Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Thank you, Maria.” I almost feel like reaching out and giving her a hug, but I stop myself since she’s right about us not really knowing each other for long. It’s nice to have a female friend here since my only friend, Isla, is still in Italy. Even if it’s a friendly female willing to run an errand to the drugstore for me.
After she leaves, I head straight for the bathroom to take the pregnancy test before Luc returns. I want a concrete answer to ease my racing thoughts.
I take the test, set a timer, and leave it in the bathroom so that I’m not tempted to peek at it until it’s ready for an accurate result. There are two tests in the box, so I used them both. Whatever result they show, if it’s the same, that will mean it’s my answer.
But just as the timer goes off, the door opens and Luc steps inside. He looks at me curiously for a second as I hold the timer in my hand before quickly silencing it. I could make up some excuse for why I’ve set the timer, although I’m a terrible liar when put on the spot under pressure. Besides, after he told me his secret about using his persona as the Saint to usurp power from Vincent, and he opened up to me about how his feelings have changed—I feel like I owe him the same sort of raw truth.
“Come with me,” I say as I reach for his hand without telling him where we’re going.
As if sensing that it’s something important and sensitive, Luc takes my hand and walks with me without asking questions. When we reach the bathroom and I open the door, the two pregnancy tests are in plain sight, sitting on top of the bathroom counter. It doesn’t take him any time at all to see what they are, and as soon as we look at them, it’s immediately clear that I am, indeed, pregnant.
Not one but two bright pink plus signs stare up at us from the tiny test windows.
Luc is still holding onto my hand as I brace for his reaction while also trying to wrap my head around my own feelings at this indisputable news.
“You’re pregnant,” he whispers quietly as he turns to look at me. “With my child?”
I nod.
Luc squeezes my hand tighter before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me against him. He kisses the side of my face, and I can feel his hand stroke the back of my head before reaching down my back to wrap me in a tight embrace.
“I love you, Valentina,” he whispers.
“You’re not upset at the news?” I ask with a sigh of relief.
“Upset? How could I be upset? We’ve created a new life between us—part me, part you, and part fate.”
“It raises the stakes in this whole situation that we’re in,” I remind him. “It puts you in an awkward situation between your family and me and this whole mess that I’ve dragged you into with the Conti family.”
“Trust me,” he reassures me as he holds me close. “I’ve been struggling internally with my familial obligations long before this. The only thing that this news intensifies for me is my devotion to you and my protective instincts that are committed to keeping you, and now also our unborn child, safe.”
He reaches down to place his thumb beneath my chin, lifts my face to his and kisses me softly on the mouth.
This is what real love feels like, and I think that I have known it all along.
CHAPTER 8
LUC
“It’s too dangerous,” I say when Valentina mentions wanting to leave the hotel suite. “Just because Leonardo has done nothing yet, doesn’t mean that he won’t. And now, with you being pregnant, it risks too much.”
“I know that you’re worried, and I am too,” she says, pleading with me to reconsider the strict security protocols that I have her under. “But who knows how long it will be before Leonardo acts? I can’t stay cooped up in here any longer, Luc. It’s been days and I’m going stir-crazy.”
“I can have whatever your heart desires brought into the suite for you,” I offer.
“I want nothing brought in,” she argues. “I want some freedom. It’s necessary for me to leave this room and the building. I can’t continue to be caged, Luciano.”
“I’m not trying to cage you. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“I know you are, and I’m beyond grateful to you for that. And you know I want to stay here with you, but I also need to feel like I can have a life outside of these walls too—even if there are some risks involved.”
As much as I hate to admit it, and as much as it worries me, I know that what she’s saying is true. What kind of life is it for her to stay trapped in here, as she lived with Leonardo at his estate? Still, the thought of her being exposed to the eyes and ears of the city makes me feel increasingly tense and vulnerable, even more so now that she’s pregnant with my child.