Chapter 14
NICO
Seven months later…
I was jittery, my nerves short-circuiting from the inevitable showdown.
It had been over a year since I had seen Gabriella, and ever since she stepped out, my life had turned from a mild summer storm into a fucking hurricane—as shown by the bustling courtroom of witnesses present for my complete and utter downfall.
The evidence against me was astronomical, and I in no way had the endurance to push back against the claims.
My precious girl wasn’t just out for my blood; she was staking a claim on the business too. She wanted to dismantle One Care Fertility for its involvement.
Surely, that only means she cares, right?
That was when a signature energy resonated through the room, my instincts spiking to full alert as my eyes swung towards the double doors to catch her entrance.
My wife was beautiful and poised, radiating a particular glow that only pregnancy could produce.
Gabriella was pregnant—heavily pregnant.
Black spots invaded my vision as dizziness corrupted all manner of thought. I tried to grasp onto reality, to remain in the here and now, focusing my sole attention on her when the world shattered around me.
There was no use. As my vision continued to fade, a tan, masculine hand rubbed over her protruding belly, and the last thing I processed before I fainted was Leonardo’s proud, beaming smile.
I had only passed out for a mere thirty seconds, but the brain fog hadn’t fully cleared. In the past year, I had hardly slept, neglecting all my responsibilities to make sure I remained focused on her.
That short stint in the psychiatric ward didn’t count because those fuckers had no idea what they were doing.
They’d tried to say I had bipolar affective disorder, whatever the fuck that meant.
I was a renowned plastic surgeon who was at the top of my field, not some low-functioning member of society.
I was just stressed, and understandably so.
It took some convincing, but I managed to manipulate my way out of there—which wasn’t hard, considering psychiatry was some pseudoscience nonsense that had no standing in real medicine.
I did all of that to get back to her. And instead of supporting me, she was shacking up with him. Fucking him.
Leonardo had always been her first choice, the one who got away.
And despite my best efforts, Gabriella ended up with him anyway.
That’s why I hated him; he had become everything I feared.
The one person who held the power to rip my happiness from me, and who did so without hesitation, exacting cutthroat precision.
In the end, Leonardo had proven his ruthlessness and cruelty, embodying the big, bad villain I’d always known him to be.
My lawyer nudged into my side, trying and failing to regain my attention. The judge’s voice frayed into the background, spouting some convoluted legal jargon about fraud and fiduciary duty.
It didn’t matter. I had tunnel vision. My focus was solely placed on my wife.
The legal verdict was no longer relevant. I’d pay anything. Take whatever punishment was handed out. Because the sooner Gabriella carved out her pound of flesh, the faster she could come back to me.
I had already won her over—her heart, her love, her devotion. And in doing so, she’d vowed to belong to me forever, as I belonged to her.
The baby complicated things, but it didn’t change my mindset or need to remain by her side.
Sure, I originally got the vasectomy because I knew that any child of ours would automatically slot me into second place.
I wasn’t fond of sharing, and had taken measures to ensure I remained her one and only.
That mindset was further solidified with the support of my former friend, Lucus Miller, who happily lived and advocated a child-free life. I had met him by chance and was enchanted. He was charismatic, moved with conviction and immediately took me under his wing.
I had never stepped out on Gabriella until Lucus showed me a new way of living and gave me permission to explore the treasures his world had to offer.
His take was enlightening, euphoric and corrupt.
A few drinks here and a couple of women there, and I was addicted.
He was the one who led me down the road of temptation and then deserted me entirely, which made my fall back down to reality that much harder.
Since I only had time to think, wallow and stew, my views had changed drastically since the big blowout with Gabriella.
I’d promptly reversed the vasectomy in order to make her stay.
I was so ready to stuff her full of my cum and get her good and pregnant like she wanted.
Except, in the turbulent time of our temporary separation, a devious intruder had planted his seed before I got the chance.
A plan started forming in my head as I thought through the scenario logically.
There was only one clear path forward.
Leonardo could keep the baby and take responsibility for the bastard filling out her tummy. I was sure Gabriella would agree when she found out I’d happily give her what she had always wanted: our own.