimidating.
He reached out and lifted my chin with one finger. His touch was gentle but his eyes were fire.
"This was intentional, right?" His voice was cold. "You interrupted my meeting on purpose. There is nothing wrong with the baby."
"It is the... the baby... it..." I stammered, my confidence was cracking. "It needs…"
"Cut the crap!" He shouted suddenly, his voice echoed off the walls.
I flinched, real tears filled my eyes.
"Take me back!" I yelled through my sobs. "Just take me back to Dimitri! Please! I cannot do this anymore!"
Tears streamed down my face. "I hate you so much. I hate waking up and seeing your face. I hate that you look like him but you are not him. I hate everything about this!"
Alexei said nothing, he just stood there, watching me fall apart.
"Please," I whispered. "Please just let me go. I will not tell anyone where I was. I will not say anything about this place. Just let me go back to him. Please."
He grabbed my arm suddenly.
"What are you doing?" I asked. Fear shot through me.
He did not answer, he just dragged me out of the meeting room, up the stairs.
But we did not go to my room.
He pulled me to his room instead.
My heart pounded. "What are you doing?"
He didn't reply.
He pushed open the door to his bedroom, pulled me inside and lammed the door shut behind us.
Then I heard the click of the lock.
I backed away from him immediately. "What are you doing?"
He turned to face me. His face was expressionless.
"The baby needs me, right?" His voice was dangerously quiet. "That is what you said. The baby needs its father."
"I... yes," I said despite myself.
He took a step towards me. "Then I should check on it and make sure it is healthy and nothing is wrong like you claimed."
"It is fine now," I said quickly. I kept backing away until my back hit the wall. "I feel better. I just needed…"
"Pull off your clothes," he ordered.
My heart stopped completely.
"What?!"
"You heard me." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Pull off your clothes. If the baby is in distress like you said, I need to see. I need to make sure everything is alright."
"You are not a doctor!" I said. My voice came out high and panicked.
"No," he agreed calmly. "But I can be one. I'm quite good at examining women." He took another step closer. "Were you lying? Or does the baby really need me? Because if you were lying, if you interrupted my meeting just to manipulate me, there will be consequences."
I stood there, trapped against the wall. My heart hammered against my chest.
His eyes bore into mine, waiting for an answer.
"I asked you a question," he said softly. "Were you lying?"
"I..." My voice failed me.
"Because if you were lying," he continued, "then that means you are trying to play games with me. And I do not like games, Irina. I do not like being manipulated."
He was standing right in front of me now. He was so close I could feel the heat from his body.
"So I am
going to ask you one more time," he said. His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "And I want the truth. Were you lying about the baby being in distress?"
I looked into his green eyes and saw the danger there.
"Answer me," he demanded.
My mouth opened. But no words came out.
"Pull off your clothes," he said again, grabbing the hem of my gown.
"Now!”