Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia Boss's Pregnant Bride: Kabanata 241 - Kabanata 250

Landon stood just outside the door, his back pressed lightly against the cool wood. He could hear her breathing slow, the subtle shift from guarded alertness to tentative rest. For a moment, he let himself breathe too.He glanced down at his hands, still stained faintly from earlier struggles—both physical and emotional. Taking care of Daphne wasn’t just about the wounds on her ribs. It was about the cracks he could see beneath her tough exterior, the quiet battles no one else knew she fought.The doctor would be here soon, but Landon knew this was only the beginning. He needed to earn her trust. And trust was something Daphne didn’t seem to give freely.He didn’t expect her to let her guard down quickly, and he wasn’t going to push. She had every right to be cautious, especially of him.But for tonight, she was safe.He pushed himself off the door and walked to the kitchen, filling a kettle with water and setting it on the gas burner. The blue flame flickered to life, casting dancing

Landon stood at the stove, his back to her, flipping pancakes with practiced ease. His hair was slightly messed up, and he was shirtless.Because, of course, he was.Daphne stared at the sculpted muscles of his broad shoulders and gulped.Memories of them coupling that night came flooding back. Her body tingled at the thought of those hands all over her again.“I’m not hungry,” she lied, even as her stomach betrayed her with a low growl.She was also hungry for something else entirely.He glanced over his shoulder, a knowing smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “Your stomach disagrees.” He gestured toward the small wooden table where two plates waited. “Sit. You need to eat.”Daphne remained in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t take orders from you.”Landon turned fully now, spatula in hand, his expression caught between amusement and exasperation. “It’s not an order. It’s breakfast.” He slid a perfect golden pancake onto a waiting plate. “And you lost a lot of b

Max blinked, one hand still on the doorframe. “Define ‘detour.’”“We’re hitting the compound,” Landon said, tone flat and final.Max’s mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. “I thought I had misheard you. Say that again. Slowly.”“We’re going back to the compound,” Landon repeated.Max stepped fully into the room, eyes darting between Landon and Daphne. “That compound? The fortress crawling with Marquez’s most loyal psychos? The one we escaped by the skin of our teeth two days ago?”“That’s the one,” Landon said grimly.Daphne lifted her chin. “There’s a child there. Ella. She’s… she’s in danger. We’re not leaving her.”Max stared at her. “You’re kidding.”“I’m not.”Max looked like he was weighing the risks on an invisible scale, then promptly dropped the whole thing and ran a hand over his face. “Both of you are crazy.”“I won’t leave without her,” Daphne said quietly.Max paused, his gaze lingering on her a moment too long before sighing and muttering, “Goddamn it.”“We need

Max rolled to a stop and a hidden camera above the door blinked green.Landon stepped out first, scanning the treeline before motioning for the others. “Let’s move.”Daphne slid out, cradling Ella, who clung to her. Landon keyed in a code on a rusted panel that sprang open with a hiss. The door clicked and swung inward.They entered a narrow hallway, the air cool and dry. Lights buzzed on automatically, revealing a series of reinforced steel doors, an old map of the forest pinned to the wall, and a locked weapons cache built into the stone.“Zoya really outdid herself,” Max muttered, already heading toward the back room. “Place is clean. No heat signatures. No signs of breach.”Daphne glanced around, holding Ella close. “What was this place?”“Cold War hideout,” Landon answered, closing the door behind them. “Decommissioned decades ago. Now it’s off-grid, unlisted, and stocked with supplies.”Daphne laid Ella down gently on a cot in the corner. The girl didn’t resist, but she watched

Daphne stirred, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks as consciousness crept in slowly, reluctantly.She was warm.Too warm.Her brow furrowed before she realized. Landon’s arm was still wrapped around her waist, his chest pressed snugly against her back, their legs tangled beneath the blanket like it was the most natural thing in the world.For one breathless moment, she didn’t move.She listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat.It should’ve felt wrong. Unsafe. Stupid.Instead, it felt…nice.Her body betrayed her, melting a little deeper into the space they shared.Then Landon shifted, his nose brushing lightly against the back of her neck. He mumbled something incoherent, his arm tightening ever so slightly before loosening again, instinctively holding her even in sleep.Daphne swallowed hard and forced herself to sit up.She moved carefully, trying not to wake him. But the second the mattress dipped, his eyes blinked open—sleepy, unfocused, and frustratingly fond.“You’re up,” he