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“NO!” I hear what he says and suddenly lose all the strength in my legs, Dario manages to catch me before I hit theground; and as I shake my head, refusing to believe what I just heard, he holds it tight to his chest.
“Who did this?” he asks.
“We don’t know, we only just got word of it, boss.”
“Where’s Nic and Serena? I have to go to them.” I quickly pull together some strength when I realize they could be in danger.
“They are at home. They have men with them,” Vito assures me.
“No! My father can’t be dead.” I start to sob and when Dario wraps his arms tightly around me and tells me to breathe, I realize that I’m hyperventilating.
“Who would do this?” I push him away when I start to feel suffocated.
“Madalina, you must think about the babies,” His hand strokes my stomach, as my heart continues to feel crushed. “I will find out who did this and take care of it. In the meantime, you must rest.”
“Rest?” I stare at him as if he’s mad. “Dario, my family need me.”
“So do they.” His hands continue to stroke my tiny little bump and the fact he’s right makes me want to punch him.
“I’m going to them.” I push him away and storm toward the door and when he pulls me back I shock myself and his guard enough to gasp when I spin around and slap his face. Dario, however, fails to respond, he just stares at the ground with a tense jaw and a murderous look in his eyes. I’ve pushed him too far, I don’t even think the babies I’m carrying can protect me from what he wants to do.
“Vito, get a car ready to take us to the Conte home.” He surprises me when he takes a breath and walks past me, out the door.
Despite what happened back at the house, Dario holds my hand for the whole car journey to my father’s house and when we arrive he nods at the guard standing by the door and permits me to enter first.
“Madalina!” Serena gets up from the couch where she’s being consoled by one of her friends and races toward me, squeezing me tight and soaking my shoulder with her tears.
“I am sorry for your loss.” Dario lowers his head at my brother, who looks broken. His eyes are sunken and hollow, and I can already tell that he’s blaming himself for this.
He ignores Dario’s words and storms out of the room, leaving me to comfort Serena while wondering who could have done this.
I’m told that they took my father’s body to the mortuary for a post-mortem, and just thinking about him being alone in such a cold, sterile place makes me want to cry. Dario allows me my space while we’re at the house, he even offers for Serena to come and stay with us, but she refuses. She insists that she won’t be driven from her home out of fear, and as much as I commend her for that, I wish she wouldn’t be so stubborn.
It’s late when we arrive back home. I feel numb inside and my eyes are sore from all the tears I’ve cried. Dario has spent a lot of the day on his cell phone, trying to find out who’s responsible for what happened. While I constantly worry about my brother. Nic has a short temper and I know his need for revenge will outweigh his ability to be sensible.
“I’ll have Greta bring you something to eat,” Dario tells me as we walk through the door and he slides my jacket off my shoulders to hang it up.
“I don’t want to eat. I don’t think I could, and please don’t tell me the babies need it. I know they do and this is not mepunishing you. I just don’t want to fucking eat, right now.” I tell him in a harsh tone that holds no patience.
“Okay.” He nods his head and shocks me when he places a delicate kiss on my forehead.
“Will you at least try to get some rest? I want to focus on who did this and I can’t if I’m worrying about you.”
I nod my head in agreement, managing a tiny smile for him before I head up the stairs and try to get some sleep. I must manage to drift off because I’m stirred awake when I hear the bedroom door open. I listen to his footsteps as he makes his way to the other side of the bed and feel nothing but comfort when he slides under the covers and wraps me up with his body.
“I think I’ve felt them,” I admit, suddenly feeling bad for keeping it from him, which is ironic considering the circumstances that got me into this condition.
“Felt them?” When I turn around to face him he’s looking confused.
“The babies. I get this flutter from time to time, around here.” I take his hand and place it on my lower stomach because I’m starting to like the way it feels there.
“It’s too faint for you to feel it too, but it’s definitely something.”
“Do you not think that's kind of awesome?” He smiles, and for the first time since I first saw him, he doesn’t look like a dangerous crime lord at all. He looks like a normal guy who's excited to become a father.
“I guess,” I admit, unable to hide my own smile at the thought of it. I need to focus on something good after such a miserable day.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” he tells me softly with his eyes full of compassion.
