Page 32 of Pregnant in the Italian's Palazzo

She moved to walk away but he grabbed her hand at the last minute, holding tight and pulling her into the circle of his arms. ‘I brought you here to ask you something.’

The words were murmured against her hair, and for a long moment there was nothing but silence between them, nothing but the strength of their embrace and the beating of her heart.

‘I’ve waited for the right moment to give you this, waited to be sure that you felt happy here. That you could see our future as clearly as I can. These past few weeks have shown us both just how right we can be together when we’re working as a team...’ He pulled a ring out from his pocket, a beautiful gold band with a giant ruby at the centre. Aria felt her chest hammer, the headache intensifying in her temples as she panicked.

‘Aria...will you marry me?’

Nysio knew he had misjudged the situation even before Aria shook her head sadly. He tried to hold in his anger, his confusion, tried to wait for her to explain. Because he fully expected an explanation.

‘Nysio...I’m sorry but I can’t marry you.’

‘Can’t or won’t?’ he growled. ‘You would just so easily refuse to be my wife, when you could have access to everything that you need?’

‘Everything?’ she asked, tilting her head. ‘So if I decide I want us to move back to London to open up my own fashion label there like I’d planned?’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re being deliberately obtuse.’

‘If I wanted to take our child out for a walk in the park without any security guards? If I wanted to show them how to ride a train, or just take a spontaneous trip to the beach?’

‘I admit that our security protocol is heavy, but it is necessary as you know in order to ensure—’

‘Safety,’ Aria finished for him. ‘Yes, I know. You have talked of nothing else from the moment we first met. I can’t resign myself to living a life of imprisonment.’

‘You still believe me to be keeping you prisoner?’ He raised his voice, gesturing at the opulent grounds around them. ‘If this is a prison, then I’m right here with you. You believe me to be some poor soul trapped in a life of luxury?’

‘Do you feel free?’ she asked quietly. ‘You seemed free for a moment back there, in Sardinia on your vineyard... For a moment, I thought that perhaps things might actually work out for us. But then we came back here, to this place, to this world and this way of life that you refuse to see is not making you happy. I know you made a promise to your father, and I understand that loyalty is deeply important to you. But it’s just not who I am. And it’s not the kind of life that I want for our child, being raised to carry on the Bacchetti name without a care for who they are inside. When you jumped straight to wanting marriage for the baby’s sake it was easy for me to say no. Because I was terrified of how you made me feel. I was terrified of how much you made me hope and want for more. I do want more... But I cannot be your wife. Not when I know that the only reason you’re asking me is to ensure that I stay here, at thepalazzo, with our child. I’m sorry. You deserved that choice as a boy and our child deserves that now.’

‘You will not take my child from me, Aria.’

‘Never. I would never do that to you. I promise you that I won’t run away, I won’t hide from you. Because I know that, despite the bounds of loyalty that you have to the Bacchetti history, you’re going to be a good father and you want the best for your child. So, I’m prepared to compromise and find a way to raise this baby with love even if we’re not together.’

‘So that’s it? We’re done? I don’t have any further say in it?’

She lowered her eyes. ‘I...I’m sorry.’

As Aria walked out of the maze and back towards thepalazzo, she thought she heard a loud curse erupt from the depths of the maze behind her, but then there was nothing but the echo of her own footsteps on the stone steps that sounded like just how she felt inside.

An overwhelming sense of anxiety rose within her, and she found herself unable to speak as she entered the front door of thepalazzo. Gianluca walked towards her, his eyes crinkled at the sides with concern, his hand reaching for her even as she pulled away. She was vaguely aware of her own voice muttering an apology, excusing herself on the pretence of using the bathroom.

Once she was in the hallway, she quickened her pace, walking hard and fast in no particular direction at all. Her chest burned and inhaling each breath took a sudden effort as she had never experienced before. It felt as though she were underwater and fighting not to breathe in. She needed fresh air before her lungs burst open. The migraine that had been threatening all morning erupted with impressive force in her temples, bringing with it a wave of nausea that almost brought her to her knees. She stopped in an open doorway that led out onto the back gardens. The cool breeze in her face did nothing to abate the awful sense that her legs were about to completely give out from underneath her. She needed to calm down, she needed to...

Unable to stand a moment longer, she felt her body slide parallel to the door until she was suddenly sitting down on cold, hard tiles. The blue of the sky seemed to blend into the green of the grass, colours jumping and mixing with one another to form a kind of Impressionist painting rather than reality. A shadow in the distance moved closer, and a rough shout sounded very close by. She was vaguely aware of strong arms lifting her, pulling her against a familiar hard, warm chest.

She shook her head, hearing a guttural demand for an ambulance seemingly coming from far away, though, when she looked up, Nysio held her tightly in his arms.

‘Tell me what is happening,tesoro,’ he pleaded, his face pale under his swarthy tan.

‘Nysio,’ she murmured, shocked at how weak and thready her own voice sounded. ‘There’s something very wrong.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NYSIOWAITEDPATIENTLY. His eyes completely focused on the door that a team of doctors had disappeared through along with Aria. He was vaguely aware of Eros and Priya seated across from him, worry evident on their faces. Xander and Pandora had stayed at thepalazzoto tend to their guests, which he was immensely grateful for. He felt like a caged animal, unable to stop pacing the length of the waiting area. He had practically growled when the doctors said they all needed to leave the room in order for them to properly examine the patient. His chest went painfully tight as he remembered the sight of Aria hooked up to tubes on the hospital bed. She had been unconscious for barely a minute, but still...

A man in a white coat exited the room and Nysio stood straight, aware of the others moving to attention as well.

‘Is one of you the next of kin?’ the doctor asked.

Both Nysio and Priya stepped forward, answering yes simultaneously.

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