Page 35 of Mafia Pregnancy

“Why not?”

“Because it’s going nowhere, and we both know it.” She moves toward the door, and when I refuse to yield, she doesn’t stop. She pushes past me with firm determination. “You’re not looking for anything real, and I can’t afford anything casual.”

I reach out for her, but she darts away from my hand. “What makes you think I’m not looking for something real?”

She hurries out of touching distance before pausing at the end of the hallway, though she doesn’t turn around. “Because men like you don’t end up with women like me. Not permanently.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I know what I am to you. A distraction. Something convenient.” She finally turns, and the distance in her expression catches me off guard. “I need more than that.”

I take a step toward her. “What if you’re wrong about what you are to me?”

“Then prove it.” The challenge in her voice surprises me. “Walk away from whatever business keeps Andrei making threats about confidentiality. Choose something other than power and control.”

The ultimatum makes me blink in its audacity. She’s asking me to choose between the life I’ve built and whatever this is between us. “I can’t do that.”

“I know.” Her smile is sad but unsurprised. “That’s why I won’t do this again.”

She walks away with purpose, leaving me standing in the empty hallway trying to understand what just shifted. The woman who was falling apart in my arms moments ago has transformed back into someone unreachable, protected by walls I can’t seem to breach.

I remain in the hallway for several minutes after she’s gone, trying to understand what just happened. The sex was incredible, as it always is with her, but there was something else. Something desperate in the way she clung to me, like she was trying to memorize the feeling before letting it go forever. She just asked me to choose her over everything else in my life, and when I couldn’t give her that answer, she made the choice for both of us.

My phone buzzes with a text from Andrei, and I pull it from my pocket, expecting another business update.

Same black sedan, same time, and third day this week.

No license plate or direct threat, but someone is watching.

I scroll up through his previous messages from the last few days, noting the pattern he’s identified. The car appears at 3:47 p.m.each afternoon, parks across from the estate’s main entrance for exactly eleven minutes, then disappears. It has all the earmarks of professional surveillance and taunting rolled into one. The car is careful not to overstay but consistent enough to send a message.

Luca’s getting bolder.

I type back:Increase perimeter sweeps. Rotate the schedule.

His response is immediate:Already done. Additional cameras are being installed at the south gate.

I slide the phone back into my pocket and head toward my office, but my mind isn’t on Luca or his escalating games. It’s on the way Danielle looked at me in the hallway, like she wanted to tell me something but couldn’t find the words. It felt eerily like goodbye, which makes my chest constrict.

In my office, I pull up the security feeds, scanning through the cameras until I find her. She’s in one of the guest bathrooms, washing her hands with more attention than necessary. The way she moves almost seems calm, but there’s tension in her shoulders.

She finishes and moves to the mirror, staring at her reflection for a long moment. Even through the grainy camera feed, I see something troubled in her expression. She runs her hand through her hair, smoothing it back into place, then turns away from the mirror.

The gesture strikes me as significant somehow, though I can’t pinpoint why. There’s something different about her lately, a wariness that goes beyond our complicated situation, and a distance that feels more like self-protection than simple avoidance.

I tilt my chair, considering what I know about her. She’s always been guarded and careful with personal information. In all the months she’s worked here, I’ve learned precious little about her life outside these walls. She mentioned needing money for expenses, but she’s never been specific about what those expenses are.

The security feed shows her moving through the house, returning to her routine like nothing happened, but I can see the subtle changes I missed before now. She carries herself slightly differently, navigating narrow spaces with care and adopting a protective posture that seems deliberate.

Something beyond our past is weighing on her. Whatever it is, she’s carrying it alone.

My phone buzzes again with a text from Andrei:Black sedan just left. Eleven minutes, same as always.

I set aside the phone and return my attention to the security feeds. Luca can wait. Right now, my priority is understanding what’s driving the woman who just fell apart in my arms, then immediately started building walls again.

She said she has responsibilities and complications I wouldn’t understand. The way she said it suggested they’re significant and important enough to make her consider walking away from something she clearly wants.

The afternoon passes slowly. I try to focus on legitimate business by reviewing investment portfolios and signing off an application for construction permits for a property development in Carlsbad, but my attention keeps drifting to the security monitors. Every time Danielle appears in frame, I stop to study her movements, looking for clues about what she’s hiding.

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