BEAUTY IN THE BEAST

My Tears Ricochet

Ch 141: My tears Ricochet

Ace

It's been a month since we ran away from everything—my empire, the mafia, the dark weight of our pasts—and escaped to this tiny, forgotten village in the French countryside. Paris is only a breath away, just a train ride into the city we've promised each other we'll explore someday, but for now, we're here. In this quiet, secluded place where the world can't find us. The air smells of lavender and fresh rain, the earth soft beneath my feet as I step out into the garden.

Katherine is there, kneeling by the rose bushes she planted just a week after we arrived. She loves them. Says they remind her of hope. And every morning, I watch her, seeing the calmness in her features, the way her hands glide over the soil, tending to each flower like it holds a part of her heart.

I never thought peace could feel this good, that I could be this content. No skyscrapers, no boardrooms, no thrones. Just us. Day by day, we've torn down the walls between us. Bit by bit, we've tried to mend everything that was broken. I left behind my legacy, my title, even the name Pakhan means nothing here. All I am is Ace, a man who's hopelessly in love with his wife.

But lately, something's been off with her. She's lighter, yes—freer, even—but there's a weight she's carrying that I can't touch. I've seen it in the way her smile falters when she thinks I'm not looking, the way her eyes seem to darken in quiet moments. She's hiding something from me, and I don't know what it is.

So, as I approach her this morning, I make the decision. I need to ask her. Straight away.

"Kat," I call softly, my voice carrying over the gentle breeze. She turns her head, a light sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. She looks like something out of a dream, her face serene and beautiful, but my gut is telling me that behind that calm exterior, there's something buried deep inside her.

I kneel down next to her, watching the way her hands still against the dirt. "Is there something going on with you?"

Her breath catches, just for a second. The pause is small, but I don't miss it. She freezes, her eyes flicking to the garden, then back to me. She doesn't say anything for what feels like an eternity.

Then, without a word, she stands up and walks away.

I'm left there, staring after her. My heart sinks, a wave of cold washing over me. Maybe... maybe some walls between us will never fall. Maybe there's still a part of her that's unreachable, and that thought wrecks me.

I spend the rest of the day in the garden, thinking about us, about all the secrets we've had to untangle. We've talked about everything—about my father, about Andrei, about how he died. We've relived the blood and the fire and the chaos. We've talked about nothing at all, spent whole days just lying in bed, wrapped up in each other's silence.

But now, this silence feels different. Heavier. Like it's hiding something.

That evening, I try to push it aside, pretend that everything is fine even though my heart won't stop pounding. At dinner, I can't help but ask her again, my voice more hesitant this time.

"What were you doing when Andrei was in my hold?" I ask, as casually as I can, but my chest tightens as I watch her bite her lip, her eyes darting left and right.

Finally, she sighs, sitting down across from me. "I was with my grandfather," she says, her voice low. "He rescued me."

She's never told me this before. The story tumbles out in fragments—how Andrei had burned down the house, how she woke up in her grandfather's care, how he treated her with more love than she thought he was capable of.

But then she stops. I can see the hesitation, the way her fingers twist in her lap. She takes a deep breath, her eyes locking with mine, and when she speaks, her voice trembles.

"Ace... I wanted to tell you something else." Her hands shake as she grips the edge of the table. "I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father."

My heart stops. For a moment, I don't even breathe. Her words crash into me, and I'm frozen, stunned by the weight of them. She's pregnant?

I stare at her, my mind racing, but my body reacts first. Before I can think, I'm on my feet, scooping her into my arms, kissing her, my heart thundering against hers. She's crying, tears slipping down her cheeks, and I feel my own throat tighten as I hold her close, tighter than I've ever held her before.

I pull back, my voice shaky as I whisper, "You're pregnant?"

She nods, her eyes dazed, her face wet with tears.

"For how long have you known?" My voice is barely a whisper now, the pain of not knowing gnawing at me.

She bites her lip, looking down. "I... I had a feeling when I was kidnapped. And then, at my grandfather's house, I found out for sure."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. She knew. She knew all this time, and she didn't tell me.

Anger and hurt mix in my chest, but when I see her face, the fear in her eyes, the way her hands tremble, it all melts away. She was scared. I understand that. I was the one who left her in a world of shadows and violence.

This clears up so much. "That's why the head of the Irish Mafia has been trying to contact me for the past month. But I haven't picked up his calls." My mind spins with the revelation.

Kat's eyes widen, and she grabs my arm. "Please, Ace. Don't hurt him. He was only trying to help me... until I was kidnapped... I haven't contacted him.. I...."

I take her face in my hands, my voice soft but firm. "Baby, if you think I would ever hurt someone you care about, then you don't know me at all."

She breaks down in sobs, her entire body shaking as the weight of everything seems to crash down on her. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she cries. "This child... I don't think I can do this again."

I hold her tighter, pressing my forehead against hers. "You can do this, Kat. You're the strongest person I know. We'll do it together. I promise you, I won't let you go through this alone."

She looks up at me, her eyes wide and filled with fear and hope, and in that moment, I know—whatever it takes, we'll get through this. Together.

As I kiss her again, gently this time, I feel something shift between us. The walls aren't fully gone, not yet, but they're crumbling. And maybe, just maybe, we'll be okay.