HE KNEW

LENA A small cake sat between us on the table in our room. Niccolò handed me the knife. “You should cut it.” My hands shook a little as I pressed the blade through the soft layers. For a second the centre stayed hidden. Then pink spilled into view. A girl. My eyes filled before I could stop them. I looked up at Niccolò. He was already staring at me, smiling in that rare, unguarded way that still undid me. He pulled me into a hug, arms tight around my shoulders. “I already knew it would be a girl.” I laughed through the tears against his chest. “You’re just saying that now.” “I’m not.” He kissed my forehead, then rested his hand carefully on my stomach. His voice dropped, soft enough that it felt like it belonged only to the three of us. “Your father already loves you. You hear me? Already.” I covered his hand with mine and held on. We called Alessia next. She barely got out a hello before I blurted the news. There was half a second of silence, then a full scream through the

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BACK IN HIS ARMS

LENA I shut myself away from everyone. Meals sat untouched until someone quietly cleared them. The house felt too big and too empty at the same time, every room carrying the weight of a truth I still didn’t know how to hold. I thought about the baby more than anything else now. The small, impossible life growing under my ribs while the rest of my world cracked open around it. For a brief, terrible moment, I even wondered if it would be easier to walk away from all of it. From Niccolò. From the Santoro name. From everything tied to this life. I hated myself for the thought the second it crossed my mind. To avoid being in the same space as him, I started spending most of my time at the foundation. Arriving early, staying late. Letting the work fill the hours so I wouldn’t have to walk into a house that still smelled like him and felt like a lie. Mia noticed. Of course she did. She didn’t push, she just appeared at my desk with tea she hadn’t been asked to bring and left me alone

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TOGETHER

LENA Chaos. Niccolò was out of bed before I had fully processed the words still hanging in the air. Clothes, keys. His voice already raised for the staff down the hall. “Get the car ready. Now.” He was back at my side in seconds, hands steady under my arms helping me up. “Breathe,” he said. “You’re all right. Everything is going to be fine. I’ve got you.” The pain came in waves on the way to the hospital. I gripped his hand so tightly I was sure it must have hurt, but he never pulled away. His other hand stayed at the back of my neck, grounding. “Look at me,” he murmured when a particularly sharp contraction stole my breath. “You’re doing so well. Almost there. Stay with me.” Neither of us knew how much longer it would be. He said it anyway. At the hospital everything moved fast. Doctors checking, speaking in calm clipped sentences I only half heard. The pain grew stronger with each wave. During one especially hard contraction I screamed, fingers locked around Niccolò’s hand

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Semua Bab His Arranged Protection: Bab 151 - Bab 153

HE KNEW

BACK IN HIS ARMS

TOGETHER