Page 36 of Fierce Hearts

I crossed my arms over my chest, acutely aware of what was happening inside my body. A new life was forming in my belly even as we spoke. An innocent one that didn't deserve to be a part of this mess.

The timing couldn't be worse.

"Juan Ference has seen your photos," Ernesto said, his voice dropping to a confidential tone. "He will happily forge an alliance if you take him as your husband. You've had time to process this, and it's a reality now. This is your duty, your sacrifice for the family."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing slightly. "It's for the good of everyone involved. Your father would be proud."

My father. The man who'd taught me to how to gut a man at fifteen, moving from the traditional shooting. Who'd made me watch as he tortured a man who'd betrayed him. Who'd eventually forced me to torture as well.

I glanced around the parking lot, my heart skipping when I spotted a black SUV idling nearby. The back window was rolled down just enough for me to see a man's face—Juan Ference, I assumed. He nodded at me, his expression unreadable.

I turned back to Ernesto, careful to keep my face neutral despite the panic clawing at my throat. Had Juan come to see who I really was? Or was this a show of force, a reminder that they could get to me anytime, anywhere?

"Okay," I said, the word falling from my lips like a stone. I needed time, time to figure all of this out. To not have my uncle right here, and the man who wanted to claim me as his own in a car only yards away.

Ernesto's face broke into a wide grin. "Wonderful!" He hugged me again, tighter this time. "Cheer up, Sofia. This is a good thing. A wonderful thing for the family."

I nodded mechanically, forcing myself to keep everything together, to play my part for a moment.

"Drive safe home," he said, patting my cheek. "I'll be in touch about the engagement announcement."

I nodded and got back in my car, my movements slow and deliberate. Ernesto waved as I started the engine, then walked back to the SUV where Juan waited.

I drove away, hands steady on the wheel despite the earthquake happening inside me. My mind whirled with chaos, with traps and dead ends, while my emotions collided. Pregnant with Grayson's child. Promised to Juan Ference. Pulled back into a world I'd fought so hard to escape.

It wasn't until I pulled up in front of my house that the control I'd clawed together finally shattered. I doubled over the steering wheel, sobs tearing from my throat. Everything I'd built and claimed, my home, my freedom—it was all falling apart, the darkness wrapping its unforgiving hands around my throat.

My phone rang, the sound jarring in the quiet car. I glanced at the screen through tear-blurred eyes and my stomach dropped.

Grayson.

His name flashed on my phone, a reminder of everything I stood to lose. A child growing within me. Meredith. My life here.

Of course he was calling right now, like he sensed the truth of what I'd discovered.

I let it ring, watching until the call went to voicemail. What could I possibly say to him? That I was carrying his child? That my uncle was marrying me off to a rival family? That we'd messed up?

"God, what do I do?" I gasped out through the sobs.

But no answer came, only the silence as Gray's call stopped. Maybe that was the answer. To destroy the life growing within me, to cut my ties with him and Meredith, to return to my family and protect everyone.

To play my part like a good Savoca woman.

I sobbed as I pressed my forehead to the steering wheel hard. Why was life so cruel? Dumping all of this on me at once?

"You're strong, Sofia. Stronger than me. I wish you would come with me, but I know you can survive, you can live. As much as the Savoca hurt me, you have their name, their strength, but you're also my daughter. Capable of so much more."

My mother's words before she'd fled back to Italy rung in my mind.

I didn't feel strong right now. Not at all. But she'd believed in me. I had to cling to that in this moment.

My phone pinged, a message from Meredith lighting up the screen.

My only other family.

I needed to tell someone. I couldn't carry this alone—the pregnancy, the forced marriage, all of it. There was only one person I wanted to tell, one who could possibly understand the tangled web I was caught in.

It was time I stopped shielding her and looked to her for the support I so desperately needed right now.

---