His father’s gaze landed firmly on her, and she got the sense that he was seeing her for the first time. He paused, his eyes narrowed, before he looked away and continued to the door. As the heavy wooden door shut behind Alessandro’s parents, Ann-Sophie promised herself that she would do everything in her power to protect her child, no matter where that took her.
Alessandro paced across the dining room like a caged animal. But no matter how many times he stalked back and forth, the anger inside him would not go away. His mother’s careless cruelty hadn’t just been aimed at him. It had been aimed straight for Ann-Sophie, too, and that had pushed him over the edge. He had not only brought another innocent person into the mess of his family, but he had also let his anger flare out of control. Enough that he had lashed out at Ann-Sophie.
Alessandro glared at the room around him. The excess of food and elegant dishware, combined with the heady scent of the flowers from their wedding, all seemed to mock him with the naive illusion of the night before, when he let himself wonder if he had finally escaped the wounds of his childhood. How wrong he had been. How quickly their poisoned legacy had found him.
Better now than after the baby was born, he thought darkly.
He didn’t hear Ann-Sophie enter. He didn’t notice her until she was standing right in front of him. The look of devastation on her face dissolved any control he’d managed to claw back. He was so fucking angry at all of this mess.
“I warned you,” he said, gritting out the words through clenched teeth. “All along, I warned you.”
“They’re awful,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry you—”
“Don’t,” he growled, cutting her off. “You know nothing about me.”
But the sharpness of his words was like a punch in his own gut. He stumbled back to a chair and sank down in it, his elbows on his knees, his hands buried in his hair.
“I’m leaving,” he added when his voice was a little more under control.
The room was quiet, and then her voice came, quiet but determined. “I’ll come with you.”
“You are the last thing I need right now,” he groaned. The words came before he could think to hold them back, and the cruelty of the statement hit him again in his gut. Ever his mother’s son.
But being near Ann-Sophie was simply too much right now. She made himfeel. Even pleasure, the one place he had allowed himself to follow his instincts, was tainted with every other emotion. She had stripped away the barrier he had built and left him vulnerable at the worst possible moment. It occurred to him that this had been his fear for some time now—that he was hurting Ann-Sophie and he was continuing to hurt her, ruining every ounce of good they had found between them.
Alessandro needed to be far away from her, to close this open wound and get himself under control the way he had all those years ago, after their last expulsion from school. Leaving would hurt Ann-Sophie, but not worse than staying. How could she not see this? Alessandro took a deep breath as grim determination edged out a little of his anger. But when he looked up, Ann-Sophie was clutching her belly, and the anger and sadness had faded from her expression. Instead, he saw pain.
Alessandro shot up from his chair. “What’s happening?”
Ann-Sophie met his gaze, and her eyes were filled with fear. “It’s the baby. Something’s wrong.”
Chapter Eleven
THE ROAD TOthe village was much rougher than Ann-Sophie remembered it. Or maybe it was just that every single bump seemed to trigger another pain in her belly. Still a month before delivery, she told herself, but her worries were growing. Which certainly were not helping her blood pressure. The doctor had warned of so-called false contractions, but Ann-Sophie was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to feel like this. Her baby was telling her something, and it couldn’t be anything good.
“Tell me what is happening.” Alessandro’s voice broke through her worries. “Has anything changed?”
His mouth was a grim line of determination as he drove the car along the narrow road that led to the village. In her mind, she flashed to the stark terror on his face when he looked up and saw her in pain. All of his anger and frustration disappeared, and she was almost sure she saw…Think about that later, she told herself, pushing the memory away.
“Nothing’s changed. It’s just…” She groaned as the pain hit her again, shooting across her back. She took a couple of deep breaths, then tried again. “It’s like my entire belly is seizing up. And that covers quite a lot of me these days.”
“Just a few more minutes and we’re there,” he said. “The doctor will be waiting for us.”
“Never have I hated cobblestones so much in my life,” she muttered.
The car screeched to a stop in front of the clinic, and Alessandro rushed around to help her out of the car. The doctor and three other staff members came to the door and helped her into the bed that was waiting for her. One attendant wheeled her into the room as another took her vitals, then began to hook her up to a series of monitors. Her heartbeat skittered across the screen, ticking higher as her belly seized again.
Just as the pain was taking hold, Alessandro slipped his hand into hers. “Squeeze my hand and take a deep breath.”
Ann-Sophie gave him a bewildered look. Just moments ago, he was walking out the door, and now…
She cried out and squeezed as hard as she could.
“Good job,” he said, brushing her hair from her face. “Just keep breathing.”
“What if something happens to the baby?” she pleaded, gasping for breath.
“Nothing bad will happen.” Alessandro’s voice was tight.
