جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 107

* Miranda *When the doors closed behind us, the silence I felt was different. Not the tense quiet of hiding or the suffocating stillness of waiting to be found. This silence breathed.I stood there for a second longer than I meant to, my hand instinctively pressing against the curve of my stomach. Seven months now. The weight of it was no longer something I could ignore. Every movement reminded me, of life, of fragility, of what we were risking.And yet, for the first time since we left, my chest loosened."This place." I whispered, my voice barely carrying through the open space.It didn't feel like one of De Luca's extra properties. Like the last one, there were no sharp edges of control. No invisible eyes watching from the walls or cameras. No cold luxury meant to impress power.This place felt, like a home to live in. Or maybe it was waiting to be. I took a slow step forward. Then another.The wooden floor beneath my feet was warm, solid. The faint scent of pine and something cle

* Miranda *I didn't ask him what the call was about when he answered his phone. The moment the phone rang, I felt it, the shift. The air changed around him. The warmth that had wrapped around us only seconds ago turned sharp, as something invisible had cut through it. Lorenzo didn't raise his voice. But I could tell based on his expression. The silence between his words said enough.And I knew him now. Not just the man who held me gently or spoke to our son like he already existed in his arms, but the man who carried danger in his shadow.When he turned back to me, he tried to bury it. I saw the effort in the way his expression softened, in the way his hand returned to my face like nothing had happened. But I had already seen it. And I had heard just enough.Fifty million. The number echoed in my head long after he spoke again, long after he promised me everything would be fine. My fingers tightened slightly against his shirt as he leaned into me, his forehead resting against mine li

* Miranda *The days passed then turned into weeks, leading up to my due felt, strangely complete. Not calm. Not entirely peaceful. But settled in a way I hadn't allowed myself to feel before. Everything was ready.The small room Lorenzo had prepared had slowly transformed into something softer, something warmer than anything his world should have allowed. The crib stood near the window, sunlight brushing over it every morning like a quiet promise. The tiny clothes were folded neatly, some I had arranged myself despite the nurse insisting I should rest.I needed to do it. To touch every piece of what was waiting for our son and make it real. Because for so long, nothing in my life had been certain. But this. This was.My hand rested over my stomach as I stood there, feeling the slow, heavy shift of him inside me. Seven months had turned into eight. Eight into nine. Every movement now was stronger. Demanding to be born. Alive and kicking."You're impatient," I whispered softly, a faint

* Miranda *The world came back to me in fragments before I opened my eyes. First, the quiet. Not the suffocating silence I had grown used to, but the kind that meant danger was near, that something was about to happen. This silence was soft. It breathed. It wrapped around me like warm sheets, like something safe.Then the ache of my whole body. A deep, lingering soreness settled in my stomach, heavy and undeniable. My limbs felt weak, my chest rising slowly as if even breathing required effort. But beneath it all, there was something else.Something lighter. I remembered I gave birth, pushing my son oug of me. I felt my heart swell with gladness. My eyes fluttered open.The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, but I didn't panic. Not this time. My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, and I know. Flat. Not completely, not yet, but empty in a way it hadn't been for months.My heart skipped. The memories rushed back all at once pain, voices, the doctor, Lorenzo's hand gripping mine, his