Chapter 4

"Hey, Lucas. Think Ivy's gonna confess again? In front of the whole family this time?"

"How many times is that now? Man, I'm tired just watching her."

The room burst out laughing.

Then came Lucas's lazy voice.

"Let her. She wants to be my girlfriend. Other than that, she's pretty easy to have around."

Someone laughed and pushed him. "What if one day she just stops talking to you?"

"She won't."

Lucas answered like it was nothing. "She'll never leave me."

I stood outside the door. My hand, which had been about to push it open, slowly lost all its strength.

That was the first time I didn't use a joke to hint at how I felt.

When dinner ended, Lucas stopped me himself and asked, awkwardly, if I had something I wanted to say.

I shook my head. My silence seemed to make him angry. He took me straight to a hotel, insisting out of spite that I spell it out for him.

I still don't want to think about what happened after that.

When he woke up the next day, he was convinced I had set him up. He wouldn't even give me a chance to explain.

That night, I also lost the last bit of hope I had been lying to myself with.

The screech of brakes yanked me out of the memory.

The Bentley pulled into an underground garage beneath a Romano-owned building. Lucas unbuckled his seatbelt without looking at me.

I looked at his profile. I still wanted to tell him the truth about that night.

"Lucas. That night. We actually..."

"Anna? Hey. Don't be scared. I'm on my way."

He had suddenly answered a call, his voice urgent.

The next second, he pushed the door open and got out, rushing off before I could even finish my sentence.

The sound of the car locking came right after.

I stared after him in a daze and slapped my hand against the window a few times.

Only then did it sink in. The Anna he was talking about was the heiress from another family, the one who had turned him down years ago.

I waited for a long time, from dusk all the way past midnight.

I tried to reach Lucas, but I never got an answer.

In the end, I still didn't dare call Chloe.

I didn't want her to worry. And I was even more afraid that Lucas would think I was making a big deal out of nothing and ruining his night with the woman he loved.

In the end, the dizziness from the lack of air swallowed me whole.

......

When I woke up again, the smell of disinfectant filled my nose, and I could hear Mrs. Romano's furious voice.

"Lucas! Do you even have a heart?"

"She's pregnant! You knew that! And you locked her in a car? All night?"

"What if something happened to her? To the baby? Could you live with that?"

My mother was trying to calm her down. "She's awake. That's what matters. Let's not fight. She's still weak. She can't take any more stress."

I coughed lightly, and they both rushed to the bed.

My mother took my hand, her eyes full of worry. "Oh, Ivy. You're finally awake."

"The doctor said you're way too weak. You almost lost the baby. Promise me. No more of this. Ever."

Mrs. Romano looked guilty. She shot her son a glare, then forced a smile. Two Romano soldiers stood outside the hospital room.

"That's right, sweetheart. You just rest. I'll keep this boy on a short leash. He won't bother you again."

The way she said it, it almost sounded like I was the one who kept chasing after Lucas.

Before I could say anything, he cut his mother off, his face cold. "I'm the one who keeps going to her. Don't make it sound like she's dying to see me."

Then, a little stiffly, he picked up the nourishing soup by the bed and held a spoonful to my lips.

I didn't open my mouth. I just scooted over to the other side of the bed.

Lucas's face darkened at once. He set the bowl down hard on the table, and a few drops of soup splashed out.

"You won't eat? Fine. Something happens to the baby, that's on you."

Suddenly, I found it ridiculous.

He was the one who had said, in his own words, that this baby had nothing to do with him. Now he was acting like he was responsible for it.

"The baby has a father." I looked at him calmly. "You don't have to worry about it."

Lucas's face went cold.

"You're in your first trimester. I'm not doing this with you right now."

"I got all the baby stuff. Looked it up online. Just take care of yourself."

Only then did I notice the bags piled all around the bed. Bottles, swaddles, baby clothes. Everything.

He still had it wrong.

He was clearly still convinced I was denying the baby was his to make him give in, so I could secure my place as the Romano family's future Donna.

Both our mothers were there, so I wanted to use the chance to make everything clear.

But before I could say a word, the door swung open.

A slim, beautiful woman walked in.

Anna.