Vanquished (The Encounter #3)(38)
I wouldn’t get the chance to hold my babies. If the man was hell-bent on revenge, he would burn everything down that would bar him from achieving his goal. I was his target.
There was a scorned, ruthless Russian mobster cunningly biding his time to give me my death slip. If Julien hadn’t been keeping me safe from the moment he found out I was pregnant, I would have been dead already; there was no doubt about it.
I wanted to curl up and die on the terracotta floor, feeling utterly helpless, partly because I knew I couldn’t run away to be with Hugo just as I promised him before his revelation and the fact that we were simply pawns in a game of chess to be taken down one by one until the immoral man had his satisfying fill of gruesome retribution. If I wanted to live, I had to stay with Julien. It was all or nothing because this wasn’t about love anymore; this was about survival.
Shutting my eyes, I sagged against the wall as my stomach protested with vengeance. I tried to breathe through my nostrils, hoping to make sense of things, feeling a little faint as I protectively held my abdomen, holding on to my sanity.
I kept my eyes closed at the soft sound of footsteps making their way towards me. I didn’t want him to see my pain, nor did I want to see it etched in his eyes when I told him the news that I couldn’t be with him. It was so conflicting to be pulled in all these directions, but as much as I wanted to follow with my heart, it was a risk I couldn’t afford.
“I’m sorry, Isobel,” he expressed, taking a seat next to me before pulling me close in his arms and holding me as if he didn’t want to let me go. “I apologize for everything—for not telling you. I’m sorry for fighting this curse to be with you because I can’t bear not having you in my life. Most of all, I’m sorry for not being sorry that I’m unquestionably, completely, and utterly in love with you.”
Oh, my f*cking damn. Why was it that, from the moment he spouted the words of love, he was constantly using them? Did he realize how much it affected me when he did something like that? I already felt like I was going to have a panic attack at the thought of telling him where I stood.
“There’s no ounce of doubt how much I love you—don’t ever question it—but I can’t be with you. It’s just too much of a risk for me.”
He immediately tensed as I felt his heart quicken against my cheek. “I know it’s indisputably dangerous, but I’ll hire the best team of people to protect us. I don’t want to lose you, Isobel. I want this more than anything. I just want to be with you.”
He wasn’t budging since I had already agreed before. He probably thought he could easily dissuade me. In a different world, it would have been possible, but not in ours. Ours was beyond complicated, and he had to understand how I couldn’t follow through. He just had to. He had left me no choice.
“I’m pregnant, Hugo.” As the words uttered from my lips, I gently lifted my face off his chest, needing to see his face, his reaction. It was of no surprise to find it contorted, his pallor pale.
He parted his lips, appearing as if he was having such a tough time forming the words to say. “You’re not … he’s not—”
“They’re yours,” I interrupted before he had other designs in his mind. I could easily see where his train of thought was going with the way he was looking at me. “I’m having twins.”
The look he gave me was truly priceless.
Chapter Nineteen
Isobel
Fully incredulous, Hugo threw me a skeptical look. “How? You’re on the pill.”
Well, it wasn’t as if I had planned to impregnate myself. Did he seriously consider that?
“I missed a few pills here and there. After we parted in Paris, I was so distraught the last thing on my mind was birth control.”
“If that’s the case, then how can you be so sure it’s mine? It could be Julien’s. Maybe you’ve mixed the dates …” He was babbling, and then, all of a sudden, he had an alarming expression on his face as if he had just found Pandora’s box. “You … He’s marrying you because you’re pregnant.” His voice cracked a bit, and it tore me up inside.
“Yes …” But I wasn’t going to start denying anything. Since he had laid out the truth for me, I should grant him the same courtesy, though it was still risky. “What are the odds, right? But I am.”
“How can you be so sure that it’s mine? It could be Julien’s. We haven’t seen each other in weeks. He could’ve impregnated you then.”
And here I had thought he deserved to know the damn bloody truth.
“Thank you for reminding me how much of an * you are. It makes everything so much easier.” I stood up and harrumphed out of the bathroom, gathering my clothes and getting ready. I would be out here in a flash before Beno?t even stepped out of the car.
“Isobel!” he shouted, following my trail.
Not bothering to look his way, I blatantly flipped him the finger. It should send him the right bloody message that he could kindly go f*ck himself. His rude comment about my babies was uncalled for.
“Merde. I’m sorry. I really am, Isobel,” he rushed out before capturing me in his hold by wrapping his arms around my hips and possessively holding me against his chest. “Forgive me, my love. Forgive me. I’m sorry for saying that,” he whispered against my ear, beyond remorseful.