Chapter Nineteen

Elara pov

The house felt different when I woke up.

Not brighter. Not quieter.

Just… lighter.

Like something heavy had finally lifted from the walls.

For the first time in weeks, I didn’t wake up with dread sitting on my chest. No sharp panic. No sickening fear that today might be the day I got a call saying Dante was gone.

I lay on my back, one hand resting on my stomach, staring at the ceiling.

Alive.

The word still felt unreal.

My phone was on the bedside table, screen dark, but the memory of the hospital call replayed in my head over and over.

The surgery was successful.

I let out a slow breath.

I hadn’t cried after that first wave. Not properly. Just sat there in silence, shaking, like my body didn’t know what to do with relief.

Now it was sinking in.

He was alive.

Not out of danger completely. Not magically healed.

But alive.

And for someone like Dante, that felt like a miracle.

I pushed myself up slowly, careful the way I’d learned to be lately. My body was changing in ways I still wasn’t used to. My waist felt softer. My breasts are heavier. Even getting out of bed took a little more effort than it used to.

I walked to the window and pulled the curtains aside.

Morning light flooded the room.

The garden looked the same. Perfect. Controlled. Too beautiful to match how chaotic everything had been inside me for weeks.

I pressed my palm to the glass.

“Your father is still here,” I whispered softly.

The words felt strange.

But good.

Downstairs, I heard voices.

Male voices.

One of them I recognized instantly.

Luca.

I frowned slightly.

He was back?

I hadn’t seen him since Dante left.

I changed quickly and headed down, my heart oddly calm for once.

When I reached the living room, Luca was standing near the couch, on his phone, speaking quietly in Italian. He looked tired. Travel-tired. The kind of tired you get when you’ve been carrying too many secrets.

He noticed me and ended the call immediately.

“Elara,” he said, his voice warm. “You’re up.”

“Luca,” I smiled. “You’re back.”

He nodded, eyes flicking briefly to my stomach before returning to my face. “I just arrived.”

“How is he?” I asked without thinking.

He paused.

Just for a second.

Then smiled. “Strong as ever.”

That wasn’t an answer.

But it was enough.

I exhaled slowly.

We stood there in silence for a moment, something unspoken hanging between us. Luca had always known more than he said. About Dante. About the illness. About everything.

“You look better,” he added gently.

“So do you,” I replied.

He gave a small laugh. “That’s a lie.”

Before I could respond, the front door opened.

And everything shifted.

Heels clicked against marble.

Slow. Confidence. Familiar.

My stomach tightened instinctively.

**************

Alicia.

She walked in like she owned the place. As if nothing had changed. As if the last few weeks hadn’t existed.

Perfect hair. Perfect makeup. Perfect posture.

Her eyes scanned the room.

Not landing on me at first.

“Elara,” she said coolly, finally acknowledging my presence. “You’re home.”

“Yes,” I replied simply.

Her gaze moved past me. “Where’s Dante?”

The question was sharp. Direct. Possessive.

Luca straightened slightly beside me.

“He’s not here,” he said calmly.

Alicia frowned. “Not here?”

“He’s out of town,” Luca replied.

Her eyes narrowed instantly. “Out of town?”

“Yes.”

She crossed her arms. “Since when does Dante leave without telling me?”

I felt her attention shift toward me, sharp and suspicious.

“And you?” she asked. “You know where he is?”

I held her gaze. “I was told he traveled.”

“For what?” she pressed.

I opened my mouth

Luca spoke first.

“Business.”

Alicia laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “Business?”

“Yes,” Luca repeated. “Important meetings.”

Her eyes flicked between the two of us.

Something in her expression changed.

Not anger.

Calculation.

“So he didn’t think to inform his fiancée,” she said slowly. “But his brother knows.”

Luca didn’t react. “Dante doesn’t need permission to travel.”

“That’s not what I said.”

Alicia turned fully toward me now.

“And you,” she said quietly. “You just happened to stay behind.”

I felt heat crawl up my spine.

“I live here,” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Her lips curved slightly. “Funny.”

“What’s funny?” I asked.

“The timing,” she said. “He disappears. You stay. And suddenly Luca shows up.”

Luca stepped forward subtly, placing himself slightly in front of me.

“Watch your tone,” he said calmly.

Alicia’s eyes flashed. “Excuse me?”

“You’re not going to interrogate her like that,” Luca continued. “If you have questions, ask Dante when he returns.”

Her jaw tightened.

“And when exactly is that?” she demanded.

Luca shrugged. “Soon.”

That was another lie.

Alicia knew it.

I saw it in her eyes.

She turned back to me slowly, her gaze dropping briefly to my stomach before returning to my face.

“Enjoy the quiet,” she said softly. “It never lasts.”

Then she walked past us and headed toward the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Luca asked.

“To his office,” she replied. “If he’s not here, at least I can see what he left behind.”

Luca didn’t move.

But I felt the tension spike.

He followed her a few steps.

“Alicia,” he said, his voice still calm but firmer now. “That’s private.”

She stopped and turned.

“So is my engagement,” she said coldly. “Yet here we are.”

Silence stretched.

The kind that made my skin prickle.

Finally, Luca spoke again.

“He’s not here. You won’t find what you’re looking for.”

Alicia studied him carefully.

Then she smiled.

A slow, dangerous smile.

“We’ll see.”

She turned and walked back toward the door instead.

Her heels echoed against the floor.

Just before leaving, she glanced at me one last time.

“Take care of yourself, Elara,” she said sweetly. “Stress isn’t good for… your condition.”

My throat tightened.

She knew.

Not everything.

But enough.

Then she left.

The door closed behind her with a soft, final sound.

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I released it.

Luca turned toward me immediately.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, though my hands were shaking slightly.

“She’s dangerous,” he said quietly.

“I know.”

He studied me for a moment. “You should be careful around her.”

I gave a small, sad smile. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

Luca looked at my stomach again, softer this time.

“He’s really alive,” he said.

“Yes.”

“And recovering?”

“Yes.”

He exhaled slowly. “Good.”

We stood there in silence again.

But this time, the air felt heavier.

Not with fear.

With anticipation.

Because Alicia wasn’t stupid.

She hadn’t gotten answers.

And people like her didn’t stop until they found them.

Later that night, alone in my room, I sat on the edge of the bed, replaying everything.

The call.

Luca’s arrival.

Alicia’s questions.

Her eyes.

The way they lingered on my stomach.

I pressed my hand there again.

“You’re safe,” I whispered. “For now.”

But deep down, something uneasy twisted inside me.

Not about Dante.

Not about the baby.

About Alicia.

Because she hadn’t gotten the truth.

And the most dangerous people were always the ones left in the dark.