Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Mariella crouches in front of me, sadness etched in her features. “Abella, I don’t know how to tell you this, but those doctors lied to you.”
“I don’t understand.” I stare through her, feeling like I’m in a dream.
“Matteo made your father an offer behind Angelo’s back. One million dollars for a marriage contract, plus additional payments to convince you that you were infertile. They knew that was the only way to sever your ties to Angelo. The two of them paid those doctors to lie to you.”
My stomach revolts, and the room spins around me as I sit there, trying to process what she’s telling me. I think back on every conversation I had with those doctors. The sympathy on their faces. The softness in their voices as they delivered the news.
I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that they were willing to ruin someone’s life for a price, or that my own father berated me for the situation they had created. He told me I was useless. A disappointment. That I couldn’t do the one fucking thing required of me. And the entire time, Matteo sat there in silence, waiting for me to walk right into the trap they’d set for me.
They tore Angelo and me apart. For six years, I grieved that loss as Matteo tried to comfort me for the suffering he’d created.
How many times had he told me I had to move on? How many times did my father pressure me to set a date with the man who had destroyed my life—all so he could fuck me and impregnate me himself.
My skin crawls as a wave of nausea churns my gut, and I bolt upright, running to the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet in time to empty the contents of my stomach.
Mariella appears beside me, helping me up off the floor.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” She leads me to the bench along the wall and returns a moment later with a cool cloth and a cup of water.
As I sit there, processing my shock, disbelief, and then, eventually, anger—I get a taste for the same bloodthirst that runs hot in Angelo’s veins. If he hadn’t already murdered my father and Matteo, I would have wanted to do it myself.
Now, I can only take comfort in the knowledge that they suffered, but even that isn’t enough. I didn’t feel vengeance when they died. I grieved the loss of Matteo as a friend, and I can’t take those moments back.
How much has he stolen from me? From Angelo? From his own family?
When I glance up at Mariella, she understands exactly what I’m thinking.
“I know,” she says. “We can’t undo all the pain they caused.”
“I need to see it for myself,” I tell her. The paper results aren’t enough. I need tangible proof in my hands.
“I thought you might.” She opens a drawer and pulls out five pregnancy tests, handing them all to me. “You want some privacy?”
“No.” I nearly panic at the thought of being left alone right now. “Will you stay?”
“Of course,” she answers softly. “Go do your business. I’ll grab you a spare toothbrush while we wait.”
I nod, and a few minutes later, I’m brushing my teeth at the sink while all five tests develop on the counter. In the span of that time, reluctant hope springs up inside me, followed by every worst-case scenario.
What if I lost the baby already?
I try to think back on the last two months, recalling whether I bled or not, but I can’t. I wasn’t taking very good care of myself—eating sporadically, not sleeping enough, and stressing far more than I should.
As I rinse my mouth out, I’m still running through a long list of all the things I wish I’d done differently when Mariella nudges me.
“Hey, look,” she says.
I glance at the tests, noting all five positive results, and I nearly collapse. I can’t speak. I can hardly even think as I close my eyes and press a hand against my belly.
For a while, I just let myself be in this moment that I’ve dreamed about. It’s a moment I thought I would never get to have.
Slowly, some of my anger ebbs away, replaced by the warmth that floods my veins when I consider what Angelo and I have created.
We’re having a baby.
There’s still so much to process, but right now, all I want to do is tell him.
That’s when it hits me.
I open my eyes, uncertainty settling over me. Is this why he came?
Mariella seems to sense my thoughts and quickly rushes to reassure me. “He doesn’t know yet. I didn’t tell him anything. I wouldn’t do that.”
I nod, accepting that makes the most sense. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be with Ares right now.
“Oh, God,” I blurt as it dawns on me. “We have to go.”