“What’s going on, Chiara?”
I blink up at him, a picture of innocence. “Huh?”
Which provokes an eye roll. “You and Fina are hiding something, so spill.”
It’s just as well I have a good poker face. I shrug and wander over to the refrigerator to grab a glass of chilled SauvignonBlanc. After the stress of this evening, water or herbal tea isn’t going to cut it.
“Don’t play innocent,” Angelo snaps. “My sister has never fainted in her life, so for her to pass out is worrying enough, but the way you two were whispering when we came in earlier is suspicious in itself.”
Dammit. Time for some deflection.
I slam my glass down on the table, wincing at the mess I make when wine spills everywhere.Oh well.
“Not that it matters, but we were discussing how upsetyour sisteris that herfatheris trying to marry her off and herbrotheris doingfuck-allto stop it.” I sneer at him, more than ready to go to bat on Fina’s behalf. “But it’s hardly surprising, is it, given you don’t seem to have a problem with arranged marriages.”
Angelo’s jaw gapes open at the vitriol in my voice. We may have gotten along better lately, but he’s a fool if he thinks I’ve forgiven him. Hell will freeze over before that happens.
“And while we’re on the topic of fucked-up things you’ve done to ruin my life, I need a Kindle and access to your Amazon account. Seeing as how I have no fucking money or freedom, I’d appreciate it if my asshole of a husband did one nice thing for me because I can’t live without my smutty romances.”
I gulp down what remains of my wine and storm out of the kitchen before he can interrogate me further. He’ll figure it all out soon enough, but hopefully, Fina and I have come up with a solution by then.
Luka’s waiting for me when I step inside my bedroom. He’s examining a paperback Fina gave me - it’s an omegaverse romance. More smut than plot.
“Is Fina alright?”
“Not really,” I admit. He watches as I change into a fresh pair of shorts and a tee before brushing my teeth.
“You can tell me,” he says when I crawl under the covers and curl into his side. “I won’t say anything to Angelo.”
I do trust him, but it’s not my place to spill Fina’s secrets.
“She’s stressed and upset about the marriage.” It’s true, just not the full picture.
He frowns and hugs me tighter. We both know how I feel about arranged marriages.
“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that now,” I continue, eager to move the conversation on from Fina. To my surprise, he doesn’t push it. Instead, he rolls us over so I’m under him, and before long, I don’t care about anything but getting my next Luka fix.
It’s not until we’re falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms that it occurs to me the blood tests the doctor plans to do could well include a pregnancy test because a diligent medical professional might consider pregnancy as a reason for a young woman’s fainting episode.
30
Angelo
Concern for my sister has me grabbing my phone the minute Doctor Cliff’s name pops up on my screen.
After exchanging pointless pleasantries, our family doctor hems and haws for several seconds before he gets to the point.
“Serafina is perfectly healthy, if slightly anemic, for which I’ll prescribe some iron supplements,” he tells me.
“So why did she faint?” Fina’s never fainted in her life. I get she’s stressed, but she’s not the sort of woman to keel over when the going gets tough.
“Hmm, well.” There’s a long pause, and I know instantly I’m not going to like what the doctor has to say. Doctor Cliff coughs nervously. “Um…”
“Just tell me,” I bark.
“Your sister is pregnant. Without doing a proper exam, I can’t say how far along she is, but at a guess, I’d estimate around eight to ten weeks. If you like, I can recommend a discreet OB/GYN, depending on how you want to handle this, um, development.”
I’m not stupid. Doctor Cliff has been our family’s physician for years, and he knows my father well. Cliff is well aware Fina isn’t married or even betrothed. Not officially, anyway. So he’s added two and two together and ended up with five.
