I couldn’t sleep.
The ultimatum hung over me like a storm cloud heavy, dark, and impossible to ignore.
In thirty days, we leave. You will carry my child. You will be mine completely. No more guilt. No more hiding.
Daddy’s words played on repeat in my head as I lay beside him in the dark. His arm was draped possessively over my waist, his breathing steady and deep. Even in sleep, he held me like I might try to run.
I gently slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom, closing the door quietly. I stared at my reflection naked except for the rose-gold collar, skin marked with faint bruises and hickeys from his passion.
Pregnant.
The word made my stomach twist.
I imagined it my belly growing round with Daddy’s baby. My breasts swelling. Everyone eventually finding out that the child
