Page 88 of Silence and Surrender

“Something like that,ma petite,” I managed.

She patted my leg solemnly. “Papa says wine is like love—you have to wait until it’s ready.”

Something between a laugh and a sob escaped me. Colton’s arms came around me instantly, Clara still pressed against my legs.

A family tableau. A moment of perfect imperfection.

“Come, Clara,” Allegra said quietly. “Let’s go pick tomatoes for dinner. The big ones you found yesterday.”

Clara squeezed my legs once more before skipping off with her mother. Cooper lingered, his eyes meeting his twin’s over my head.

“We should talk about logistics,” he said quietly. “About the clinic, about security.”

Colton’s arms tightened fractionally. “Later.”

“No,” I straightened in his embrace. “He’s right. We need plans. Contingencies.” I turned to face them both. “The bank has people everywhere. If they find out I’m alive, let alone pregnant…”

“They won’t.” There was certainty in Cooper’s voice now. “The clinic Allegra found, it’s off the grid. Old family connections. No electronic records.”

“Like everything else in Italy,” I managed a weak smile. “Built on relationships and secrets.”

“Exactly.” Cooper’s expression softened. “But Colton’s right too—logistics can wait. Today is for family.”

Family. The word felt dangerous. Wonderful. Possible.

“I need to train,” I said suddenly. Both men looked at me sharply. “Not...not combat. Just movement. I need to feel strong today.”

“The yoga pavilion,” Colton suggested. “Some fresh air would do you some good.”

I nodded, grateful he understood. Grateful they all understood.

Cooper squeezed my shoulder as he passed—the casual affection of family—before heading out to join his wife and daughter in the garden.

“Come with me?” I asked Colton. “Just...be there?”

“Always.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Whatever you need.”

The yoga pavilion was my favorite spot on the estate, consisting of weathered stone and climbing roses, hidden from the main house by a grove of lemon trees. A place to breathe. To move. To remember how to inhabit my own body again.

Colton settled in a corner with his laptop, close enough to watch over me, far enough to give me space. He was so careful with boundaries now.

I moved through the poses Allegra had taught me, letting my body remember its strength. Its grace. Its ability to heal.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Colton observed after a while.

“Says the man who overthinks everything.” But I smiled slightly, holding a warrior pose. “It’s just...everything’s changing. Again.”

“Yes.” He set aside his laptop, watching me with those intense eyes. “But this time you have choices. Control.”

“Do I?” The pose started to shake. I moved into a gentler stretch. “This baby...if it’s not yours...”

“Is still yours,” he said firmly. “Still your choice. No one else’s.”

“And if I choose...” I couldn’t finish.

“Then I support you.” He stood, moving closer but not touching. “And if you choose to keep it, I support that too. And if it’s mine...”

“If it’s yours?”

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