"That you're even morepreciousthan before." He faced me again, something raw and vulnerable in his expression. "That child—our child—changes everything."
The possessiveness in his tone should have angered me. Instead, it sent an unwanted flutter through my chest.
"So what now?" I asked. "You lock me up even tighter? Post guards outside my bedroom door?"
"Now we keep you safe." He moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand hovered near my stomach, hesitant. "Both of you."
I should have pushed him away. Should have maintained the walls between us. But something about the careful way he wasn't quite touching me, the fear still lingering in his eyes, made me reach out instead.
I took his hand and placed it on my still-flat stomach.
"Six weeks," I said softly. "Maybe seven. It's too early to feel anything. Too early to show. But it's there. Growing."
His hand was warm through the thin fabric of my shirt. "A baby," he murmured, wonder creeping into his voice. "Our baby."
"An heir to both families," I corrected. "A target before it's even born."
"Protected," he countered. "By me. By my men. By everything I've built." His eyes met mine with fierce determination. "No one touchesyou. No one touches our child. I don't care what I have to do or who I have to destroy."
The vow should have terrified me. Instead, for the first time since waking up in this penthouse weeks ago, I felt something close to safe.
"The doctor," I said, breaking the moment. "How much does he know?"
"Everything. But he's loyal. He delivered me, patched up my father's men for thirty years. His discretion is absolute."
"And your staff? Angelo?"
"Angelo knows you're pregnant. The rest know you had a fall but not why." His jaw tightened. "Though we'll need to explain it eventually. A Romano-Moretti heir can't stay secret forever."
"Giuseppe," I said, the name bitter on my tongue. "When he finds out—"
"He'll see it as an opportunity or a threat." Luca's hand remained on my stomach, protective. "Either way, we need to be ready."
I thought of Adriana's warnings from days ago.Someone orchestrated this. Someone wanted you and Luca together.Had they anticipated this? Planned for a child to unite the bloodlines?
"What if this is exactly what they wanted?" I voiced the fear aloud. "What if getting me pregnant was part of someone's larger plan?"
Luca's expression darkened. "Then they'll discover that creating life was the easy part. The hard part will be surviving what comes next."
The threat in his voice should have chilled me. Instead, it reminded me that I hadn't just married a monster. I'd married a predator. One who now had something to protect beyond his empire.
"I need to call Isabella," I said suddenly. "My sister. She must be terrified. It's been weeks—"
"Not yet." At my protest, he continued, "Giuseppe has been watching her. Using her to try to get to you. Any contact puts her at more risk."
"She's seventeen, Luca. She's just a kid—"
"Which is why we're keeping her out of this." His tone brooked no argument. "She's safe at boarding school. Guarded. Monitored. The moment she becomes a liability instead of leverage, Giuseppe loses interest."
The cold calculation in his words reminded me who I'd married. But he wasn't wrong. In our world, the safest thing for Isabella was distance.
"After the baby comes," I said. "When things settle. I want to see her."
"When things settle," he agreed. Then, softer, "You're a good sister. Protective. Fierce. You'll be a good mother too."
The compliment caught me off guard. "How do you know?"
"Because you were willing to risk everything—even falling down stairs—to protect something you weren't even sure existed yet." His thumb traced a small circle on my stomach. "That's the kind of mother our child deserves."
