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‘I didn’t say—’
‘You want to stay in your tiny apartment, walking up and down six flights every day?’
‘Plenty of women—’
‘Where would you even keep a stroller? Or a cot? That place is minuscule. There isn’t room for a baby, and you know it.’
Her lips trembled and she pressed them together. ‘I could get a bigger apartment, then.’
‘Can you afford it? Or are you expecting me to pay for it—to fund your freewheeling lifestyle while I take whatever scraps I can? What do you think is going to happen?’ Rafael demanded, his voice like the lash of a whip. ‘I fly over to New York for occasional visits? I don’t get to know my son until he’s school age? Impossible. I refuse.’ He glared at her, his whole body radiating both determination and rage. ‘That is not how I intend to be a father.’
Allegra glared back at him, caught between misery and fury. All right, yes, she saw there were problems with her unthought-out plan. Of course she did. But she hated being railroaded into a huge decision, with Rafael expecting her to acquiesce instantly. Marriage...she’d never considered it. Never wanted to be that close to a person, that vulnerable—and why would Rafael?
But of course that wasn’t the kind of marriage he was talking about. Even so Allegra couldn’t countenance it. Couldn’t let Rafael have that much power over her. Because, she knew, it would be power. Already he affected her too much. Made her want too much.
‘You’re not being fair,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m only four and a half months pregnant, and I’ve barely been able to keep a mouthful of food down until this last week. I’m sorry if I haven’t worked out every last detail of my plan yet. And anyway,’ she added, her voice rising, ‘I didn’t even know you were going to be involved at all until a few weeks ago.’
‘Which begs the question why didn’t you tell me,’ Rafael returned, clearly unmoved by her words. ‘I asked you specifically to tell me if you were pregnant. I told you I wanted to be involved in my child’s life. And you chose to ignore me.’
‘You also booted me out of your bed,’ Allegra returned. ‘Is that the kind of man I want in my child’s life?’
‘Now you have no choice.’ Angry colour appeared in slashes on Rafael’s high cheekbones. ‘And no matter how I treated you on that night, Allegra, you had no right to deny me my child. There is a world of difference between ending a one-night stand rather abruptly and refusing me access to my son.’ His jaw was bunched, his mouth a hard line. ‘Even you should acknowledge that.’
Allegra stared at him, chilled to the very bone by the dangerous glitter in his eyes, the harsh, implacable certainty in the set of his features. The man who had treated her so tenderly, who had cradled her last night was gone. Vanished, as if he’d never been, and perhaps he hadn’t. Perhaps that Rafael had been no more than an expedient mirage. She knew what it was like for people to change. To show their true colours.
‘And yet you want me to marry you,’ she stated shakily. She felt sick and dizzy, her skin clammy and cold. All the relief at their son’s good health had drained away, leaving a dark-edged terror in its wake. The future loomed, menacing and more and more certain. Rafael would not be dissuaded.
‘Marrying me is the sensible option,’ Rafael answered. ‘The only option. I want to be involved in my son’s life, Allegra. Completely involved. He’s my heir—’
‘Your heir? It’s not as if you’re some king,’ she interjected. Rafael’s gaze narrowed.
‘I am CEO of a multi-billion-euro empire. I intend to pass that on to my son, raise him to follow me into what would become a family business. He is my heir, and he is going to be raised in Sicily by both his parents.’
Staring at him, seeing how utterly implacable he looked, Allegra realised how trapped she really was. Rafael had all the power, all the money. If he wanted to—and at this point she wouldn’t put it past him—he could use the force of his influence to take complete custody of their child. She could resist all she wanted or dared, but she’d still lose in the end. Maybe even lose her own child.
