Page 81 of Ruthless Salvation
“I promise I will not breathe a word of any of this. It’s no one else’s business.”
I nodded shakily.
“I’m going to run downstairs right now to the store. You need an answer, and I don’t want you to have to wait.”
I didn’t step foot from the bathroom the whole time she was gone. It felt like no time yet an eternity as my entire perspective shifted.
Pregnant.
If that was the case, it changed everything. I would no longer only be risking my own life to stick around and face Damyon. I would be risking my baby’s life, and that wasn’t an option. If Damyon got ahold of me and discovered I was pregnant with another man’s child…
My entire body shuddered.
I remembered the cramping and pain. I remembered the blood—so much blood—and the devastation. I couldn’t live through that again. The grief of losing a child was too much. Not when I knew I could prevent it. All I had to do … was run.
I’d done it before, and if there was any incentive worthy of keeping me on the move, it was a child. If I truly was pregnant, no sacrifice would be too great.
I took the tests from Rowan with an eerie sense of calm. Judging by her concerned expression, she sensed the change in me but didn’t comment. Five minutes later, my entire world changed.
Two pink lines.
I was pregnant.
Again.
I walked back into my room, where Rowan anxiously waited for me on the bed. The second she laid eyes on me, she shot to her feet and rushed to wrap me in a hug.
“It’s gonna be okay, honey,” she urged softly. “You’ll see.”
“I know.” I nodded, giving her a squeeze. “But please, keep it between us for now. I need to wait until the time is right.” I hated to intentionally mislead her, but I had no choice. If Torin knew I was pregnant with his child, he’d never let me leave.
Panic screamed at me that staying put meant I’d be served to Damyon on a silver platter. The only way to stay safe was to hide. It had worked for five years, so it would continue to work. I berated myself for ever considering the notion of settling down. Fear clawed at my heels, urging me to go now.
I wished I could summon Torin’s confidence about taking down Damyon, but I knew the man too well to underestimate him. Damyon Karpova was a monster hell-bent on getting me back. Nothing would stop him until he did. Nothing.
Go now.
“Of course. You tell him in your own time.” Rowan’s gentle smile sent a stab of pain through my chest.
Guilt. Remorse. They were debilitating at best, but nothing compared to how I’d feel if I didn’t do everything in my power to keep this child alive.
Go now.
“I think I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
“Take all the time you need. Keir is working out, and I’ll be in the room across the way dancing for a bit. I’ll keep the door closed so I don’t bother you, but you’re welcome to grab me anytime.”
My reassuring smile was genuine because she’d given me the perfect window of opportunity. She and Keir would be preoccupied for a while. I could slip out of the apartment and have a head start on my escape before anyone knew I was gone.
Go before it’s too late!
Thirty minutes later, I walked out the front door, leaving everything else behind.
This child’s life would not end in tragedy.
I wouldnotmake the same mistake twice.
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