Chapter 4
Ethan’s expression froze for a second ,then smoothed into practiced calm.
He guided Celia toward the terrace, voice low but sharp enough to slice through the morning air from my second-floor window:
“Sweetheart, Celia has urgent business. We’ll talk outside. Don’t let it spoil your breakfast.”
From the bay window, I watched.
Celia collapsed against his chest, tears glistening like shattered glass.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. He gripped her shoulders, pulling her back.
“Are you insane? How many times must I say—never come here. If Lena suspects anything, I’ll—”
“I know I shouldn’t have come…” Her voice trembled, fingers tracing the grainy image. “But I’m scared. The doctor said… last night was too rough. The heartbeat’s unstable.”
She lifted her chin, tears catching the sun.
“Ethan,I’m pregnant.Our first child. You said you wanted an heir.”
Clatter.
The coffee cup shattered on the floor.
Pregnant.
The word detonated in my skull.
Years ago, I curled in his arms after my Embrace, I’d asked about children.
“Vampire blood is too volatile,” he’d murmured, stroking my hair.
“Hybrids often lose control. I won’t risk you. Won’t let anything divide us.”
I’d melted into his “devotion.”
Agreed without hesitation.
Now I saw the truth,he didn’t reject children,he rejected mine.
Ethan stared at the scan. Shock flickered—then melted into something warmer, possessive.
“Nine weeks.” His thumb brushed the image. “We’ll get you checked again today. “This child will be safe.”
Celia’s tears softened into a watery smile. She rose on tiptoe, fingers tracing his jaw.
Ethan’s eyes darkened. Palm settling low on her back, thumb stroking her hip.
His voice, low yet sharp as a silver needle piercing my veins.: “Pregnant and still teasing me?”
Celia’s blush deepened. He brushed a stray tear from her cheek, gaze lingering. “Wait in the car. Good girl.”
I stepped back from the window, and returned to the table.
Then I sipped, the cold and bitter coffee.
A strange peace settled in my chest.
Thank goodness we never had a child.
No tether. No reason to stay.
Ethan re-entered, mask of remorse perfectly in place.
“Sweetheart… urgent trip out of state. Two, maybe three days.”
“Wait for me. I’ll bring you something special.”
I met his eyes. “Okay.”
Relief softened his features. He left without a backward glance.
After watching his car vanish down the drive, I glanced at the calendar.
Two days.
Our last.
The afternoon light bled gold across the floor when my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photo: the ultrasound.
Text beneath:
“Thought you should know—I’m carrying Ethan’s child. His first heir. You barren hag, give it up. Make way for his true mate.”
Celia.
Bold now. Bold now, armed with a fetus as her shield.
I felt nothing.
No rage. No grief.
Only a quiet, certain finality, like a heavy door swinging shut and locking itself for good.
For the next forty-eight hours, Ethan stayed gone.
I used the silence.
I organized my research notes. Shattered the wedding photo frame. Melted the ring box in the lab furnace.
Only essentials remained: passport, journals, a single faded photo of my human family.
Packed into one small suitcase.
Dawn of departure day.
Sunlight spilled through the curtains, warming my hand.
No burn. No pain.
I felt the happiness depth in my heart.
I took one last walk through the penthouse—this gilded cage. Then, I did a final check of my belongings.
I brought no jewelry; to me now, it was all just golden chains, nothing more.
I zipped the suitcase.
At the time I closed the front door, my phone lit up—Celia again.
Not an ultrasound this time.
A wedding photo: her in ivory lace, standing in a candlelit underground hall.
Eternal roses bloomed in shadowed alcoves, blood-red vines curling around obsidian pillars.
Ethan knelt, offering a ring etched with ancient runes.
The air shimmered with protective wards against daylight.
“He proposed. Tonight’s ceremony in the Central Park Tower.
He’s giving me and our child a name.
When he returns, you will be disowned from the House of Black. You’d better leave.
Now,this home will be mine.”
I typed back, fingers steady:
“Congratulations. You finally got what you wanted. He’s yours now.”
Send.
My phone buzzed—a text:
“Here.”
My ride.
I rolled the suitcase down the steps.
A black armored convoy pulled up under maximum security.
Sam, Johnson’s liaison,stepped out to meet me,and he stowed my suitcase.
“Airport first,” he said. “Devices get confiscated on landing. Ready?”
I nodded. “Confirmed.”
At a red light near the Central Park Tower, a burst of commotion erupted ahead. Pedestrians were pointing their phones toward my convoy.
"Look at those cars—straight out of a Mission Impossible movie!"
"Is there some big shot over there?"
I turned.
There was Ethan in tailored black, and Celia beside him in ivory lace, clinging to his arm, radiant.
The last ember of sunset gilded the carpet, while protective wards shimmered faintly around the entrance.
Ethan overheard the commotion among the guests and the crowd, then turned his gaze toward my direction.
Our eyes locked through the window crack,and for a second, his smile shattered.
It froze, utterly stricken.
Then, my phone rang.
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