EMILIA’S POV

Silence.

Thick, choking silence.

The air in the hallway was so heavy I could barely breathe. It felt like the walls themselves were listening, waiting for someone to explode. My heart pounded in my chest, loud enough that I was sure both of them could hear it.

Pregnant.

He said I was pregnant.

My mind scrambled to make sense of it, but the words just spun and crashed against each other like broken glass. Pregnant? That wasn’t possible. We’d only had sex last night. How could he think—

Maximus stood at one end of the corridor, still and terrifying, his eyes locked on me. Damien was beside me,...