Page 175 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

I stare at the three tests lined up on the edge of the sink, unable to breathe properly.

Two pink lines.

Three times.

Slowly, I lift my eyes toward the mirror.

The woman staring back at me looks shocked. Her eyes are too wide, too fixed.

My hand drifts to my still-flat stomach.

Nothing has changed and yet everything is different.

The baby is already there.

A truth slowly settles inside me—gentle and dizzying despite all the questions already flooding my mind:

I’m happy.

Deeply happy.

A baby.

Our baby.

The one we used to talk about before someone tried to kill me. Dante wanted three. I only wanted two. We used to spend hours laughing and debating it.

And now… this baby exists.

The very idea of it overwhelms me already.

But the timing couldn’t be worse. Especially with Dante already expecting a child with Bianca.

Part of me wants to laugh.

Another part wants to cry.

My heart aches for this tiny being already growing inside me. The baby should have been welcomed with joy. Celebrated. Surrounded by love and serenity.

Instead, this child is arriving in the middle of something complicated.

A world where they’ll have to share their father’s time, attention, and affection.

It’s not what I wanted for them.

A tear slips down my cheek. I wipe it away quickly with the back of my hand.

How am I going to tell Dante?

I don’t have time to find an answer.

The laboratory door opens in the next room.

In one quick motion, I grab the tests and shove them to the bottom of my bag. By the time I look up again, my expression is perfectly composed.

Dante knocks softly on the bathroom door.

“Are you coming to lunch?”