Page 98 of Sins of Bliss

He laughs, but the sound is distant and small.

My heart feels heavy as I leave the waiting room, knowing that I must be the one to tell Vincenza that her father is undergoing heart surgery. I can only hope that when I return to her room, she is asleep, and the update can wait until tomorrow.

Perhaps by morning, there will be better news.

Chapter 36

Vinnie

It’s around seven in the morning when a knock sounds on the door to my hospital room and a young female doctor walks in, pushing an ultrasound machine.

“Good morning, Mrs. Lucchetti,” she greets, coming to my bedside.

My eyes burn as I push myself up in the bed. “Good morning.”

Sly hands me a bottle of water, which I drink gratefully before coughing gently to relieve some of the tightness in my throat.

“My name is Dr. Douglas,” she says with a smile, holding the ultrasound probe in her gloved hand. “I’m going to do a transvaginal ultrasound and see if we can find a heartbeat. Your chart says you’re not sure how far along you are—is that accurate?”

“Yes, I only found out yesterday with a home test, so I’m not sure how far along I am.” I glance at Sly, who is grinning at me.

“What was the date of your last period?”

Pursing my lips, I try to think back. It’s been a while since I’ve truly had one.

“There’s been a lot going on lately…I’m not sure, actually.” My hand flutters down to my stomach, and I shake my head.

“That’s okay,” the doctor tells me. “We’ll see how big the baby measures and approximate a due date based on that. Typically, I bring my patients up to OB for this, but for your comfort, we can do it here. Is this dad? Would you like him to stay?”

“Yes,” I tell her immediately, and Sly laces his fingers through mine, coming to stand by my head.

“Excellent. If you could lie back and put your feet flat on the bed, please.”

Adjusting, I scoot myself down and bend my legs, tenting the blanket as I do. The doctor adds lubricant to the ultrasound probe and lifts the blanket at my legs.

“This will be cold and you might feel some pressure, but it shouldn’t hurt.” She places her gloved hand on my thigh, then gently inserts the probe. Immediately, a gentle whoosh and a steady beat fill the air. The doctor smiles. “Your baby has a strong heartbeat already, Mr. and Mrs. Lucchetti.”

Tears fill my eyes and I look up at Sly, the joy evident in his features.

“Of course they do,” he says, swiping beneath his lashes at a tear. “Look at who their mother is.”

“Vinnie!” Raina cries as she comes flying into my hospital room, a bouquet of flowers bigger than she is in her hands. She pushes them into Sly’s chest, letting them go before he has a grasp on them, forcing him to catch them midair as they start to fall.

Cecilia comes into the room behind her, clutching a brown paper restaurant bag to her chest.

Crashing into me, Raina sits next to me on my bed, wrapping her arms around my body. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. Are you okay? Let me look at you.” Her hands fluff my hair then run down my arms, as if checking that I’m in one piece.

Laughing, I tell her, “I’m fine. More than fine, really.” There’s a huge smile on my face, the ultrasound photos of the baby sitting beneath my thigh as I anxiously hold in the information that I’m dying to tell her and Cecilia.

But there’s also a twinge of guilt in my chest, being so happy under these circumstances.

I’m not far along—about eight to ten weeks—which puts the date of conception when I went to Ridgewood while Sly was in the hospital.

I began to bawl when I pieced together the timeline, realizing that August could have killed our child when he abused me the day I returned, but my body protected it.

“We brought breakfast,” Lia says, setting the bag on the floor next to Sly’s chair. “Thought you might want some comfort food.”

“Bagel sandwiches?”

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