"It matters in this family." She sets down her cup. "A male heir secures your position. Completely. Irrevocably."
The bluntness catches me off guard.
"I don't—I'm not worried about my position." I want to point out it is 2025 and Bianca herself leads this family, but the way she's looking at me with her pale silver eyes makes me hold my tongue.
"You should be." But she doesn't sound threatening. Just matter of fact. "Until you give birth, you're vulnerable. After? You're untouchable. The mother of the heir. No one would dare harm you."
"That's a comfort," I say dryly, even though I don't believe her. Personally, I think I'll be even more vulnerable.
She almost smiles. "You're frightened of me."
"Should I be?"
"No." She takes a sip of tea. "I want this marriage to work, Seraphina. For Adrian's sake. For the family's sake. And, perhaps, for your sake as well."
I don't know what to say to that.
"You are carrying my grandson. My legacy."
I look at her. Really look at her. "That's a lot of pressure to put on a person."
"It's the truth of the situation." She takes a sip of tea. "And frankly, dear, it could be so much worse."
The way she looks at me makes me feel as though I'm missing something.
"Has Adrian spoken to you of his father?"
"Yes. He told me about the…” I trail off not wanting to remind Bianca of a terrible time in her life.
Something flickers in her eyes. Surprise, maybe. That Adrian shared that with me.
"Did he." It's not a question. "Then you understand why he is the way he is."
"I'm starting to."
"Antonio was cruel. Weak. A terrible combination." Her voice is flat. Clinical. "He used violence to compensate for his inadequacies. He thought fear was the same as respect. It was a blessing when he died."
"Adrian says you don't talk about him."
"There's nothing to talk about. He's dead. The past." She refills both our cups. "Adrian, however, is very much alive. And very much not his father."
"He can be cruel too." I think about the way he orders me around, and how, even after everything between us, he still sometimes scares me.
"Adrian is nothing like his father." Her voice softens slightly. "I made sure of that. Raised him differently. Taught him that true power comes from control, not chaos. From intelligence, not brute force."
"He still uses violence."
"When necessary." She meets my gaze. "But not carelessly, despite what he might like everyone to think. Adrian is aloof, yes. Cold, perhaps. I'll even admit that his capacity for detachment can be dangerous. But he's not a sadist, Seraphina. He doesn't enjoy inflicting pain. And more importantly—" She pauses. "He cares for you."
"I don't know if that matters."
"It matters more than you realize." She leans forward slightly. "Do you know how rare it is for a man in this world to care? To feel anything beyond ambition and greed? Adrian could have married anyone. Could have chosen a woman who understood this life. Who wanted power. Instead, he chose you."
"He didn't choose me. You made sure that he married me.”
"Because you were already pregnant with his child, yes. But he could have handled it a thousand different ways. Paid you off. Made you disappear. Taken the child and left youwith nothing." Her eyes bore into mine. "He didn't. He married you. Gave you his name. His protection. His—" She stops. "His heart, whether he's admitted it yet or not." She clicks her tongue. “He’s done everything he can to try and make you happy here.”
My throat tightens because she’s not wrong. Adrian had brought my tools. He’d given me a first edition of the book my mother used to read to me.
