Chapter 263 OH, MY SUNSHINE.

Chapter 263 OH, MY SUNSHINE.
\~~~RAINA.

An hour later, I was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the pregnancy test.

The box looked harmless like it didn’t hold anything powerful enough to shift an entire life.

Luciano stood near the window, his hands in his pockets, looking out like he was giving me space.

Except I knew him well enough to know he wasn’t relaxed.

He was just still and controlled. I could see the way his hands had trembled earlier and how he had hidden it by dipping them in his pockets.

I turned the box slightly in my hands.

“Why does something so small feel so dramatic?” I muttered.

Luciano smiled. “Because it is.”

I scoffed softly. “That’s not helpful.”

“I wasn’t trying to be helpful.”

“Of course you weren’t.”

That earned a faint exhale from him that almost passed for a laugh.

I finally stood. “Okay,” I said.

I held up the box slightly.

“This decides everything, huh?”

His eyes softened just a fraction.

“No,” he said simply.

“It doesn’t decide everything,” he repeated. “It just tells us where we are.”

“Right.”

Then I moved toward the bathroom, Luciano following closely behind.

He didn’t need to follow again, gosh.

“Don’t come in with me!” I snapped as I entered and closed the door shut.

\~~~~

I did it, then I placed the test on the sink and just stared at it. 

There was nothing, no change. I was still waiting, and it was still quiet. 

Luciano didn’t speak from outside the bathroom, and he didn’t rush me, but I knew he was there, waiting with me. Two minutes felt longer than it should have, long enough for my thoughts to start running again and long enough for doubt to creep in.

Then I picked it up slowly and turned it. 

There was only one line. Still one line. 

My breath left my body slowly, and I didn’t even realize I had been holding it.

“Lou,” I called quietly.

The door opened immediately and he stepped in, his eyes on me first, then the test, then back to me.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I shook my head.

Silence followed. He didn’t react immediately, he just looked at it again like he was making sure he saw it properly, then he nodded once. “It’s okay, come here.”

I frowned slightly. “That is it?”

Is he not disappointed that it's negative?

He looked at me. “Baby.”

After a pause, he stepped closer. “We said whatever it is, we handle it,” he said.

I nodded slowly. “I know.”

His hand reached for mine and held it gently. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I hesitated, then nodded again. “I think so.”

He squeezed my hand once. “Good.”

I looked down at the test again, then exhaled. “It is weird,” I said.

“What is?”

“How something can feel like it changes everything… and then it doesn’t.”

He didn’t answer immediately, then he said, “Or maybe it just means it’s not time.”

I nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

Then I moved to put the test away properly, but as I did, my fingers paused. Something felt off…

Wait,” I frowned.

Luciano turned immediately. “What?”

I looked at the test again, closer this time, and then I froze. 

“Luciano…” My voice came out softer now.

He stepped closer. “What?”

I didn’t answer immediately, I just held it up again and pointed. “There’s… another line.”

His entire body went still. “What?”

“I think there’s another line.”

Silence hung between us. He took it gently from my hand and looked at it once, then twice, before he exhaled slowly. “No,” he said quietly.

My heart started beating faster. “What do you mean no?”

He didn’t answer, he just kept looking at it like he didn’t trust it yet, and like he was scared to. 

Then he handed it back to me and stepped closer. “Baby,” he said softly. 

I looked up. His eyes were completely different now. “I think…” He stopped, and then tried again. “I think that is a second line.”

My breath caught. I looked down again, focusing, and there it was. It was faint, but there was indeed another line. My hands went slightly cold. “No,” I whispered.

Luciano didn’t speak. He just stood there watching me, waiting. I looked up at him again. “Is it… real?”

He didn’t answer immediately, then he stepped forward and took my hand again, lacing his fingers with mine. “Yes,” he said quietly.

My throat tightened. “Luciano…”

He pulled me closer without warning. It wasn't forceful, just immediate, and I collided into his chest. His arms came around me instantly, holding me tighter than before. 

And then I felt his body shaking, slightly at first, then more.

I pulled back a little. “Are you…”

He cut me off immediately. “Fuck,” he said quickly, but his voice broke slightly on the word.

I looked up at him, and his eyes were not calm anymore. They were wet and shining, like he was trying not to lose control of something he didn’t know how to hold.

“You’re pregnant,” he said again, not as a question or with uncertainty anymore.

I nodded slowly. “I think so.”

He let out a breath like it had been stuck in him for too long, then he pulled me back into him again, harder this time. This time he didn’t hide it. 

“I am going to be a father,” he said quietly.

I froze slightly in his arms, and then I felt his grip tighten, like he needed to make sure I was real, and like he needed to make sure this was real.

“Luciano…” I whispered.

“I’m here,” he said immediately, then softer, “God, I’m here.” 

His hand moved to the back of my head, holding me there, and I felt it again, that small shake in his body, like emotion he couldn’t fully contain. 

“I didn’t think…” he started, then stopped, before trying again. “I didn’t think I’d get this.”

I pulled back slightly. “You didn’t think what?”

His eyes stayed on mine, then he smiled faintly. “You,” he said quietly. “And this.”

My chest tightened, and before I could say anything, he leaned in and pressed his forehead lightly against mine.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

I blinked. “What?”

“Just stay here,” he said, then added softer, “Let me have this moment.”

And I didn’t move. Because for once, Luciano Moretti didn’t feel like the man who ruled everything. He felt like a man who had just found something he didn’t know he was allowed to have, and he was holding onto it as it might disappear.

By all rights, I was supposed to be the one crying and shaking, completely overwhelmed by the reality of it all. Yet here was this man, the same man who always carried himself like he could handle absolutely anything, completely breaking down in my arms.

I wrapped my arms around him tighter, burying my face against his shoulder and gently patting his back as his chest heaved against mine. It felt surreal to be the anchor for once.

“Oh… my sunshine…” His voice broke completely. 

He raised his head slowly, his eyes bright with an emotion he couldn't hide, and then he leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against mine.

Tasting the salt of his tears, a sudden rush of warmth flooded through me, and I reached up to cup his face, kissing him back even harder.