Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Lucia
I pick up the tiny lemon-yellow onesie from the crib. A rush of joy fills me. There’s barely a month left until she arrives. Soon this room will be filled with her laughter and cries. The nursery is almost ready. I’ve been adding something new almost every day.
Tony walks in with more shopping bags and sets them beside the white dresser. Everything in the room, from the walls and curtains to the soft rug, is a shade of lavender.
Tony said we should skip the usual pink, even though we’re expecting a girl. He didn’t want our daughter trapped by clichés. I agreed.
When I see him, my smile falters a little.
Over the past few months, Tony has been a constant and yet distant presence.
He’s come with me to doctor’s visits, shopping trips for the baby, walks in the park, workouts, even the occasional dinner.
But he remains so cold, so detached, that I’ve lost the nerve to reach out.
He’s kept his promise to stay distant, and it’s slowly crushing me. I haven’t tried to break the ice either. Deep down, I know he’s right. This truce between us is necessary, at least until our baby is born.
Even though some nights, the thought of Tony’s hands on my body makes me ache for him.
If there’s one thing the Bruni family has in common, it’s their inability to control their tempers. He’s waiting for the baby to be born so he can “fix” me. I’m waiting too, to prove myself to him.
After our baby is born, I’ll tell him the truth. I’ll confess that I’ve loved him in secret for years.
Tony glances at that little onesie in my hand and steps closer. He takes it from me with one hand, his lips curling into a faint smile as he studies it.
“Is she really going to be this tiny?” he asks.
I smile. “I hope so. She has to come out of me, after all.”
His hand moves to my round belly. “Are you scared?”
“Millions of women give birth every day. It’s hard, but I’ll be fine.”
I catch a flicker of pride in his gaze, and it hits me right in the chest. The baby kicks under his hand, as if she feels him. Something like awe flashes across his face as he looks at me in wonder.
I place my hand over his, resting on my belly. “I think she’s excited to be here, with her mom and dad.”
His gaze softens, dropping to my lips. I lean in, closing the distance. There’s barely a breath of space between us. Our feet are grounded, but our thoughts are somewhere else entirely.
Tilting my head back, I rise slightly onto my toes, and he leans down, aligning his mouth with mine. Our eyes close, and I can feel the warmth of his breath against my skin. My lips part in anticipation, brushing against the soft, inviting warmth of his mouth.
Then his phone buzzes loud, shattering the moment. Startled, I pull back slightly, my cheeks flushed. It takes Tony a second to snap out of the trance too. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “What?.”
Seconds tick by, and his eyes lock onto mine with an intensity that makes my stomach tighten. His gaze darkens, and the muscles in his jaw clench. I can’t hear what’s being said, but I know it’s nothing good.
“On my way,” he says.
Without offering any explanation or even a goodbye, he strides out the door, leaving me standing there, the unfinished kiss hanging in the air between us.
***
Hunger pulls me out of sleep, like it always does.
I’m pretty much starving around the clock these days.
I switch on the bedside lamp and glance at the clock.
It’s past three a.m. Rubbing my eyes with my thumb and forefinger, I slip into my robe and head downstairs, my bare feet padding softly against the cold marble.
When I reach the staircase, the light spilling out from the living room catches my attention. I’m certain I turned it off before going to bed, which means Tony must have turned it on. Descending a few more steps, I hear his low, growling voice.
“Whoever pulled this shit, I want him tortured. I gave explicit orders that the boy was not to be touched.”
“Let it go, Tony. So what if some blood was spilled? It’s not like he was anyone important,” Rafael says.
Tony’s growl deepens. “I’ll decide who’s important and who isn’t.
Got it? I’ve kept my dick in my pants for three months to make sure that woman has peace of mind.
I’ve kept my mouth shut to ensure nothing disturbs her or hurts my kid.
And now, you idiots have to go and screw everything up like this?
Do you have any idea what kind of hell will break loose if she finds out? ”
“The guys said he wasn’t cooperating. They had no choice,” Rafael replies, sounding defensive.
My mouth goes dry, my chest tightening as panic sets in. My mind goes straight to Fabiano, the only person I can’t bear to see hurt. I hurry down the rest of the stairs, stepping into the room. Rafael notices me first, his body going rigid.
Tony, still oblivious, barks another order. “Fix this, Rafael. By noon tomorrow, I want—”
“Tony,” Rafael interrupts, nodding toward me.
Tony spins on his heel to face me, and that’s when I see it—the all-too-familiar envelope in his hand. Blue with a patterned design, the very one I had bought, sealed, and handed to Fabiano. My eyes catch the red stains smeared across the yellow flowers, staining them like sinister warnings.
Blood.
My gaze shifts to Rafael, to the crimson-stained shirt that matches the blotches on the envelope. It doesn’t take much to piece it all together, to grasp the horror of what’s happened. Rafael killed my brother. My Fabiano.
My body moves before my mind can catch up.
Grief, rage, and despair explode inside me, surging from the soles of my feet to my brain in less than a second.
A vivid image of my brother’s innocent eyes flashes in my mind, and without hesitation, I launch myself at Rafael, ready to tear him apart with my bare hands.
I don’t care about anything anymore. I don’t care that he’s twice my size or that I stand no chance against him. All I know is that none of us are walking out of this night alive.