MasukInside, Blair sat on the sofa, her hand resting on her slight belly, while Roman stood nearby deep in conversation with Luca. Two-year-old Olivia was showing off her drawings to anyone who would look."Aunt Keira!" Olivia shouted, abandoning her colouring-in to run across the room. Keira bent down,
Olivia, growing restless, wiggled off Blair’s lap. “Can I go play with my blocks?”“Yes, but stay in the playroom,” Roman told her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”As Olivia skipped off, Roman pulled Blair to her feet and into his arms. “You look tired. You should have let me bring someone in to handle
“Mama! Look!”Blair looked up from her laptop to see her two-year-old daughter, Olivia, proudly showing off a crayon drawing that was mostly colorful scribbles.“That’s beautiful, sweetheart,” Blair said, genuinely impressed with the artwork of her toddler. “Is that our family?”Olivia nodded madly,
"Is that what you think?" Niko's voice was dangerously quiet. "That your only value is as a... what? A royal broodmare?""It's the reality of our position," she insisted. "The Wystovian crown needs an heir. You need an heir. And I can't—" Her voice broke.Niko crossed the distance between them in th
"I'm trying to protect him—""From what? From having a choice?" Keira's voice grew stronger. "You're deciding what's best for Niko without asking him what he wants. That's not protection, that's control."Amelia stared at her, startled by the blunt assessment."Look, I get it. The pressure is overwh
Amelia shook her head, the weight of her failure pressing down on her. "The doctors say there's nothing wrong with Niko, which means the problem lies with me. I'm considering stepping aside, letting him divorce me so he can marry someone who can actually give him an heir." She glanced at Keira, sudd
Keira sat on the edge of the hospital bed, now dressed in the clean clothes Blair had brought her, soft gray leggings and an oversized plain sweatshirt that felt like heaven after two days in that filthy gown. She had taken a shower and washed her hair.Her discharge papers were signed, her prescrip
Her fingers curled into his thighs, nails raking lightly over the rough fabric. "Because you're reckless," she challenged, blue eyes flashing up at him."No," his grip in her hair tightened. He made her look at him directly, not at his jeans or the bulge pressed against her lips. "Because I can't tr
Heat flared through her despite everything. But reality pressed in around the edges of desire. "Alexei."He sighed, releasing her reluctantly. "I know."They sat across from each other at her small kitchen table, mugs of coffee cooling between them. She wasn't sure what they needed to say to each ot
Instead, she asked "What.""You.""Show me," she whispered.Alexei's eyes darkened at her permission. His hands moved to her waist, fingers finding the hem of her oversized t-shirt. "You have no idea what you do to me," he murmured, his voice rough with need. "In that warehouse, when I thought we mi







