HIS FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 261 - チャプター 270

The first thing I registered when I woke was the sour taste in my mouth. My body felt heavy, sluggish, as if I had been swimming through smoke all night. For a moment, I thought maybe it was just exhaustion. After all, Lorenzo and I hadn’t exactly taken it easy last night. My body still throbbed in places I didn’t dare acknowledge out loud.But then the bitter tang coated my tongue again, and I groaned, rolling onto my side. My stomach clenched hard, a sharp warning that had me bolting upright before I could think.Oh God.The bile surged up my throat without mercy. I barely managed to fling the sheets back and stumble toward the bathroom. My knees almost gave out as I hit the tile floor and clutched the toilet, retching violently. My entire body convulsed as wave after wave tore through me.I was dimly aware of the heavy thud of footsteps—Lorenzo’s footsteps—crossing the suite in seconds. Then his hand was there, firm and steady, sweeping my hair away from my face with a tenderness t

I don’t know how long I stood there in the bathroom, clutching the little stick in my trembling hand, staring at the two faint lines that had altered the very fabric of my life. Seconds? Minutes? An eternity?The tears wouldn’t stop. They slid hot and steady down my cheeks, dampening my lips, dripping onto the test I held so tightly I feared I might break it. My reflection in the mirror was blurred through the mist of them—me, but not me. Me, but new. Me, but more.Pregnant.The word had been repeating in my head like a song, like a prayer. Pregnant. With Lorenzo’s child. With the man who had cracked me open, put me back together, and made me believe in love again.I pressed my palm to my stomach, barely daring to breathe. Was there really life there? A heartbeat waiting to be formed? A future growing quietly inside me? It felt impossible and yet… so true.And then another thought struck me, one even stronger. I needed to tell him.Lorenzo.The father of this child. The man whose arms

The world went dark the moment Lorenzo’s hand slipped over my eyes.“Lorenzo,” I laughed, swatting blindly at his wrist as I stumbled forward, his other arm firm around my waist, guiding me through God knows where. “Where are you taking me? You know I don’t like surprises.”“Ah, but that’s a lie, amore,” he murmured near my ear, his voice low and husky, carrying that Italian lilt that always melted me. “You love surprises. At least the ones from me.”“Hmm,” I hummed, pretending to be unconvinced even as my heart fluttered. “Depends. If you’re leading me into shark-infested waters, I’m going to kill you before they do.”His chuckle rumbled against my back. “Sharks would never dare touch you. You’re mine. Protected.”Protected. That word always hit me differently when it came from him. “Come on, babe,” I whined softly, dragging the word out like a petulant child. “Just tell me already.”“Patience,” he whispered, and then his hand tightened slightly over my eyes. “Almost there.”The air

The crisp Italian air kissed my skin the moment the jet door opened, chasing away the last traces of Maldives heat. I tightened my fingers around Lorenzo’s as we descended the steps. Home.The word felt different now. Softer. Fuller. Maybe it was the glow of the trip still lingering in my veins, or maybe it was the man whose hand anchored me to the present. Either way, the moment my heels touched the tarmac, a bubble of happiness swelled inside me until it was impossible to keep the smile from stretching across my face.Lorenzo matched my grin with one of his own—small but devastating in its quiet confidence. He moved ahead of me to open the car door, a smooth, practiced gesture that still made my heart skip like a schoolgirl’s.“Grazie,” I murmured as I slid into the back seat, the buttery leather cool against my legs.He followed, closing the door with a soft click before settling beside me. The car purred to life, carrying us away from the private runway and into the shadowed swee

The silence on the other end of the line crawled beneath my skin like ice water.George never hesitated. He was clean, precise, efficient—like a blade honed sharp enough to cut through bone with one strike. For him to pause, for him to sound… unsettled?It was wrong.“What do you mean, George?” My voice was flat, low, clipped. The kind of tone that made most men falter, but George wasn’t most men. Still, I heard him take a slow breath, as though weighing what he could risk saying out loud.“Sir,” he said, his voice almost a whisper, “it’s not something I can say over the phone.”My jaw tightened. “Then say it carefully.”“No.” The word cut sharp, decisive, carrying a weight I hadn’t heard from him in years. “We can’t trust anyone right now. Not your men. Not your walls. Not the silence of your own home. She’s a snake, Boss. A dangerous one. And if I’m right…” His voice trailed, leaving the unfinished thought heavy in the air, a shadow crawling across my chest.A snake.Amanda.I alrea