21. Elena
Chapter twenty-one
Elena
Enzo is finally home, yet knowing this brings absolutely no relief.
I always knew I was making a mistake with Adriano, but I didn’t think that all the while he fisted my hair and looked into my eyes with that heavy intensity, it was only to distract me while he schemed to defraud us behind my back.
Tears sting my eyes, clouding my vision. Enzo trusted this man once... elevated his sorry ass because he believed him worthy, and Adriano repays him by draining our reserves. Stealing millions of dollars from our offshore accounts?
Somehow, the fact that he got the most important information—Silvio—from me makes my head hang in shame. How do I face Enzo after all this? A man who shielded me when my own father failed… and now, the man I helped Adriano reduce to nothing.
My arms wrap around my waist, dragging my jacket tighter around me as I rake a hand through my hair. I won’t give Adriano the satisfaction of knowing he’s won. I’ll give him a piece of my mind, and then I’m leaving this hellhole he calls a home!
My feet stomp through the corridor, and by the time I arrive at his study, my hands are trembling, not with fear, but with the intensity of everything I just realized.
I raise my fist to knock, but Kristina steps out of the study clutching a small tray with an empty mug. She barely looks at me before hurrying away like she knows what’s going on but wants no part in it.
The door remains slightly ajar, so I shove it open.
He’s standing with his back to me and his face to the window, overlooking the city. But all I see is red as I yank the door open further, causing him to spin around in anger.
“You bastard! Haven’t you done enough?”
His jaw clenches, but his expression stays blank, and that’s even more fuel to my fire.
“Slaughtering my family, then defrauding them of nearly everything they’ve suffered to build. Just how low are you willing to sink to satisfy your monstrous ego?”
“You don’t understand what I took,” he says coldly. “Or why.”
“Hell yes, I understand every bit of it,” I hiss, closing the distance until I’m only a few feet away, glaring right into his face.
“And I understand that you’re nothing but a traitorous, conniving bastard who mistakes tyranny for strength.
Who thinks being king is playing foul…preying on the powerless, and calling it justice. ”
“Not justice. Revenge,” he snaps, finally stepping into my space. His fists clench beside him as he holds my gaze with conviction. “And don’t stand there pretending you’d be any different if the roles were reversed.”
This bastard…
Fury blinds me, and my hand flies up before I can stop it, aiming to slap the shit out of him, but he catches my wrist mid-air.
“Don’t you dare justify your weakness with my pain,” my voice rages.
“Your family forfeited their dignity when they murdered mine,” he grinds out with contempt. “They got what they deserved.”
The words gut me. I yank my wrist from his tight grip and step back.
“Dragging innocent people into your vendetta and calling it strategy. You think that makes you strong? Smart?”
“It makes me a fucking winner.” His voice slices the space between us with intensity, but I don’t back down.
“A man who thrives on the destruction of others is nothing but a coward wearing a crown,” I say, matching his intensity.
“Watch your tone, Elena.” He slams his fist on the desk beside us, but the sound is completely drowned out by the rush of adrenaline pounding in my ears.
Tears burn my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. “Is that why you brought me here? So that I can hate myself more while you play god with stolen money and a black heart? Or did you bring me here to have a front row seat to my humiliation?”
Silence passes, and my heart picks up when his jaw clenches. “I brought you here to protect you,” he says eventually, his voice lower now.
“Protection?” I laugh dryly, holding his gaze with my hard, unyielding eyes. “So that’s why you lied to me and played me to get information out of me?”
“It had nothing to do with you.”
“Bullshit, Adriano! You used me. You saw me as a loophole, and you didn’t hesitate to exploit that because you were so clouded by revenge.
Oh, and while you were at it, you thought why not fuck me into submission while you tore my life apart?
” My voice breaks, much to my distaste. “But did you ever stop for one second… just one second, to understand how that would make me feel?”
“Your father—”
“My father was a devil, and trust me, you don’t hate him half as much as I do. But now, you’re no different from him. You never were.”
His mouth opens, then he closes it, his eyes turning cold and his posture stone-still.
“Actions and consequences, Elena. This is not some damn fairy tale.”
His words pierce through my chest, pain spreading through me like a poison I’ve been swallowing for weeks. But I nod in defeat. I don’t know what this confrontation was supposed to bring, but this immense feeling of self-betrayal isn’t what I expected.
“Action and consequences…” I whisper hoarsely, my eyes staring at nothing in particular. That’s all it’s ever been about. “Fine...”
Then I lift my gaze to his with a numbness that feels worse than pain. “Here’s mine.”
I turn on my heel and head for the door, but his voice stops me, flat and entirely cold.
“Here, you’re the safest you’ll ever be.”
I want to turn around and ask him if he truly cares or if he’s just mocking me, but my heart can’t bear it.
“I’m done being your leverage,” I say, keeping my back to him. “You already took everything from me. I won’t let you watch me break.”
Then I storm out, slamming the door behind me as the tears finally spill over, my chest heaving with every sob.
***
My arms close tightly around Enzo’s neck.
His arms wrap gingerly around my waist with a small wince, and that’s when I lose it. I break down in sobs, my chest heaving as the tears completely overtake me.
“That’s okay, my darling, I’m here now, and I’m safe.”
I wish I were crying for Enzo. I can’t say why my heart feels like it's bursting open with sadness, but as long as I’m with him, I know I’ll be okay.
He pulls me away to wipe my face when my sobs subside to sniffles.
“Hey, are you okay?”
My lips spread out in a wide smile as I nod, trickles of tears still slipping down my cheeks. “I’m okay now that I’m sure you’re safe.”
His eyes narrow, searching my face. “Did that bastard hurt you?”
“Adriano?” His name tastes bitter on my lips. The thought of him pounding into me in that fitting room flashes through my mind. Hurt me? No. My body worshiped every second of what he did to me, but my heart…I shake my head. “No. He wouldn’t dare.”
Relief washes over Enzo’s face, his body relaxing stiffly into the chair he’s sitting in while his bandaged foot is propped on a pillow on the floor. There’s also a pair of crutches within reach by the armrest. I’m just thankful he’s fine.
“Thank God. Hello, Puddles.”
The mutt barks fiercely, wagging its tail frantically while jumping up and down beside us.
“You should freshen up and come down for dinner. The chef has made us chicken soup.”
I stop just in front of my room, my knees wobbling uncontrollably as a wave of nausea rushes over me. This is the second time this week. I’d thought the first time was the result of prolonged staring at my laptop’s screen.
But now… fuck.
Pushing my weight against the wood, I hold my hand over my mouth, rushing into the bathroom and heaving everything in my stomach into the bowl.
My heart races, my guts twisting in knots as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I hope it’s not what I think it is. God, I should have bought a pregnancy test.
Then something hits me.
I quickly scramble out of the bathroom and over to the closet, finding my duffel bag and wrenching out every item of clothing until I reach the very bottom.
Inside one of the small side pockets, I see them. The three unopened pregnancy tests from the gift bag I got at some women’s wellness summit I attended several months ago. Grabbing one, I rush back to the toilet and rip it open.
Hands trembling, I follow the instructions on the box and wait for the results to appear. The basin feels eerily cool as I clench my hands around its edge, holding myself up even as the earth suddenly tilts.
My eyes water and my knees give way as I look at the test. Two bold red lines stare at me as if mocking my existence. My heart skips a beat once. Twice. Then it dips to the base of my stomach.
This can’t be right.
I’m suddenly dizzy as I fiddle with my pants, trying to grab the remaining two tests. I take them out, and try again, hoping with every fiber of my being that it’s all a dream.
But no. Nothing changes. The same bold red lines hit me again, with the force of a head-on collision.
I’m pregnant with Adriano Bellandini’s child!