Sophia's POV
I was not able to get any rest that night.
Each time I tried to get some sleep, the threatening words from the anonymous messages kept playing in my head as if someone was whispering them to me.
Remember your place.
Like I thought I had one.
At dawn, it was as if my body was made of lead and my head was bursting with a throbbing pain, while waves of exhaustion and nausea were slowly rolling over me. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, my one hand holding my stomach, and trying to reassure myself.
This wasn't fear for myself alone anymore.
It was fear for the life that was inside me.
Kate saw right off the bat when I came into the kitchen. "You don't look very well."
"Nice morning to you as well," I said under my breath.
Without another word, she gave me a glass of water and was watching me intently as I took a sip. "You didn't sleep, did you?"
"I was getting messages during the night."
'Her look became more resolute. "Who?"
"I don't know. A number that was new to me."
I showed her my phone.
She got it together and read the messages. Her teeth were clenched. "This is abuse, Sophia. You have to let Alexander know."
"I don't want him storming in and crushing someone just because he can."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "You don't think he already would?"
"That's exactly the problem."
Still, fear was stronger than pride. I had already texted Alexander a brief message before I left the apartment.
Someone is contacting me and threatening me.
He didn't wait long before calling.
"Where are you?" he asked sharply.
"I'm going for an interview."
"Which interview?"
"I have to get a job."
Quiet. Then, more composed, "Come back."
"No, I won't."
"Sophia."
"I won't be sitting at home waiting for you to give me money," I retorted.
"That's not the way I am."
We were quiet after that; the silence between us was almost tangible.
"Just give me the address," he said after a while. "I won't be a disruption. My word."
I was unsure of myself, and then I sent it to him.
The local publishing company hosted the interview. It looked like a small and cramped office with a modest salary, but the editor seemed friendly. She quickly looked through my résumé, her head moving up and down.
"You're overqualified," she said. "But we value people who work hard."
"I don't mind starting small," I replied quickly.
She smiled. "Good. We'll be in touch."
When I stepped outside, Alexander was waiting across the street.I stopped short. "You said you wouldn't interfere."
"I didn't," he said. "I waited."
That shouldn't have made my chest tighten the way it did.
We walked in silence for a moment before I spoke. "About the messages."
"I'm handling it," he said.
"Handling it how?"
"I will uncover the person responsible for those."
I halted in my movement. "And then what?"
He turned his eyes towards me, really examined me, and a dark shade passed through his eyes very quickly. "Then they will make it up to me."I felt a shiver run through me. It is precisely the thing I am most terrified of.
"You are in my care," he declared with determination.
"I did not consent to be your property," I replied.
"You agreed to be secure," he said.
The words hung between us, heavy and loaded.
Before I could respond, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, his expression hardening.
"I need to take this."
He walked a few steps away, his voice low but tense. I caught fragments.
"She's not to be touched."
"No, that is not up for discussion."
"If she suffers, then we are not doing business."
It was clear from his clenched jaw that he was not pleased when he came back.
"Who was that?" I questioned.
"A problem," he answered. "One that I'll handle."
I dropped my arms. "Secrets are not my thing."
"You don't like the truth either," he said. "Because it frightens you."
"Then why don't you try trusting me?" I whispered. "I'm not as delicate as you think."
For a moment, something in his face changed. Not anger. Not arrogance.Consideration.
"I'll try," he said after a moment. "If you do the same."
That evening, I received an email.
We want to offer you the position.
Relief flooded me so suddenly that my knees nearly gave out.
I forwarded it to Kate with shaking hands.
Her reply came instantly.
See? You're stronger than you think.
I wanted to believe her.
The next several weeks went by with an odd pace. Doctor appointments. Counseling sessions. My new job. Alexander was checking in more than the required number of check-ins stated in the contract.
At times, he was cold. At times, he was unexpectedly kind.
There was a time when I got terrible nausea in his car; he stopped the car silently, gave me water, and waited patiently until it was gone. He didn't make fun of it. Didn't look uncomfortable.
He just kept being there.
That frightened me more than his coldness ever did.
The messages were silent for some time.
Just long enough for me to let my guard down.
Then one afternoon, as I left work, I noticed a woman standing near the entrance.
Tall. Elegant. Beautiful. In a way that made people turn their heads without realizing it.
She smiled when she saw me.
"Sophia," she said smoothly. "I've been hoping to meet you."
My heart skipped. "Do I know you?"
She extended her hand. "Isabella Laurent."
The name meant nothing to me.
But the way she said it told me it should.
"I'm an old friend of Alexander's," she continued. "Very old."Something about her gaze made the hair on my skin stand
"What do you want?" I asked.
Her smile widened. "Just to talk. Woman to woman."
"I don't have anything to say."
"Oh, but you really do," she whispered. "It's just that you haven't figured it out yet."
I moved away. "If this is about the contract…"
"Oh, come on," she chuckled. "Are you serious in thinking that this is about some papers?"
She got intimate with her words, dropping her volume. "There is something inside you that you weren't supposed to take."
I was furious. "You don't get to talk about my body, please."
For a moment, her glare could have cut glass, but then she smiled again.
"Watch out, Sophia. Guys like Alexander are not the ones to change situations. They are the ones to change people."
Before I could answer, she left. The sound of her heels hitting the pavement was like a countdown.
I did not hold back my feelings when I saw Alexander that night.
"Who is Isabella Laurent?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze right away.
"How did you come to know her?"
"So you do know her."
He exhaled slowly. "She's part of my past."
"Was she your lover?"
"Yes."
The word hit harder than I expected.
"And now?" I asked.
"And now she's a complication," he said. "One I hoped wouldn't come up."
"Well, she did," I retorted. "And she didn't hesitate at all to tell me that she thinks I'm the one who doesn't belong here."
"You are not to answer her," he said with a bit of anger.
"I am not answerable to anyone," I answered rather defiantly.
We both kept quiet, the silence being heavy with the things that we had not talked about.
After a while, he said, "I won't allow her to hurt you."
"I don't require you to battle my fights," I said. "What I really want is for you to stop dragging me into wars that I have never agreed to."
His gaze softened, just slightly. "You signed up the moment you agreed to carry my child."
The truth of that settled heavily in my chest.
Later that night, alone in my apartment, I rested my hand over my stomach.
"I don't know what kind of world I've brought you into," I whispered. "But I promise I'll protect you."
Even if I had to protect us from the man who made this possible.
Because one thing was becoming painfully clear.
This contract wasn't just about a baby anymore.
It was about power.
And someone out there was determined to make sure I lost.