"Well?" my father demands, shaking him hard.
"She's pregnant!" the doctor chokes out, struggling to breathe.
My father releases his grip, letting the doctor fall to the floor in a heap. Suddenly, he rips the paperwork from the man's hands, and his eyes skim over the words. "Pregnant…" he whispers in a cold, detached voice. "How far along?" he asks, eyeing the doctor once more.
The man coughs, trying to catch his breath before muttering, "Couldn't be sure unless I performed an ultrasound. But an educated guess based on her hCG levels would put her in the early stages, maybe only a few weeks along."
My eyes are as wide as saucers as I watch the exchange between the two of them and the conversation they're having slowly begins to set in.
Pregnant…I'mpregnant. I'm carrying Lucien's…baby? The words slowly sink in and tears fill my eyes as I stare down at my flat stomach.
Just when I thought my whole world was falling apart, I'm given this small, little miracle. A part of Lucien that I can hold and take care of…and love with all of my being.
I remember being sick on the island with what I thought was some sort of flu. My periods had never been what would be considered normal ever since they started when I was a teen, so I could never truly rely on that as a telltale sign. Going months without one wasn't uncommon.
But now I know it wasn't the flu or food poisoning or any of the other things I thought I was going through. I was getting morning sickness.
A smile graces my lips as I think about a cute, little, cuddly version of Lucien…a baby with his hair and eyes and a smile that could melt the cold world around me.
I will give this baby the childhood Lucien never had. And I'll make sure that our baby knows how much their father would have loved him or her.
"How soon can you get rid of it?" my father asks, his words slicing right through me and plucking me out of my pleasant reverie only to come crashing back down to earth with a bone-shattering jolt.
The doctor clears his throat and fidgets, his eyes darting everywhere except for landing on me. "Well, there is a clinic nearby that can be very discreet with these types of matters."
"No!" I scream. No longer feeling numb or despondent, I stand and storm towards my father. Poking him in the chest with my finger, I shout at him, "I won't let you do this! I'm keeping this baby!"
My father's face contorts with rage as he wraps his hand around my neck. "We need to get rid of thatthinggrowing inside of you before Giovanni finds out! He'll never want to marry awhorewith another man's baby in her belly," he hisses in disgust.
When he releases me, I fall to the floor. I hold a hand over my belly protectively and shrink away from my father and his wrath.
As my father and the doctor discuss the details of my abortion, I make a vow to the precious baby growing inside of me that I will protect it with everything I have and all the power I can muster.
Always.
No matter what.
CHAPTER 27
ADELINE
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE," the driver informs me from the front of the town car.
I cringe at his words and hold back my tears as I stare out the window, watching the city passing by swiftly. I close my eyes and hold a hand over my belly. It's still flat, and I'm sure the baby is only the size of a little sweet pea, but I can imagine my stomach growing bigger and bigger to accommodate our little baby.
Sinking my teeth into my lower lip, I say a silent prayer for Lucien to help me get through today. I need him more than ever, and I hate the fact that he's not here.
I grasp the handle of the duffle bag beside me. My father had pulled me aside this morning, glared at the bag and had asked, "What's that for?"
"The clinic told me to pack some extra clothes…just in case," I had said, my voice small and weak.
He'd nodded once and then said, "The sooner this is over, the better you will feel. I promise you that."
Then he had kissed the top of my head and sent me off with a driver and a bodyguard into the city for my appointment.
An appointment that he made for me and is now forcing me to go to.
The car stops in front of the building, and the bodyguard gets out first. I wait for Marco to open the door, clutching the duffle bag protectively to me as I climb out.
