Page 156 of Milo

"I don't?" I peer up at the IV drip. "What is this for?"

"Hydration." I whip my head to the door as Dr. Giardini enters the room with a clipboard in hand. "Hello, Kiara, welcome back. How do you feel?"

"Good? I think? My head doesn't hurt as much anymore.” I sit up, Milo refusing to let go of my hand. "I don't have a concussion? Really?"

"Yes," Aldo confirms, flipping through the documents. "All your injuries were superficial and minor."

I frown. Didn't feel minor last night. "Then why did I faint?"

"There is only so much stress and fatigue a person can take, Kiara," Aldo explains. "This was your body's way of letting you know that you need to slow down and relax." He looks down at Milo. "However, since Milo refused to believe my initial diagnosis, I have the last of your lab results here."

"Lab results?" I ask, glancing at Milo. "For what?"

"I thought perhaps Marchello had drugged you," Milo says in a bitter tone. "I did not want to take any chances." He nods at the clipboard. "So, everything is normal?"

"We found no trace of sedatives in your blood. However—" Aldo purses his lips, his gaze darting between me and Milo. "We did discover high levels of hCG."

Milo blinks, glancing at me as I take another sip of water. "hCG? What is that?"

"Human chorionic gonadotropin hormone." Aldo clears his throat as he elaborates gingerly, "It's a hormone only produced during pregnancy."

"What?!" Water spurts out of my nose. "Pregnancy?!" My gaze darts to Milo who's grinning, a glow of pride in his dark eyes. "But I can't...get pregnant. I have?—"

"Are you sure?" Milo asks, his tone hopeful. "She is pregnant?"

Aldo nods. "Yes, roughly five weeks."

My jaw drops. "Five weeks?! How is that even—" I pause, attempting to calculate my last period. Fuck, it's always irregular. Sometimes it doesn't even come. The last time was— Shit. We should’ve used a condom. It completely slipped my mind. "Oh God." I gasp, jerking upright as I peer down at my stomach. "Five weeks? That means, the first time we?—"

"Amazing," Milo muses, rubbing his chin as he lets out a low, cocky chuckle. "Evidently, the potency of the Di Vaio seed transcends modern medicine!"

"Milo!" I shoot him an incredulous look as I smack his shoulder. "Shut up!" I peer up sheepishly at Dr. Giardini. "I was told that my chances to conceive were under five percent, I don't understand how this happened."

"Five percent is not zero percent." Aldo shrugs, suppressing a grin. "But perhaps Milo is correct. Powerful sperm."

I blink. "You have very poor bedside manners, Doctor."

"Kiara, please," Milo smirks. "It is his professional opinion. We must listen to him."

"You seem very pleased with yourself.”

"I am overjoyed, tesoro," Milo whispers in a sweet tone. "I love you and I know you will be an amazing mother." He places his palm on my stomach, his eyes soft and dreamy as he adds, "This baby does not know how lucky it is."

Holy shit.

"Baby," I mutter under my breath, my heart racing with confused elation. "We're going to have a baby?"

"A baby?! Oh my God! A baby?!" Julia exclaims, busting through the door, balloons and flowers in her hands. Antonia, Natalia, Luisa, and God, everyone else, piles into the cramped room. "Ah! Are you serious, cara?" She vibrates with excitement, looking at Milo. "I will be a zia?! Me?"

"Julia, please do not scream, we are in a hospital.” Milo’s unable to rein in a wide, proud grin. “But yes, it would seem that Kiara is pregnant."

"Baby?" Natalia coos, running up to the bed and poking my stomach. "In there? A baby?" She turns around and looks at her mother. "How?"

"Uh—" Julia stammers, casting her husband a flustered look. She cringes, forcing a smile. "A miracle?"

"It is a gift," Antonia states, striding toward me. She cups my cheek. "It is a blessing, Kiara." She pauses, frowning as she scans my face. "I cannot believe that bitch did this to you."

Before I can open my mouth, Julia says with a sour expression, "Milo told us what happened with Vittoria. Truly unbelievable. I say the world is a better place without her in it."

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