Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

AURORA

Present day

" Y ou killed him for me?" he whispers.

I nod slowly.

"Fuck," Nico breathes, running a hand through his hair before stepping back. "So this is it? The reason you left, why you tried so hard to pretend you hated me, because you blame me? You regret it?"

My eyes burn, and I shake my head quickly to deny that.

"Nico, if I had to, I'd make the same choice all over again. I don't blame you!"

"You left Aurora. How could you find the courage to kill someone for me and then rip my heart out a couple of days later by disappearing?" he questions.

My eyes fall shut for a couple of moments as I take a few steadying breaths. When I open them again, I manage to look him in the eye.

"Nico, you have no idea how sorry I am that I caused you pain. But I also refuse to apologize for leaving. Because I needed to! I was going to go crazy if I stayed. I needed some semblance of normalcy. I needed to stop feeling that I was constantly in danger. We were abducted from this house! I didn't feel safe anymore."

His jaw tightens. "I would have protected you. If something happened to you, I would have come for you and I would have saved you every single fucking time."

"I couldn't take that risk. Not when I had Lucia to take care of," I say dully.

I might not have had a choice about the family I was born into. But I had a choice about leaving it, and when the opportunity presented itself, I did. But I also left my heart behind in the process.

The last couple of months made me forget all the pain, the fear, the terror that came with being the Don's daughter. And now I'm the Don's wife. Which is infinitely more dangerous.

"I think that's all just an excuse. Why don't you just say what you're really feeling, Aurora? You don't trust me. That's what all this is about. I would walk through fire for you, but you don't even believe that."

"I believe it. I know you care, Nicolas. I'm just scared to find out what'll happen if you're forced to make a choice between me and your position as Don."

The look he gives me at that is enough to sever a piece of my heart. He walks forward, standing in front of me, close enough for me to feel his breath on my face. Nico places a hand on my neck, soft and gentle as he prompts me to look up at him.

"If you really believe that, mi vida , then what are you still doing here?" he asks, his voice deceptively soft.

My heart cracks in two at the question.

"Our four months are almost up," he states.

"Yes," I say, my mouth dry.

"I promised to let you go if you still wanted to leave, Aurora. And I'm a man of my word. So, what's it going to be? Are you leaving me?"

His blue eyes are piercing, stripping me down to my soul. I could say the words so easily, sever this connection for good. If I left now, it would all be over.

"I don't know," I whisper.

His eyes close for a brief moment. "Wrong answer, mi vida . You've had my heart since I was fourteen years old. And somehow, you always seem to break it every time," he says softly.

My eyes well with tears. God, I'm so stupid. Why am I so terrified of jumping headfirst into this? I want so badly to be the girl that loves without holding anything back. But it's so hard. It's so fucking hard.

"Nico…"

"It's fine. You still have a couple of weeks to decide, Aurora," he says, and I can tell he's starting to shut me out. "I need to go."

I don't stop him as he walks out of the door. Once he's gone, my stomach churns. Nausea assaults me, and I rush to the toilet, emptying out the contents of my stomach and feeling my heart break in my chest.

Lucia picks me up from the airport that weekend. My sister has a bright smile on her face as soon as she spots me, but she's also quickly able to discern that I'm not okay. Nico and I haven't spoken again since that day in our bedroom. Today, we both packed up and left on our respective trips.

He's off to Russia, while I came here to see Lucia.

"You look awful," my sister says as soon as she's done hugging me.

I laugh. "Yeah, thanks, sorella . Duly noted."

Blunt, fearless and tough as nails; those are the words most people use in describing Lucia Maranzano. She's an inch or two shorter than me, with long brown hair like mine but she has our mother's eyes. Beautiful doe-shaped, amber eyes that sit perfectly in her face. When most people meet her, they tend to underestimate her because of how she looks. They are mistaken quickly enough.

"I'm just saying. This is the first time I'm seeing you in months, and you look like you're in the middle of a bad break-up."

"Luce, I kind of am," I mutter.

Her eyes narrow, and she studies me for a moment before sighing. "Come on. You can tell me all about it over ice cream."

She glances behind me, and a small smile spreads over her lips. "Hi," she greets Danny, who of course came on the trip with me. "What's your name?"

He raises one dark eyebrow at her, slightly amused.

"Danny," he replies shortly.

"Nice to meet you, Danny. I'm guessing you'll be with Aurora throughout her stay?"

"Don't worry, miss. I'll stay out of your way," he assures her.

"Oh well, I wouldn't mind if you were in my way," Lucia says seductively.

I slap her arm. "Don't flirt with my bodyguard."

"No, can do, sis. He's too hot not to," she whispers before looking back at Danny. "We can take my car to my apartment. It's about twenty minutes from here."

Danny nods. "I'll drive."

She and I slide into the back of her Mercedes, and I let my head fall on my sister's shoulder, glad I'm in her company. I might be the big sister, but Lucia's my rock. She always has been.

I think to myself that this trip is my chance to finally breathe easier. Arrange my thoughts. But of course, I'm not awarded even that small sliver of peace.

The next day, I wake up feeling nauseous again. Lucia enters the bathroom as I'm flushing the toilet. When I look at her, her amber eyes are filled with worry.

"Don't," I say because I already know what she's about to say.

"Aurora," my sister says with a sigh.

She follows me as I collapse on top of the bed, my eyes looking up at the ceiling. Lucia lies down beside me, allowing me to continue to be in denial for a little while longer. She and I had a long conversation yesterday. I did most of the talking and she listened attentively. She didn't offer me any advice and she didn't tell me what to do, which I'm grateful for. I have to make these decisions on my own.

When she nudges my shoulder gently, I groan.

"Fine, just say it," I mutter.

"I think you need to take a pregnancy test."

My heart fucking drops.

"I'm not pregnant," I say, sounding more sure than I actually feel.

"And I want to believe you. But buying a test is the only way to prove that, sorella ."

"We've been safe," I say stubbornly.

I've been taking my birth control pills regularly since we started having sex.

"All the time?" Lucia prods.

My chest heaves as I admit the truth. "No, not really. I slipped up once two months ago. Nico took me to Antigua for the weekend, and I forgot my pills at home."

"Antigua? Damn, that's romantic," Lucia says, grinning.

"So not the point," I mutter. "What if I really am pregnant, Lucia?"

"Then you are. You'd be the best mother, sorella , I know it."

I think about it for a couple more minutes before coming to a decision.

"Okay, fine. You can go and buy the test. Make sure Danny doesn't find out."

She leaves me alone in the room. I'm fidgety, pacing the length of it for the entirety of the time she's gone. When she returns, I take the test, and Lucia holds my hand as we wait for the results. Lucia squeals when it comes out positive.

"Oh my God, congratulations, Rory," she grins.

A part of me is inexplicably happy at the news. The other part can't even begin to fathom how I'm going to make this work. Not when the fate of my relationship with the baby's father still hangs in the balance. That's the logical part of my brain. That part is already thinking of a way out of this mess.

"We should go to the hospital," Lucia says. "Get you checked out to find out how far along you are."

"We can't leave the house without Danny seeing us," I state. "And he can't find out. He'll have to tell Nico, and I don't, I…I can't."

Lucia rubs my arm comfortingly. "We can use the back door to get out. He won't even see us."

"Okay."

The doctor confirms that I'm pregnant. Seven weeks along, actually. I place a tentative hand on my baby, unable to believe that it's been in my stomach for so long, and I couldn't feel a thing. The doctor asks if I want to do an ultrasound, and I agree. The moment I see the moving black-and-white spot on the screen, all my thoughts quiet down.

My lips part as I watch the fetus moving and hear its booming heartbeat.

"Would you like to know the gender?"

I shake my head. I haven't even told the father yet. Finding out the gender without him feels like a betrayal. The doctor nods. I keep watching the screen, tears gathering in my eyes. Because I realize that I want to hold this baby in my arms. I want to love it and take care of it and watch it grow.

And I'm suddenly terrified that Nico might not want that as well.

Lucia and I agree not to tell anyone about the baby for now. The only person who knows apart from us is Sabrina, and I only call to tell her because she made me promise never to keep anything from her again. I was supposed to return to Chicago a week ago, but I sent a text to Nico asking for more time and he agreed.

I miss him like hell, though. And I hate that we're in this limbo situation, unsure of what the next steps are going to be.

"Honey, I'm home," Lucia calls as she walks through her front door, taking off her jacket.

"How was work?" I ask from my position on her couch.

"It was good. As always. How do you feel?"

"Pregnant."

She smiles. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I made some pasta earlier. You can go get some."

"Thank you. Love you," she says, heading for the kitchen.

When she comes back outside with her plate, her gaze moves toward the TV, which is currently on.

"I thought you hated movies like this," she states, sitting beside me on the couch.

"Yeah, but I'm starting to find a sense of comfort in them, too. I hate how unrealistic they are. But that's the point, though. They're not going to make a movie about a woman who's in a fake marriage with her husband and is currently pregnant with said man but is unsure if she wants to continue a relationship with him. It's a complicated mess. No one's going to write that into a film."

"Wanna bet?" Lucia grins. "I could get in touch with a writer in Hollywood."

My lips twitch. "It does sound riveting."

"Your life would make a great soap opera, sorella ."

"Maybe they can help me write an ending as well. Because I have no clue what to do."

Lucia pauses, and I can see her trying to decide on whether or not to speak. I roll my eyes.

"Just say it. I'm surprised you've held out this long, if I'm being honest. Come on, spit it out."

"Okay. I just have one question. Nico makes you happy. And I can tell you love him. What exactly is holding you back?"

"A long history of issues between us and the fact that we're not exactly normal people. He's the Don of a crime syndicate, Lucia. And there's no way that's not going to have an effect on our relationship. I know he would do anything for me. But what if one day that's not the case anymore?"

Lucia arches an eyebrow before clearing her throat.

Okay, you're going to kill me for this, but just listen. Over the past few years, Nico and I have been in contact?—"

My eyes widen at that but she barrels on before I can speak.

"He got in touch with me about two years after we left home. He said he was reaching out because he was worried about us. And I'm sorry, Rory, but I also missed him. You weren't the only one that had to leave everything behind."

I feel myself grow paler, stricken at that.

Lucia continues, "I don't want you to start thinking you made a mistake. I understand why you did what you did. We almost died, and you wanted us to be safe. You were protecting us, and I know now that it was the right choice. We couldn't protect ourselves then. And Papa seemed to be doing a shitty job of it. You did the right thing, Rory, but it hurt that I had to leave. I lost contact with all my friends, with Nico, Camila, everyone I knew, and it was a little lonely. When Nico got in touch with me, I was happy."

"I didn't realize."

"And I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't approve. But he and I would just text occasionally. He'd ask how we were, if there were ever any problems. You remember that guy who tried to assault you in your junior year of college?"

My eyes darken at the memory. "Vividly," I grit out.

"Well, I told Nico about him because I was angry no one was doing anything about it. And I didn't follow up, but I'm pretty sure Nico made him disappear."

My eyes widen. It suddenly hits me that I never saw that guy around campus again after that night. Sabrina and I went to a party, and this guy approached me, wanting to hook up. He was pretty charming about it, too. But I refused because I knew about his reputation for sexually harassing girls. He tried to force me into going with him. I ended up punching him in the jaw and asking him to fuck off. Thankfully he did because I was also alone at the time. I called Lucia afterward to rant about it and the fact that guys like that never get any punishment for their actions.

I guess she made sure he did get punished. And she used the devil himself to do that.

My head falls into my hands, and I let out a soft breath.

"You shouldn't have gotten him involved, Lucia."

I'm not sure that guy deserved whatever horrors Nico unleashed on him.

"I'd do it again, given the chance," my sister states. "But that's not the point. He's always been there for you, Aurora. You might not have seen him, but over the past ten years, Nico has been working behind the scenes, protecting you. He kept us safe even when you left him behind. He never forgot about us."

My eyes well up with tears. "I'm just scared, Lucia. I'm scared I'll make a mistake that'll ruin us both. And now I even have a baby to think about. It's not that simple anymore."

My sister sighs. "Are you going to tell him about the baby?"

I probably should. I hate that I'm keeping it from him. He deserves to know about it, but I'm not even sure how he'll react. I don't want this baby to be the reason we get back together.

"I'm not sure, Luce."