I woke up feeling… wrong.
Not just tired.
Not just sore.
Wrong.
The room was too quiet, too still, like something had been taken out of the air while I slept. My head throbbed faintly, my throat burned, and my body felt heavy, like I had been crying for hours.
Then I saw the room.
And it all came back.
The chair on its side.
The curtains half-torn.
Pillows scattered across the floor like they had been thrown in a storm.
A storm I caused.
My chest tightened, and before I could fully sit up…..
Pain.
Sharp. Sudden.
Low in my stomach.
I froze.
My hand moved instinctively, pressing lightly against my abdomen as fear rushed through me, fast and suffocating.
"No…" I whispered, my voice barely there.
Another cramp hit.
Stronger.
My breath caught in my throat.
"The baby…"
Panic exploded inside me.
"Oh God, please…"
The door burst open.
"Raven…."
Claire.
Her voice sounded far away, like I was underwater. I turned to her slowly, my vision slightly blurred.
"I think something's wrong," I said, my voice shaking. "It hurts… my stomach…"
The look on her face made it worse.
Fear. Real fear.
"Okay, okay… don't panic," she said quickly, moving toward me, but I could hear it…..she was panicking too. "Lie down. Slowly. Just lie down."
I didn't argue.
I couldn't.
My body felt like it didn't belong to me anymore as I eased back onto the bed, my fingers gripping the sheets tightly.
"Adrian!" Claire called out.
Footsteps came almost immediately.
Everything was happening too fast.
Too loud.
Too much.
"What happened?" Adrian asked.
"She's in pain. Get a doctor. Now."
He didn't even question it.
He just left.
And then it was quiet again.
Too quiet.
I held my stomach, my breathing uneven. "Claire… what if something's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong," she said quickly. Too quickly. "You're fine. The baby is fine."
But I could hear it.
That small crack in her voice.
And it terrified me.
The doctor came faster than I expected.
Faster than anyone should have.
Which meant…
He already knew.
I didn't see him.
But I felt him.
Outside the room.
Waiting.
Watching.
Like he always did.
The examination blurred together…cold hands, quiet instructions, questions I barely answered. My mind was stuck on one thing.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
"Stress-induced," the doctor said finally.
I exhaled shakily.
But I didn't relax.
"Her body has been under significant emotional strain. She needs rest. No agitation. No distress."
No distress.
The irony almost made me laugh.
"Is the baby okay?" Claire asked.
There was a pause.
Small.
But I felt it.
"For now."
For now.
Those two words settled deep inside me, heavy and cold.
The door opened again.
And this time…
He walked in.
I didn't want to look at him.
But I did.
And I hated that I did.
Cyprian's eyes went straight to me, dark and unreadable, his presence filling the room instantly like it always did.
"You're not leaving this room," he said.
No greeting.
No hesitation.
Just control.
"Not until the doctor clears you."
I stared at him, something bitter rising in my chest.
"I wasn't planning to," I replied, my voice hoarse.
Claire shifted beside me, but I barely noticed.
"All staff access to this wing is restricted," he continued. "No one comes near you without clearance."
A small, humorless laugh escaped me.
"You don't get to do that."
His gaze didn't waver. "Do what?"
"Act like you care," I said, my eyes locking onto his. "Not after yesterday."
There it was.
The thing I couldn't unsee.
The image that kept replaying in my head no matter how hard I tried to push it away.
Him.
With her.
The silence stretched.
Tight. Suffocating.
"You're carrying my child," he said finally. "Your safety is not optional."
Something inside me snapped.
"That's not the same thing," I shot back.
Because it wasn't.
It would never be.
A knock interrupted us.
I turned slightly as Adrian stepped in.
"There's… an issue."
My stomach twisted again.
"What kind of issue?" Cyprian asked.
Adrian hesitated.
Then he looked at me.
"A staff member is accusing you."
My brows furrowed. "Accusing me of what?"
"She said you pushed her yesterday."
For a second, I thought I misheard him.
"What?"
"She claims you were unstable. That you lashed out."
My chest tightened.
"That's not true," I said immediately. "I didn't…."
"And something was found in your room."
The words hit harder than they should have.
"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.
"Medication," he said. "Strong ones. Hidden."
My heart dropped.
Cold. Heavy.
"I've never seen anything like that before."
And I hadn't.
I knew I hadn't.
But suddenly…
Everything made sense.
The whispers.
The looks.
The tension.
This wasn't just dislike.
This was something else.
Something planned.
Cyprian moved then, but not toward me.
Toward Adrian.
"Who found it?" he asked.
"A maid."
Of course.
"Bring her."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
And that scared me more than anger ever could.
Claire leaned closer to me, her voice low.
"This isn't right," she whispered. "Someone is setting you up."
I swallowed hard, my hand moving back to my stomach.
Fear settled deeper inside me.
Not just for me.
But for my baby.
Cyprian turned back to me.
And when our eyes met this time…
I wasn't confused anymore.
I saw it clearly now.
"This house isn't safe for me," I said quietly.
A long pause followed.
Then he spoke.
And his words sent a chill straight through me.
"It's not the house you should be worried about."
My breath caught.
Because I believed him.
And somehow…
That was even worse.
Outside, I could feel it.
Even without seeing it.
The shift.
The tension.
Something was moving.
Something was building.
And for the first time since I got here—
I wasn't just trapped.
I was a target.