Page 43 of Deadly Don's Baby Contract

“Upstairs, boss,” one says, side-stepping me to stay out of my way.

“Aria,” I call again. Why is she so fucking stubborn and defiant? Just answer me. The doors to our bedroom are closed, and I’m about to storm through them when I stop. She has lied to me about everything, putting my family and my child at risk. I am not sure I am ready to have this talk with her yet.

I knock on the door to my room and wonder how the fuck I got here? “Can I come in?” I ask through the closed doors.

“I don’t know, can you?” She is snarky even now. “It is your house, Franco.” It is my house, but she made it my home, and now I am not sure where I want to be. I open the door slowly, not knowing the state of the woman behind it. She killed three men today. I do not want to be number four.

“Are you okay?” I ask cautiously, forcing my anger down. “Is the baby okay? Do I need to call the doctor?”

“We are fine,” she says, coming from the bathroom where she’s taken a shower. “I told you I can look after myself,” she says, pulling the towel off her wet hair. Aria is beautiful even now, like this, vulnerable and bare of any mask.

“I don’t even know who you are,” I say. Looking at her, my heart aches. “I love you, but is it even you I fell in love with? You have kept so much from me. Your brother—”

“My brother is a weak coward, and he is the reason I walked away from this life. I chose to forget the Mafia because I knew he would get me killed or sell me off to pay his debts. My brother is dead to me after today.”

“He’s in the basement. I will let you decide what to do with him. It’s been hard not to kill him myself.” She understands that this is a truce and that I am giving him to her out of respect because her and I are not that different.

“We need to talk, Franco, really talk.”

“I love you, Aria, but now isn’t the time.” I can’t do this, looking at her half-naked. I forget who I am when I am with her. “I love you, and I am happy you are home safely, but I am going to stay at the city apartment for a while. I need to clear my head.” And my heart, because she is going to break it.

“You don’t have to leave. I’ll go back to the lake,” she says, her voice soft and warm.

“No, you will stay here where I know you’re safe.” I am not risking having her anywhere else, not again. “I just need some space, Aria.” She has to understand how this makes me look and how I feel, knowing it has all been a lie. I’m not sure I can even trust myself right now.

“Franco, you don’t have to go,” she says, and I want to break and stay with her. To pull her into our bed and make love to her and forget the world. But I can’t allow her to cloud my judgment anymore.

“This is for the best, Aria.” If I don’t walk away now, I won’t have the willpower to do it. “Deal with your brother as you see fit, but if I see him again, he will regret it.” She nods, and I leave my heart in the room with her as I walk away. Why was I stupid enough to fall in love?

Luca is waiting outside to take me to the penthouse above our offices in the city. He is loyal to a fault. But today, even he looks as if he’s questioning my judgment and my ability to do my job.

Chapter 16

Aria

Franco just walked out. There is something different between us now that he knows the truth—a respect that wasn’t there before he knew. I showered the blood off my body, but I still feel filthy, like what I did will somehow touch my child.

“Aria,” my brother says with a groan when I eventually go down to find him where Franco left him. “Help me, please.”

“No,” I say, not this time. “He didn’t kill you, only because he respects me. But if he sees you again, you will not be so lucky.” Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I can’t do this right now. I’m not sure if it’s hormones or I have gone soft being away. I just can’t.

“Aria,” he begs, and I turn my back on my only family. “Don’t turn your back on me, you bitch.” His anger slips out, and the true colors shine even in desperation.

“I turned my back long ago, brother.” I will decide what to do about this later. He yells, cusses, and spits vulgar words at me until I shut the door and close his voice out of my head and life. Right now, I have to see if my marriage can be saved. Franco and I need some space and time to process the carnage of my lies and the truth that has come out now.

I can’t ever outrun my past; I am who I am, and I was foolish to think otherwise. My child faces the same future, born in blood and bound by the rules of omertà. We can never be normal, and we can’t ever tell anyone about it. Maybe that’s why I fell in love with Franco. Underneath the lies, we understood one another—the obligation to family above all else.

***

It’s been days, and the guilt that Franco left his home so I’d be safe is eating at me. That and I miss him, this time he hasn’t even called me. I know he checks in with security and that he knows I am safe — but he hasn’t reached out to me.

I’m afraid that we have broken this marriage beyond repair, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lose him, no matter how hard I try; even now, I can’t make myself stop loving him. This enormous house feels smaller than a prison cell. The walls are closing in on me, and even a walk in the garden isn’t enough. I can’t breathe, and it’s not just living in captivity. It is Franco. I can’t breathe without him; this baby needs a father, and I do not want to do this alone.

“Aria.” I hear Giulia downstairs. Her voice is a welcome break in the silence of my own company. “Are you here?”

“Where the fuck would I go? Your brother would kill me if I tried to leave right now. They haven’t found Vito.” I say, looking down from the upstairs landing. She laughs, and I know at least one other person in my life understands just a little of what has happened. “I’m coming down.” Vito—I wish they’d just kill him and be done with it. He’s the root of all my problems right now.

“Is there food in this house?” she calls, already on her way into the kitchen. “You are eating for two. Are you taking your vitamins? It’s important to look after yourself.” I roll my eyes.

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