Rocco’s eyes slowly turned toward her, and she refused to look at him. She kept her face forward, her eyes straight on my father-in-law’s. I also noticed she refused to look at Scarlett when she spoke. I got the feeling she didn’t want Scarlett to feel her out.
“We had relations,” she continued. “We did not use protection.”
My hand squeezed Rocco’s. My other hand squeezed the arm of the chair. If it hadn’t been made of solid wood, I felt mad enough to rip it off. She was lying. I knew she was. I also knew in my gut that she had drugged my husband, and if she did…even though he was out of it, his body could still rise to the occasion.
The thought made me so sick, I had to jump from my chair and run to the bathroom. I shut and locked the door behind me, wretching all I’d had for breakfast into the porcelain toilet. Rocco banged on the door, but I told him to give me a moment.
Another moment later, another knock, this one gentler. Scarlett. I cracked the door, and she peeked in at me.
“I’d say morning sickness but given the situation…” She handed me a small bottle of mouth wash, and I’d never been more thankful for such a small blessing in my life.
When I walked out, she was waiting for me. She squeezed my hand. “I don’t feel everything,” she said, “but I feel a glow coming from you—an overwhelming warmth that makes me jealous I can’t have another.”
We smiled at each other, but it faded fast when we got to the hallway and my husband and hers were standing with their backs against the wall. A female doctor was there, and she looked me over.
“You are feeling sick,SignoraFausti?”
“I’m pregnant,” I said, even though I knew the sickness had to do with the assaulting mental images of my husband and that wicked woman in the room.
My father-in-law had been standing by the door to his office, along with Maggie Beautiful, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. She hugged me so hard I took a step back.
“I’m so happy for you and Rocco, Ari! This is such a blessing, isn’t it, Luca?” While she held me, she looked at him, but his eyes were on my husband.
Surprising me, Luca brought me to his chest and hugged me before he kissed each of my cheeks. Then he said the meeting had to continue. He asked if I still wanted to be included.
In answer, I started for his office and stopped at the door. I wanted so badly to look at my husband, but in that moment, I couldn’t. When we entered the room again, he took my hand, and even though I wanted to pull away, I refused.
The women sat before the men in usual tradition, and then the meeting picked up where it had left off. My father-in-law jumped back to the central point.
“There is a possibility of a pregnancy, then.”
The girl bit her lip and then nodded.
Luca stared into the distance for a moment before he turned his stone eyes to Rocco.
My husband did not say a word. What could he say?I was drugged?
Maybe he couldn’t say it, but I could. I called her a liar again and recounted how I found my husband in the room. How he couldn’t remember anything. How the donkey wrangler had passed out too.
Luca looked back at Rocco. Rocco only nodded. Luca ordered Guido to call the doctor in. Five minutes later, he entered the chat. Luca asked him to recount what he had found, and after he adjusted his glasses, he said no substance had been found in Rocco’s blood.
The girl clapped.
Luca turned to her, and I saw it then—what he had been keeping behind a shield. He didn’t trust her. It was the first time I noticed a flicker of unease on her face.
“Tell me, is this a happy time for you,SignorinaNovak.”
Nik Novak asked for permission to speak again. Luca nodded.
“My daughter feels vindicated,SignorFausti. You can understand this?”
“What I cannot understand is how a girl who feels threatened, or a heavy conscience, can cheer. Explain this to me.”
None of them had an explanation, not even the girl in question.
Luca dismissed them from the room, saying he would be in touch. He wanted the doctor to take Ita’s blood as soon as it was possible. The girl gave me a sarcastic little wave on her way out, and all the anger and frustration that had been building boiled over. I stood from my chair so fast, the only one who’d seen it coming was my husband. He held me back.
I pointed at her. “You are a lyingbitch, and the truth always comes out.” I looked at my father-in-law. “If I can prove she’s a liar, or the truth comes out on its own, do I get vindicated as my husband’s wife?”
