Page 103 of Diary of a Mafia Princess

I sucked in a sharp breath. “How did you know?”

“I found your photos and your books when I was putting away your laundry.”

Fear wrapped its way around my heart. “It’s not…”

Except it was exactly what it seemed. That I was pregnant, and we both knew it wasn’t Carlos’s.

I burst into tears, and Virginia put her arms around me, holding me tight.

“Shh, my girl. This is what motherhood is. From the minute they’re conceived, all you do is worry for them. They will bring you so much light and laughter, and none of us would ever give them back. But loving another person so much leaves your heart doubly vulnerable.”

I felt that right to my toes. Loving this baby, and her son, were things I wouldn’t change, even if I could.

And yet they were the two things that were also destroying me.

I might not have been able to do much for my own heart, but maybe I could ease some of Virginia’s pain. “I’ll see if they let me down there. See if I can talk to him. I don’t think it will do any good though.”

Virginia gave me a half-smile. “Neither do I. He loves you. He wants to be near you. And he’s going to do anything in his power to make that happen. I can see that now. I didn’t realize the bond between the two of you is what it is.”

“I love him,” I whispered truthfully, confiding in the older woman.

“I know. I can see that. And yet you’re marrying another man, Nyah. A dangerous man who has no moral compass. There is nothing he won’t do, if he’s provoked to do so. And, sweet girl, I’m very concerned that you and Dax together in one house is going to be all the provocation Mr. Guerra needs.”

I knew she was right. Dax couldn’t be here. I’d said as much to him the night of the party, when his hands and lips and cock had been all over me.

“Did you tell him about the baby?” I asked Virginia.

She shook her head sharply. “No. And I won’t. Because right now, I still think there is a way to get him out of all of this. For Carlos to forget about him, and for him to still be able to lead a normal life.”

She stared at me, so bitterly unhappy. “I don’t think there is any chance for that if he knows you carry his child. He will never leave your side. He’ll challenge Carlos for your hand, or do something worse, like try to take it by force.” She put her hand on my nonexistent belly. “I love your child, Nyah. It’s my grandbaby and so of course I do.” She stared at me sadly. “But I cannot sacrifice my child for yours.”

“I know. And I wouldn’t want you to. I love them both,” I whispered brokenly. “I just want them both.”

But we both knew I couldn’t have what I wanted. That my life had never been my own, and I was nothing more than the property of men.

“I’ll try to talk to Dax again,” I promised her, hugging her close. “I’m so sorry. I wish things were different.”

“So do I, sweet girl. So do I. But they aren’t. All we can do is play the cards we’ve been dealt.”

I nodded, wiping tears off my cheeks and praying Virginia was everything she seemed. That I hadn’t just made the hugest mistake in confiding in another person.

I had to believe the woman who’d raised a man like Dax wouldn’t betray me.

There was a guard at my door, the same one who was there each morning Lynx wasn’t. I didn’t bother stopping to talk to him. I’d tried before, and the man only seemed to communicate in grunts and scowls. He followed me down to the bottom level, and nobody tried to stop me when I entered the spacious gym.

I did a double take when Dax stood in the middle of it in nothing but his underwear. Men I didn’t know, though some were vaguely familiar, probably from the party, studied him and the lineup of other fighters.

They all had similar body types. Lean builds with strong muscle but not overly bulky. Most of them had tattoos, but none like the ones that decorated Dax’s body. His were beautiful, flowing with his muscles and the way his body moved.

Each and every one of them familiar to me.

Dax and the other fighters were all covered in light sweat, and I could tell from the red in their cheeks, and the purpling bruises already starting to show on some of them, that I’d been too late to stop him fighting.

He clearly already had.

Carlos caught sight of me as I entered, and his initial reaction, a deep frown of annoyance, wasn’t lost on me. But he quickly smoothed it over and waved me over to his side. “Gentlemen, excuse me, it seems my bride-to-be couldn’t wait for my attention.”

The room tittered with laughter, and I forced a smile, going to Carlos’s side. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”