Page 55 of Vicious Heir

Doc and Giana exchange a look, and I immediately know something else is going on. I’m just not sure how the hell G would have any idea as to what it is.

“The bleeding,” she says, her gaze bouncing between me and Doc.

He nods again, slowly, as if I’m not waiting on pins and fucking needles to get in on this little secret the two of them seem to share.

Doc looks at a monitor, and then his eyes settle on me. “Evelina is pregnant.”

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EVELINA

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, fuck no.

Niccolò says the words, and the room spins. I’ve been awake for a couple of hours now, just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I passed out after the accident, and I’ve been sleeping my life away for the past almost day.

You’re pregnant.

Nope. No, I’m not.

“That is a sick fucking joke,” I say to him. “I know you’re a stalker who seems to be mildly obsessed with me, but I didn’t take you for a liar, too.”

I find a mere shred of comfort in my defense mechanism of shrugging shit off like it doesn’t exist.

But somehow, I know Niccolò isn’t joking with me.

This isn’t some gross display of dark humor.

I am pregnant?

I am pregnant.

I try to convince my mind of the truth, but it, too, thinks I’ve just gone off the rails.

Maybe I’m dreaming. Would I be an idiot to reach down and pinch myself?

“I’ve got next to nothing to gain by telling you you’re pregnant,” he says. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’re going to be okay. Doc says your baby is healthy from what he can tell, but he doesn’t specialize in obstetrics. I’m flying in someone from Mount Sinai to look at you and do a complete check of your baby.”

He lets out a quick grunt as he sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. “This just got a hell of a lot bigger than you and me.” He pauses. “And maybe try being a bit nicer to thestalkerwho just so happened to save your life when you were bleeding out on his bathroom floor.”

He narrows those beautiful damn eyes of his, and I think I’m going to be sick. “Actually, I’m not keeping count or anything, but I feel like I’ve kind of swooped in a few times lately.”

Your baby. Your baby. Your baby.

I think I might pass out all over again.

This man is being nice to me. Caring for me even though we’ve done nothing but go at each other’s throats from the moment we were first alone together. I just want to know why.

I run my hand over my stomach, pulling my gown up a bit until I feel my smooth palm against my skin. There isn’t even a bump. I mean. Maybe a little one? I just thought…

I don’t know what the hell I thought. But this certainly isn’t a baby bump. A baby bump that would have to be…nearly six months in the making?

“I just don’t see how this is possible,” I say, thinking out loud as my confusion chokes me. “I don’t feel pregnant. I don’t look pregnant.”

My walls, my exterior that I’ve spent so long crafting with precision… It’s crumbling around me.

He nods and sighs. “I agree with you, Evelina.”

The way he says my name sends a shiver down my spine. The way my body, even in this state, reacts to him is otherworldly.

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