ELARA
"How long have you been lying to me, Elara?"
My blood went cold.
"I don't—I don't understand."
"Don't you?"
I heard movement. The creak of leather. He was standing up.
Footsteps coming toward me. .
But I couldn't move.
The footsteps stopped. Close. Too close. I felt him there.
"I'm going to ask you a question," he said quietly. So quietly. The kind of quiet that was more terrifying than shouting. "And I want the truth."
I couldn't breathe. The air felt too thick, pressing down on my chest.
"Are you pregnant?"
The words dropped like stones into water.
For a moment, the world stopped. My heart stopped. Everything stopped.
"What?" The word barely made it past my lips.
The lights came on.
Sudden. Blinding. Violent.
I flinched, throwing up a hand to shield my eyes. When m
