The Countermove

Vivienne’s POV

We both laughed until our eyes watered. The tension had eased up thankfully.

“If I ever got pregnant,” I said quietly, “that’d be it. No exit. No contract end. No freedom. Just…tied to this marriage forever.”

She looked at me seriously for the first time all night. “Then don’t.”

Nell was halfway through a sip of champagne when her eyes suddenly widened. “Incoming,” she murmured, ti