Time Stood Still (Volkov Bratva #3.5)(25)

Lauren went to aisle seven, scanning the countless rows of tests. Price varies, some promising result in less than three minutes, others promising to even tell how far along she was.

As she perused them, she couldn’t help but think of all the times she had passed this aisle in various tors, never paying them any mind. Not because she didn’t think she could get pregnant, but because she hadn’t even thought of having kids this young.

Plucking a few—or ten—off the shelves, she carried them to the front counter, wishing she could send Alik off somewhere so she could do this in private. The girl behind the counter was so engrossed by Alik that she didn’t even notice Lauren’s presence as she walked up, at least not until she placed the tests on the counter.

The girl looked between Alik and her, then down to Lauren’s rings and Alik’s notably absent ones. If Alik’s smirk was anything to go by, he knew exactly what she was thinking, but didn’t bother to correct her assumption. It took no time at all for them to get rang up, and once they were done and back at her place, Alik made himself scarce while Lauren locked herself away in the bathroom.

For the next two hours, she took every test she bought, alternately guzzling water and checking each one.

At the first positive, she shook her head, refusing to believe it.

The second, the first tremor of something stirred to life in her chest.

The third? Her hands were shaking.

The fifth, sixth, and through the tenth, he was utterly convinced that this many tests couldn’t be wrong. By the time she was done, Lauren was sniffling, not entirely sure why she was crying, only that she knew this would change everything, and at the moment, she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

There was a knock at the door, followed by the sound of someone trying to open the door. “Lauren?”

The sound of Mishca’s voice brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes as she squeezed her eyes shut. The sticks were still spread out in front of her on the floor. Just the thought of them, knowing that he was about to see them at any moment, made her anxiety increase. What would he say? What would he think?

Would he be happy?

Or would he be upset?

“Lauren?” He was growing impatient, his next knock not as gentle as the first. “Alik got a message to me. Open the door.”

Gathering up the tests, Lauren held them in one had as she went over to the door, opening it slowly, her heart in her throat. At the first sight of her, the concern on his face deepened, his hands reaching to cup her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears.

“Tell me.”

As she met his gaze, she was struck by a curious thought, speaking it aloud. “I always found your eyes interesting. Do you think if he had a child, they would have your eyes?”

He tucked an errant strand of her hair behind her ear, trying his best not to look confused. “O chem ty govorish’—What are you taking about?”

Lauren didn’t have to answer because in the next second, his eyes drifted down to what she held, his brows drawing together as he gently pulled them from her hand. As soon as he read the first one, every emotion, every nuisance of a reaction vanished from his face. He read them one by one—as she had—placing them down on the counter once he was finished.

“I—” He swallowed, his gaze going from the tests to her stomach, his expression still unreadable. “Oh.”

He seemed genuinely at a loss for words, making her heart hammer faster. She couldn’t tell whether he was upset by the news, but explained herself anyway. “My birth control was in my bag, the one that got lost when we were in Sardinia. I forgot all about it while we were there…I don’t really know how to explain this and—”

“Lyubov’ moya—My love. Stop.” His words were gentle as he drew he into his arms.

“Mish, I—”

“Lauren, stop. Don’t apologize to me.”

“Then what do I say?” She said pulling free from him. “I’m supposed to start med school in January. You have the Bratva to think about. I don’t know what—”

He kissed her suddenly, carefully cutting off her protests. Beneath him, she calmed, her hands going to his chest, curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, feeling heartbeat beneath her fists.

“We’re fine.”

“But Mish, I’m pregnant.”

It was the first time she said the words, and the first time she fully acknowledged it, and yet, while the fear of the unknown was there, there was also a trace of excitement within her, and judging from the slowly blooming smile on Mishca’ face, it was inside of him too.

“I see this.”

He reached down, his hand sliding beneath her shirt, over the span of her stomach, rubbing at a non-existent bump.

“No matter what happens,” he went on, his chin resting on top of her head, his words a whisper. “I will never let anything happen to you or the baby, even if I have to have Niklaus and his team shadow you.”

Laughing earnestly, she shook her head. “He would never agree to that.”

“We’ll see, but for now, I don’t want you to worry about anything. We will figure it out. We always do.”

“Ya tebya lyublyu—I love you.”

He kissed both of her cheeks, then her forehead. “I love you too.”

She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The future was more uncertain than ever, but in that moment, she refused to think of what could possibly go wrong, and chose to focus on the present.