"That Russian bastard's." He finally said. Not a question. A statement.
I nodded, biting my lip.
"Fuck." He cursed under his breath, turning away, hands gripping his head. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
"Marco—"
"That asshole!" He spun back around, eyes red. "He betrayed you, humiliated you, made you watch him with another woman at his own engagement banquet, and then he... he got you pregnant!"
His voice grew louder until he was almost shouting.
"Stop. Please, Marco, stop. I need to know the result. I need to be sure."
He stared at me for a long time, chest heaving. Then he took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut like he was suppressing something.
"Okay." His voice was hoarse. "Okay, we'll go now."
Tuscany nights were quiet, just the occasional passing car and distant dog barks. I sat in Marco's car, watching the streetscape fly by outside the window. My arms wrapped tightly around myself, as if that could reducethe anxiety.
"There's a 24-hour pharmacy up there." Marco's voice broke the silence. "Five minutes."
I nodded without speaking.
"Elena." He called my name again, voice softer this time. "Whatever the result is, I'll be here. You know that, right?"
"I know," I said quietly. "Thank you."
"Stop saying thank you." There was pain in his voice. "You're... you mean a lot to me, Elena. You have for a long time."
His words made my heart clench, but I didn't ask for details.
The pharmacy's fluorescent lights were harsh.
Marco walked in with me. A sleepy clerk yawned behind the counter. When I asked in broken Italian where the pregnancy tests were, she looked at us with knowing eyes and pointed toward a section of shelves.
"I'll get them," Marco said, walking to that aisle.
He came back with three different brands of pregnancy tests.
"Different brands have different sensitivities." He explained. "Testing multiple times gives more accurate results."
I nodded, taking the boxes.
At the checkout, the clerk looked at us with suggestive eyes, a knowing smile on her lips. "Congratulations."
I instinctively wanted to correct her—we're not what you think. But Marco had already paid and was pulling me out of the store.
"Let's go back," he said quietly. "Go back and test."
We returned home. Another half hour passed. I stood in the bathroom, staring at the three pregnancy tests on top of the toilet, my hands shaking. If it was positive, if I really was pregnant, if there really was Igor's child inside me...
Three minutes were up. I took a deep breath and looked down at the three tests. Two lines. All three tests showed two bright red lines. My legs went weak, almost buckling, but I gripped the sink to steady myself.
"Elena?" Marco's voice was tense. "What's the result?"
I opened the door. He stood outside, eyes anxious.
"Positive." I heard myself say, voice terrifyingly hollow. "All three are positive. Marco, I... I'm pregnant."
