Chapter 28: The Truth They Refuse to Let Me Escape

I wanted to believe it was something else.

That I was just weak. That my body was giving up. That my exhaustion, my nausea, my shaking hands were just a result of everything they had done to me.

But the way Nico stared at me—the way his fingers lingered against my stomach—told me he already knew the truth.

And now, so did I.

The Unspoken Confirmation

The room was too quiet.

Nico's fingers rested lightly against my stomach, not forceful, not rough, just knowing.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't breathe.

My body felt ice-cold and burning-hot all at once.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"When was the last time?"

I didn't answer.

His emerald-green eyes locked onto mine, piercing, demanding. "Sophia."

My throat tightened. "…I don't know."

It was a lie.

And he knew it.

Nico let out a slow breath. Then, without a word, he turned and walked out.

The Moment Everything Changed

I didn't try to run.

I couldn't.

Because by the time Nico came back, Leo and Adrian were already waiting.

Leo sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped together, his expression unreadable.

Adrian was standing near the window, his usual smirk absent, storm-gray eyes watching me with something colder than amusement.

And Nico?

He held something in his hand.

A small, rectangular box.

I stopped breathing.

No.

I shook my head. "I'm not doing this."

Leo's gaze didn't waver. "Yes, you are."

I took a step back. My legs hit the edge of the bed.

Adrian sighed. "You can do this willingly, sweetheart." He tilted his head, his fingers tapping against his thigh. "Or we can make you."

I stared at the box in Nico's hand.

I didn't want to take it.

Didn't want confirmation.

Because once I knew, there was no escaping it.

But they wouldn't let me refuse.

Nico finally stepped forward, placing the test in my hand. His fingers brushed against mine for half a second, a silent warning.

His voice was soft but firm. "Go."

Nowhere to Hide

I locked the bathroom door.

My hands trembled so badly I almost dropped the test.

I couldn't do this.

I couldn't.

But outside, Leo, Adrian, and Nico were waiting.

And if I didn't do it myself, I knew they would find another way.

Tears burned behind my eyes as I forced myself to move.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

Then...

Two pink lines.

The Revelation

I stayed in the bathroom for too long.

The knock came exactly when I expected it.

Leo's voice. Calm. Cold. Commanding.

"Open the door."

I clenched my jaw, my fingers gripping the test so tightly my knuckles turned white.

I wanted to break it.

Shatter it.

Destroy it.

But instead, I opened the door.

The second Nico saw my face, he knew.

I didn't have to say a word.

His emerald-green gaze flickered downward, landing on the test still clutched in my hand.

Silence.

Then, finally, Leo exhaled. "Good."

Good.

My stomach twisted violently.

Adrian's smirk returned, slow and sharp. "Well, sweetheart," he murmured, his fingers brushing over my jaw. "Looks like you really belong to us now."

I flinched away from his touch.

His smirk widened. "Oh, don't be like that. This is a happy moment."

I felt sick.

Leo finally stood, his cold blue gaze locking onto mine.

"From now on," he said evenly, "you don't make decisions anymore."

Tighter Chains

Everything changed after that.

I was no longer just a possession.

I was a possession carrying something that belonged to them.

Leo controlled everything I did.

When I woke up, when I ate, when I moved. I wasn't allowed to do anything without his permission.

Adrian was fascinated.

Not because he cared.

But because this was another way to trap me.

"You thought you could fight us?" he murmured one night, his fingers tracing lightly over my stomach.

I jerked away from his touch.

Adrian chuckled. "Too late for that."

And Nico?

He just watched.

He studied me. Waited. Calculated.

Like he was waiting for me to accept it.

But I never would.

Because I didn't want this.

I didn't want any of it.

Rejecting the Life Inside Me

Days passed.

I refused to eat.

Refused to acknowledge what was inside me.

Every time they put food in front of me, I ignored it.

Leo would sigh, his patience growing thinner.

Adrian would tease. "What's your plan, sweetheart? Starve yourself? Starve it?"

I didn't answer.

Then Nico would step in. Always calm. Always patient.

"You're making a mistake," he murmured. "Eat."

I didn't.

So he made me.

One night, he sat across from me, picking up a fork. Cutting a piece of food. Holding it up to my lips.

I clenched my jaw.

Nico's hand wrapped lightly around my throat—not squeezing, just there. A silent warning.

"Open."

I hesitated.

His grip tightened just slightly.

"Open," he whispered again.

So I did.

I ate. And hated myself for it.

A New Kind of Prison

That night, I curled up in bed, my hands resting on my stomach, feeling the weight of something I never wanted.

This wasn't a blessing.

It was another chain.

I wasn't just trapped anymore.

I was trapped inside my own body.

And there was no way out.