Chapter 1

I reached the door and was about to ask a butler to bring me my coat when my husband, Luca Moretti, caught up with me.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired and want to lie down for a while," I replied.

Luca let out a sigh of relief, took my coat, and helped me put it on.

"The elders are still waiting for us to cut the Christmas cake together. If you wanted to leave, you should have told me first."

The door opened, and a gush of cold air rushed inside.

Luca took off his scarf and wrapped it around my neck. Then he told the guards to bring the car around to the entrance.

Luca's friend, Marco Gallo, followed us. Luca turned to him and spoke in Valdorian.

"I've arranged the doctors and nurses for her, but she still insists on having me with her. See? I haven't even left, and she's already upset.

"Elena would never behave like this. Whenever she called, she was afraid of interrupting my work."

I lowered my head and pulled my hair free from beneath the scarf.

Luca turned to me and held my hand tightly. "I'm sorry I can't stay with you tonight. Two families in Besselton got into a dispute at the docks. I need to go there and help settle things."

I looked at him. "Do you really have to leave tonight?"

"The plane is ready." He gently rubbed my hand. "Call me right away if anything happens. I'll come right back to be with you."

Behind us, Marco asked if he should still arrange Luca's return flight for tomorrow.

Luca answered in Valdorian, "Cancel it for now. We'll figure out the rest after Elena gives birth and gets settled."

Luca's shirt collar was turned up. I started to reach out to straighten it, but stopped myself.

Instead, I simply pulled my hand from his.

Luca followed my gaze and adjusted his collar, giving me a helpless smile.

"Are you still mad at me?"

Suddenly, his phone rang. Luca glanced at the caller's name and answered at once.

He softened his voice as he spoke in Valdorian.

"Don't be scared. I'll leave right away. Rosa is coming with me, too. She's cared for children before. With her there, you'll be able to sleep without worrying."

I stared at Luca.

Rosa Marino was the woman Luca had specifically hired to take care of me after we got married.

I had only just moved into the estate back then. I couldn't get used to the food, and I often had trouble sleeping.

He introduced Rosa to me and told her that her only job was to look after me. She didn't have to do anything else around the house.

When she learned I was pregnant, Rosa even offered to stay with me in the delivery room.

Earlier in the afternoon, she had held my hand and reassured me that everything we had prepared for the baby was already packed in my hospital bag.

Luca hung up, called over his assistant, and reached for my handbag.

"There are a lot of family matters to deal with tonight. Let my assistant answer your calls for now. Don't keep checking every message. It'll only make it harder for you to sleep."

I slipped my phone back into my coat pocket and took my handbag from him.

"I'm waiting for a message from my doctor," I said.

Luca didn't push it any further. "Everything's arranged at the hospital. The guards will escort you upstairs. Just get some rest when you arrive."

"What about Rosa?"

"She's coming to Besselton with me."

I said nothing.

Luca bent down to look at me. "Rosa has some personal business in Besselton, so she might as well take my plane. There'll be nurses to look after you here. I've already taken care of everything."

"But Rosa promised she'd be with me in the delivery room."

"Isn't it the same if I spend time with you when I get back?"

Luca glanced at his watch.

I loosened my grip on my handbag. "Fine. Go ahead."

Luca opened the car door for me, leaned in to fasten my seat belt, and rested his palm against my belly through my clothes.

"I'll return as soon as things are settled there. I'll make it up to you for missing Christmas together, too."

He kissed my forehead. "Text me when you get to the hospital. Don't make me worry."

Then he closed the car door.

Before I could look away, I saw Rosa coming down the steps with a suitcase. Luca took it from her and opened the door of another car for her.

Rosa glanced in my direction.

I raised my hand, but before I could wave, she had already gotten in the car.

Luca got in after her without looking back.

I lowered my hand and touched the scarf around my neck. It was still warm with Luca's body heat.

In our first year of marriage, I had developed a high fever in the middle of the night and was taken to the ER.

Luca had been negotiating a truce with another family when he got the call. He stood up and left without even drinking the glass of wine his rival had offered him.

When he arrived, snow still clung to his shoulders. Luca took off his scarf, wrapped it around me, and held my hand while he waited for my fever to break.

"Next time, call me. Don't ask anyone else whether I'm busy."

One of his men came to the hospital and told him the other family was still waiting. The man asked when Luca planned to return.

Luca didn't even look up. "My wife is still on an IV. They can wait."

That night, he stayed with me until dawn.

I had once believed he would always be that way.

The car pulled out of the estate, and the driver told me we would reach the hospital in 20 minutes.

I murmured a reply, took off the scarf, and laid it on the seat beside me.

I had never deleted Mom's number from my contacts.

Before I left home, Dad asked what I would do if Luca ever treated me badly.

Without a second thought, I had told him Luca never would.

My family had tried to contact me several times since then, but I had never replied.

I opened my chat with Mom. Her last message asked how married life was treating me.

After all this time, I finally typed a reply.

"Mom, I want to leave Luca. Can you and Dad help me?"

After sending the message, I kept staring at the screen.

Before long, Mom called.

She asked before I could say a single word, "Where are you right now? Is someone there with you?"

"I'm on the way to the hospital."

My voice suddenly caught in my throat.

"Mom, I'm about to give birth."

"Send me the hospital address. Your dad will contact the doctor, and I'll come over right away."