Page 35 of Forced By the Bratva King

Kara lifted her crystal glass, half filled with wine, to her lips, and her body trembled. It was subtle, but I observed the movement. Her husband’s palm was caressing her thigh underneath the table, and she was struggling not to expose him. With the faint smile on her face, I knew she was enjoying it. The fact that I was a woman, as well, meant I could recognize the expression of pleasure when I saw one, however discreet. Kara did her best to hide it, and her husband kept a straight face like his hand wasn’t doing anything. This was inappropriate, considering there was a child at the table, but fuck it; it was spontaneous. Besides, the child had no idea what was happening.

I looked away so they wouldn’t notice that I was aware of the happenings underground, and my husband caught my eye. For a fleeting moment, he flashed a smile at me as though he’d noticed the couple as well. I wasn’t sure that was the case since he didn’t say anything, but I was glad to see him smile.

“So, Frank,” Artem started, “what’s the update on that new deal you struck with the Langleys?”

“Ohh, uh….” He cleared his throat, both hands hovering over his plate, now holding some cutlery. “It’s great, actually. We’re looking to take another step forward, you know, like venture into the stock market….”

At this point, everything else that came out of Frank’s mouth didn’t sound like English to me, nor did my husband’s responses. They were discussing business with terms that only someone else in the line would understand.

Speaking of businesses, I missed my computers. I missed the thrill of writing codes, building algorithms, and bypassing impossible frameworks. I felt so useless doing nothing, and itaffected me more than I cared to admit. It was something that I loved to do, but I hadn’t even touched a laptop in weeks. Shame.

“Are you alright?” Kara asked me. “You’ve barely touched your food.”

I jerked my eyes in her direction and observed she was looking at me strangely, her eyes roaming my body in a manner that should’ve made me uncomfortable. Ironically, I wasn’t. I was okay with that. But why, though? Why examine me like that?

“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied with a smile.

That wasn’t entirely true. I’d been feeling funny these past few days, and even at the table, while she spoke, my head was heavy; it’d been heavy since yesterday. My body was aching—especially my breasts, which, by the way, seemed a bit bigger than usual, but my mind could’ve been playing tricks on me.

“Come on, Sierra,” Kara prodded, her gaze locked on me. “I know you’re not completely fine. Okay, let me rephrase that.” She adjusted in her chair. “How do you feel, like, physically?”

I heaved a sigh. There was no point in withholding the truth anyway. “Well, it’s no biggie,” I said. “I’ve been feeling weak lately. And it’s like my body is glitching.”

“How so?” she asked.

“One minute, I’m hungry—like I’mreallyhungry—and the next, I lose my appetite. Puff! Just like that. Not to mention that sometimes, even my favorite meals make me feel nauseated.”

“Really?” She raised her brows.

I nodded.

“Any aches? Headaches, body aches, et cetera?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“Swollen breasts?”

Why all these questions? What has one got to do with the other?

I was clueless, but I answered honestly, “Yes.”

“Okay, let’s see….” A smile began playing on Kara’s lips as she listed out the things I’d said and those I’d agreed to. “Weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, body aches, migraine, swollen breasts….” She looked straight up at me. “These are all signs of…?”

I squinted my eyes, finally catching up with what she was trying to say, but she was wrong; shehadto be. Right? I mean, I would know if I was….

“When did you last see your red friend?”

At this point, my heart was almost flying out of my chest as I thought about her valid question.

Fuck!

I was already late by about ten days, which was strange because I’d never missed it, not once. Yes, it had shifted a couple of times before when I was overwhelmed with stress, but never for ten fucking days. How the hell had I not realized until now?

My entire body was on fire, heat crawling beneath my skin, and I could hardly catch my breath.

Oh, God, no….

My silence was the answer Kara needed to conclude that I was pregnant.