And not knowing with a man like Vincenzo—was the most dangerous place to be.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Took a shaky breath.
Then another.
But the question wouldn’t leave me.
It burrowed in.
Stayed.
I couldn’t hide this.
Not for long.
My body would betray me soon enough.
A slight curve. A change in shape.
A softness where there hadn’t been any before.
And with someone like Vincenzo—nothing stayed hidden.
Better he heard it from me.
Better I controlled the moment—before someone else twisted it into something worse.
Before Violet got to it first.
A soft knock on the bathroom door cut through my thoughts.
Sharp. Grounding.
I jerked upright immediately, heart jumping into my throat.
“Signora?”
I moved fast.
My fingers swept the pregnancy tests off the counter, shoving them into the small trash bin beneath the sink.
I grabbed a handful of tissues, pressing them down over the top—covering the plastic, the lines, the truth.
Then I flushed the toilet.
The sound filled the room.
Loud. Distracting.
Buying me seconds.
I straightened, wiped my hands quickly on a towel, and forced my expression into something neutral before reaching for the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened slowly.
