Page 89 of Mafia and Protector

I gaped, not believing what I was hearing from him.

“Now go inside,” he barked.

I spun around on my heel, feeling tears threatening, and determined not to cry in front of him.

I knew I wasn’t the wife he had expected to get. I had been impure on our wedding night and now I was carrying another’s man child—his father’s child.

But I couldn’t give this baby up. It was innocent, and I couldn’t hurt it by terminating the pregnancy.

CHAPTER 28

JESSICA

Over the next week, I knew Rafael was still angry with me.

After what had happened, Rafael took away my cell phone and handed me a replacement. “This is your new cell. It allows you to call me, Gabriel, and the guardhouse.”

“So what? You’re punishing me now?” I said, in a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

“No. This is just until I know I can trust you again. I can’t have you hurt. I can’t risk you doing something stupid and getting harmed now that we’re at war with the Veneti family.”

Over the days that followed, I tried to carry on as normal; however, the tension radiating from him was impossible to ignore.

I carried on with cooking dinner and doing the housework—I felt like it gave me some control by making one place clean and tidy in this messy, screwed-up life of mine. Meals were conducted in silence, and Gabriel usually ate in the office in order to avoid the strained atmosphere between me and Rafael in the dining room.

I felt I’d been cheated. I’d always wanted a family and to be a mother, and this was how it was happening—under a dark cloud of anger and hurt. Becoming a mother had always been my dream. I thought now that Emanuel was gone forever, I would be able to move on with my life and start putting the past behind me.

But Emanuel was still haunting me from his grave, and he was still hurting me and laughing at me. And not only was he hurting me, but he was hurting Rafael, and he was hurting the life this baby would eventually lead.

I thought that my marriage to Rafael had been growing stronger, but now it was in the worst place it had ever been. And I didn’t know if there was any coming back from this.

I kept berating myself. I should have started taking the contraceptive pill or at least taken the morning-after pill. What on earth had I been thinking?

***

A couple of days later, I had decided to go for a walk around the grounds.

I had dressed in white shorts, a lilac top and sneakers for my walk. My shorts were feeling snug, and I knew that I would soon need to think about getting some maternity clothes.

I hadn’t worn any of my lilac clothes since I’d had the baby scan and we’d received the shocking news. But today I decided to change that. I couldn’t keep dwelling on all the bad things. That morning, as I had stood in the closet, I had run my hands over all the beautiful shades of lilac and let them soothe my mind and heart before choosing a pretty top with cap sleeves.

I usually loved exploring the grounds and I thought that the fresh air would invigorate me. However, I felt totally lacking in energy today.

After walking for twenty minutes, I decided I’d rather return to the house. I turned to make my way back to the house and there I would go inside and rest for a bit. The thought of a lie down and perhaps a nap sounded appealing right now.

As I walked slowly back to the house, I thought about my bed and curling up in it with a hot water bottle. As I reached the house, I felt a sharp twinge in my abdomen and took a sharp intake of breath. The pain was momentary and once it passed, I continued up the front steps to the doorway, meeting Gabriel who had just exited the door on his way out.

“Hey,” I croaked. I was feeling far from sociable, but I didn’t want to be rude.

“Jessica?” I heard the alarm in Gabriel’s voice and followed his eyes as they moved downward.

Bright red blood stained my white shorts and was spreading fast. “What’s happening…?” I gasped, leaning against the wall as I felt pain rip through my body and my legs wobble.

Gabriel was already talking urgently into his phone. Seconds later, the door flew open and Rafael stood in front of us, his face horror-struck as he took in my face and shorts.

“She might be miscarrying,” said Gabriel tersely. I couldn’t think straight. I felt as if I might pass out.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you, Jess. I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” Rafael’s voice was gentle as he scooped me up in his arms just as my legs gave way under me.