Page 67 of Wrong Pawn. Right Capo.

“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!

Chapter twenty-two

Adriano

“But did you ever stop for one second… just one second, to understand how that would make me feel?”

I’m slouched down in the corner of my dark room, bottle of whiskey in hand, staring at the television screen without processing whatever the woman in the suit is announcing.

Those words, along with the intense hatred in her eyes while she said them, have refused to leave my mind.

I take a swig from the bottle. Anger, I can handle. Fury, grief… but this sharp pressure in my chest is unfamiliar, and it’s messing with my head.

I roll my shoulders once, as if I can shake off the weight of whatever lodged itself there when she walked away.

I knew this was coming. I crippled her father’s empire, almost crippled the man she considers her father, and kept her under my roof… in enemy territory, all the while.

A brash laugh rumbles from my throat. Of course, she thinks I have no dignity. I lift the bottle to my lips again. And maybe she’s not wrong… but what irritates me is the urge to justify myself to her.

Why?

Why haven’t I been able to leave this darned room since she walked out of my office this morning?

Staggering to my feet, I reach for my box of cigars in the nightstand drawer, slipping one between my lips.