She shakes her head, still laughing and smiling. “You can’t terrorize the hospital staff,” she chides me gently.
“Watch me.” I pull her back into my good arm, carefully this time, mindful of both our injuries. “Besides, they work for Viktor. They’ve seen worse than one overprotective almost-father with elevated vitals.”
“Overprotective almost-father,” she repeats, a broad smile crossing her lips. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah?” I press a kiss to her temple. “Get used to it. I’m going to be insufferable for the next seven and a half months.”
She laughs again, the sound warming something in my chest that’s been cold for too long. We settle back against the pillows, and I keep my hand on her stomach, unable to stop touching the place where our baby is growing.
“Luca,” Gigi says after a moment, her voice going quiet. “Can I ask you something?”
I kiss her temple. “Anything,” I murmur.
“Can you really love a child conceived like this?” She’s not looking at me, focusing instead on our joined hands, stroking my wedding ring. “A baby that was made while I was your prisoner? Born from a marriage that started as revenge?”
The question hits me like a punch to the gut. That she even has to ask, that she’s worried I might see our child as tainted by how we began?—
“Gigi, look at me.” I wait until her dark eyes meet mine, and it tears my heart apart to see tears brimming. “I don’t care how this baby was conceived,” I state firmly. “I don’t care that our marriage started wrong. All I care about is that they’re ours. That they’re half you—the strongest, most compassionate person I’ve ever known—and half me.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and cup her jaw. “That’s not a curse. That’s a gift.”
She leans into my touch but doesn’t look convinced. “But?—”
“No buts.” I brush her hair back from her face. “You want to know what I see when I think about our baby?”
She nods.
“I see your courage. Your kindness. Your refusal to be broken by everything I put you through. I see Marco’s belief in redemption.” I take a deep breath, feeling emotion well up in me. “I-I see the possibility of being better than I was.” My voice cracks. “I see hope, Gigi. Real, genuine hope for a future I never thought I’d have.”
She’s crying again, but she’s also smiling through it. “You’re going to be such a good father,” she says before placing a kiss on my jaw.
“I’m going to try.” That’s all I can promise. “I’m going to try so fucking hard to be the man our baby deserves.”
We lie there in comfortable silence, just breathing together, existing in this bubble where nothing exists except us and the tiny life we’ve created. But reality intrudes eventually, as it always does.
“We need to talk,” I say finally. “About what happens next. About what you want.”
Gigi tenses slightly in my arms. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we need to be honest with each other. Really honest, in ways we’ve never been before.” I choose my words carefully, needing her to understand. “This baby—it changes everything, Gigi. The marriage contract we signed, that was about revenge and control. But this?” I gesture to her belly. “This is about building a family. And families need honesty.”
“Okay,” she says slowly, but I can still feel her tense. “So let’s be honest.”
I take a deep breath. “I want you to stay,” I say, deciding to put all my cards on the table. “I want us to raise this baby together, to be truly married. But I need you to know that if you want to leave, if being married to me is something you’re only doing because you feel trapped, I’ll let you go.”
Her head snaps up. “What did you say?”
“I’ll let you go,” I repeat, and the words taste like ash. “I’ll set you up somewhere safe, make sure you and the baby have everything you need. You’ll have your own money, your own life, your own choices. No strings attached.”
She looks stricken. “Luca?—”
“Let me finish.” I need to get this out even though it physically pains me. “I’m not saying I want you to leave.” Fuck, the thought of her leaving actuallyhurts. “I’m saying I need you to stay because you want to, not because you’re scared of what I’ll do if you don’t.” I take a deep breath. “I need you to choose me, Gigi. Not the contract, not the threats, not the fear.Me.”
She’s staring at me like I’ve grown a second head. “D-Do you really think I’m still here out of fear?” she asks incredulously.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” The uncertainty has been eating at me. “You’re pregnant now. That’s a reason to stay that has nothing to do with wanting to be with me. And I need to know?—”
“I’m choosing you,” she interrupts firmly. “I chose you the moment I realized I was in love with you. I chose you when I could have run but stayed instead. I’m choosing you right now, Luca. Not because I’m trapped or because of the baby. I wantyou.”
The relief that floods through me is overwhelming, and I have to blink back tears. “You’re sure?”
