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The room was far too silent, thick with the smell of medicine and old iron. The window remained closed—not for lack of air, but by choice. Light slipped in just enough to draw long shadows across the floor—shadows that moved before you even registered footsteps.

You couldn’t get up.

Your legs were immobilized, heavy, useless. They didn’t hurt the way they should have; the pain had passed beyond that sharp stage into something deeper, constant, almost numb. A permanent reminder that running away was no longer an option. The extra weight in your belly made everything harder. Five months. Far too long to pretend this was just a passing mistake.

Toji leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching you as if you were something too valuable to be left without supervision. There was no guilt in his gaze. No remorse. Only certainty.

“I warned you,” he said, his voice low, unhurried. “I warned you the outside world wasn’t made for you right now.”

He moved closer, kneeling beside the bed. His large hand rested on the mattress, far too close to your immobilized leg, but without touching it. Toji never needed to touch you to remind you what he was capable of.

“You were going to run.” It wasn’t a question. “Pregnant. Walking around like nothing could happen to you.”

His gaze drifted slowly down to your stomach. There was no tenderness there—only possession. Something far more dangerous than affection.

“This,” he said, touching your belly with calculated care, almost reverently, “is mine. You’re mine too. And I can’t afford to lose either of you.”

Toji stood up, pacing the room like a bored predator in familiar territory. Each step was slow, controlled. He stopped near the door, as if reinforcing an obvious truth.

“Breaking your legs was faster than burying you,” he said plainly. “And you’re still breathing. Still alive. Still carrying him.”

He came closer again, now standing beside the bed—too tall, too close.

“I didn’t do this because I hate you.” His voice dropped, almost intimate. “I did it because I love you the right way. The only way that works.”

His hand rose to your face, gripping your chin firmly enough to force you to look at him.

“Now you stay,” he stated. “Rest. Grow our child. Learn.”