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“Come home, bella. I believe you.”
Exhausted from the hell I’ve been through, I walk to the bedroom again, and this time I notice the pair of leggings lying on the floor near the walk-in closet.
Moving closer, my stomach bottoms out for a second time today.
Her clothes are gone.
I swing around, and my eyes fall on the bedside table. I see the pregnancy tests and the cupcake.
Daddy.
“Madre di Dio,” I breathe as the happy surprise registers. I walk closer and check the pregnancy tests.
She’s pregnant.
Instead of enjoying the moment, my thoughts are bombarded with how I treated her tonight.
I fucking pointed a loaded gun at my pregnant wife.
Jesus, she was so upset.
She looked at me with no doubt in her mind that I would kill her.
Dio, what have I done?
Chapter 37
Tiana
It took me two and a half hours to get to Milan and another one and a half hours to reach Lovere, a small coastal town.
I got a bunk bed in The Lake Hostel because it’s the cheapest place I could find.
The view of the lake is nice, though.
Exhausted, I let out a sigh as I switch on my phone. I ignore all the messages as they come through and dial Misha’s number.
“Tiana! Are you okay?”
I shake my head and immediately burst into tears. Walking farther away from the hostel and toward the lake, I squeeze the words out, “Armani thinks I betrayed him.”
“I know. I spoke with him. Is he back home yet?”
“I don’t know.” I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I ran.”
“Jesus Christ,” my brother mutters. “Go home, Tiana. I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”
I shake my head again. “No. I’m just calling you to let you know I’m safe. I need time to process everything. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be in touch.”
Not giving Misha a chance to talk me out of my decision, I end the call and turn off the phone. Walking closer to the lake, I throw the device in the water so I can’t be tracked.
I’ve always put everyone else first, but now that I’m pregnant, it ends.
Only one life matters – my baby’s.
Somehow I’ll get through the heartache and loss I’ve suffered. I’ll find a place to live and get a job.
But for the next ten days, I’ll stay at the hostel while I try to deal with the blow I’ve been dealt and figure out where to go from here.
Another wave of unbearable pain hits, and I sit down flat on my butt. I bring my knees up and wrap my arms around my shins, and staring at the water from where I’m on a patch of lawn with darkness all around me, I cry.
I understand why Armani thought I betrayed him. I’d react the same if I heard a recording of him.
I understand why he’s angry and hurt.
But he pointed a gun at me, and I knew in my heart of hearts he was going to kill me.
That’s how it works in the bratva and mafia. Betrayal equals death.
My heart is completely and utterly shattered.
The man I love will probably hunt me down and kill me. When he finds out I’m pregnant, it won’t matter because he’ll think I’m carrying another man’s baby.
I’ve been through hell before, but nothing like this.
I’ve watched Misha being beaten until he was unconscious.
I’ve been forced to vomit the food he stole for me. Then they made me eat it again.
I’ve been abused and degraded.
But nothing compares to the unbearable heartache of losing Armani.
He was my future, and now that it’s been ripped away from me, I don’t know what to do.
Suddenly a shiver creeps up my spine, and it feels like I’m being watched. Paranoid, I get up and glance around me as I rush back toward the hostel.
I’ll have to get used to the feeling of being hunted because Armani is not the type of person to give up easily.
He gave up trusting and loving you.
I shake my head as I walk to the bedroom I’m sharing with three other people. I haven’t seen any of them yet.
The irrefutable evidence crushed his trust in me.
Fully dressed, I climb into the foreign bed. I only kick off my shoes.
As I pull the covers over my body, I miss the smell of home – of Armani.
I turn my back to the rest of the room and squeeze my eyes shut as loneliness seeps deep into my bones.
It’s the thing I feared most – being alone.
You have your baby.
I can’t go to Misha, because he’ll tell me to go home to my husband.
I can’t go to Mamma, because she’ll take her son’s side, which is expected.
I can’t go to the Aslanhovs. Not after I cost Mr. Aslanhov the deal with Karlin.
I can’t go home because Armani hates me.
Armani hates me.
Suppressing a sob, I press my face into the pillow and weep for my marriage that’s ended in such a brutal death.
