Page 32 of Unleashed
Isaia’s baby.God.
A sound breaks in my throat, and I press my palm tighter against my belly, like maybe that’ll quiet the storm inside me. But it doesn’t. It only stirs it. I miss him. God, I miss him so much it hurts. Every second, I try not to. Every second, I fail.
I wish it had been him in this room last night. Hearing that heartbeat for the first time and knowing what it meant. It should’ve been Isaia. The father of my baby. Not Anthony. But I can’t deny what it meant to have someone with me when fear ran rampant, even if it wasn’t the person my heart wanted it to be.
There’s a pang of regret as I touch my lips. I should have handled it differently, should have tried a softer approach, maybe. I don’t know. All I know is Anthony’s kiss felt wrong, like biting into an apple only to taste vinegar. He’s my best friend in the world, and our friendship is right in so many ways. But romance? Kissing? It’s this unfamiliar sway in my heart that makes me feel I’ve betrayed something. Someone.
I squeeze my eyes shut, the pressure building behind my rib cage like my body’s trying to fold in on itself. Just for a moment, I want to forget about Isaia’s lies. I want to miss him, yearn for him, break for him without feeling foolish.
I can still hear the doctor’s voice from last night, steady and clinical.“The baby’s fine.”But that’s not what stuck. It’s what Anthony said afterward. The look on his face. The way he stared at my stomach was like it had become the last nail in my coffin, like a curse disguised as a miracle.
‘You have no idea what this means. The Del Rossa family keeps their own. Their blood. Their women. Their children.’
‘It’s not about doing the right thing. For them, it’s all about control.’
Anthony’s not wrong. But I don’t think he’s right either. I know the Del Rossa family is powerful, and once you belong to them, it’s not a choice. It’s a vow etched into bone. A loyalty that doesn’t waver, no matter the cost.
And Isaia? He doesn’t love like other people do.
There are no rules in the way he loves. No borders. No right or wrong. Just…him.Raw. Absolute. Consuming. He doesn’t think in lines or limits—he justfeels, and when he does, it becomes law. It becomes truth. And if he finds out I’m pregnant, it won’t matter what I say or what I want. It’ll be about how he loves me…us. There won’t be borders or boundaries to what we’ll become for him.
Being loved by a Del Rossa brother is a cage. One lined with roses and blood.
He won’t let me go. He won’t letusgo. Not to punish. Not to control. But because in his world, love is reason enough for him to start wars and burn cities to the ground.
And he’ll lie. Again. Because to him, truth is irrelevant when love is on the line. And hedoeslove me. I know it. I feel it in my bones, in the spaces he’s carved into my soul. That, I don’t doubt. Not for a second.
‘Why is the father of your baby not here? He hasn’t even fucking called. Not once.’
Why hasn’t he called? Why hasn’t he tried to contact me? I’m not stupid enough to think he doesn’t know where I am, who I’m with. Yet, he’s choosing distance. Why?
“Dear God, Everly,” I huff. My emotions are all swirling together in a giant, contradictory mess. I want to see him. I want to feel and hold him. But I don’t. I don’t want to speak to him and his lies. I don’t want to look into his eyes and wonder if every word that comes out of his mouth is another deception. That mouth. God, I want to kiss that mouth until every negative note in my soul turns into a seductive melody. I want to hear his voice inmy ear as his body pushes me over the edge. I want our wedding night, out in the clearing under the pouring rain.
I want…him.
Before tears get the chance to blur my vision, I reach out, my fingers brushing over the glossy pages of a magazine left on the side table. Images of carefree, smiling mothers holding babies in cherry blossom parks serve as a stark contrast to the reality closing in on me. So I grab it and shove it into the drawer, slamming it shut.
My phone vibrates, and my gut tightens when I see it’s Anthony. He’s my best friend. He’s always been my rock, the lifeboat that kept me from drowning. But it’s different now. Love always changes things, and now I’m no longer sure if he’s capable of putting what’s best for me above his feelings for me. Somehow, I’ve managed to get myself caught between two men. One I love with all my heart but can’t trust. And another I trust my life with but can’t love. The irony isn’t lost on me.
I pick up the phone and answer. “Hey.”
“I’m sorry.”
His blunt apology catches me off guard.
“I never should have kissed you. You were vulnerable, confused and scared. I picked the worst time to act like a jerk.”
My heart warms a little. “It’s okay. Last night was just…a mess.”
“Still. I should have known better.” I hear him sigh. “You have every right to be angry with me.”
I smile, winding a loose thread from the hospital sheet between my fingers until the tip turns purple. “I’m not angry with you.”
“Good. Because I’m on my way to pick you up.”
I frown. “It’s not even seven a.m. yet.”
“You’re being discharged. I’m on my way to pick you up.”
