Protecting my woman

Protecting my woman


Nico

When I reentered the room, Serena was pacing back and forth.

She wasn’t sleeping as Nina had said. Her hair was loose, her steps restless, her hands clenched and unclenched as if she was trying to hold herself together. The moment our eyes met, I knew she already knew. Then, why did she not tell me? Why did she hide it for weeks from me? 

“I take it you’ve seen the reports,” she said quietly.

I swallowed hard. “Did you know before?” I asked.

I wanted to sound calm, normal, but my voice came out thick and hoarse, heavy with everything I was feeling.

She nodded once.

“Since when?” I asked.

“From the start.”

That was all it took.

I walked to her in three long steps and pulled her into my arms. I held her so tightly that I was afraid I might hurt her, but I couldn’t stop. My chest felt like it was going to tear apart. I didn’t know what I was feeling: rage, fear, guilt, love, and everything burned inside me at once.

I had the urge to burn the whole world.

Why her?

Why must life always choose her to suffer?

When she was wrongly framed for murder, she was pregnant.
When I disappeared from her life for a month, she was pregnant and alone.
When her own parents turned their backs on her, she was pregnant.
She had no support, no safety, no protection.

All alone, Serena endured torture in jail while carrying our child.

It was nothing short of a miracle that this woman was standing alive in front of me; alive, breathing, and holding our unborn child inside her.

I buried my face in her hair and breathed her in. For the first time in my life, I felt true fear. Not fear of enemies. Not fear of death.

Fear of losing her.

I knew one thing with painful clarity: I would never let her out of my sight again. Never. I would stay with her always. No matter what.

I kissed her hair, her temple, her cheeks, and then her forehead. I pulled her closer, as if the world itself was trying to take her away from me.

“Nico,” she breathed.

“Nico…”

Her voice trembled.

“What is happening to you?” she asked softly.

I pressed my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I am so, so sorry. Everything that happened… it happened because of me.”

She shook her head immediately. “No. Don’t say that. My family had a big role in it too.”

“Serena…” I hugged her tighter, if that was even possible.

Then the question that had been burning inside me finally escaped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “We’ve been together for so long now. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I pulled back slightly to look at her. “I’m not blaming you. I just… I had the right to know. I just want to understand.”

She looked at me, her eyes glossy, and whispered, “Because I was scared.”

“Scared of what?” I asked.

She looked away. “What if you didn’t trust me?”

My brows furrowed. “Trust you over what?”

Her voice dropped to almost nothing. “What if you thought this wasn’t your child?”

Her words pierced my heart like a blade.

She continued, tears spilling freely now. “I was scared you wouldn’t believe me. That you would ask for proof. Nico… if I had to prove this, I would have broken. I wouldn’t have survived.”

She pressed a hand to her stomach unconsciously. “This child is the reason I survived. This child gave me a reason to live. To come back. If you had doubted me even once…”

Her voice cracked. “But you would have had every reason to doubt. I was gone for three months. Anything could have happened. I could have been raped. Or worse. In jail… people do terrible things. Why wouldn’t you—”

“Hush,” I said firmly, pulling her back into my arms.

What was she saying? Why did she believe such cruel things about herself? How broken must her trust be for her to think I would ever doubt her?

My chest hurt with guilt, rage and shame. I had failed her.

“I don’t need proof,” I said, my voice steady now. “Never. Not now. Not ever.”

I held her face gently. “Serena, you are here. I am here. That’s all that matters.”

I kissed her forehead. “I promise you, no danger will ever touch you again. No harm. Never.”

My voice shook. “You will be safe. Always. Our child will be safe. Please… have faith in me.”

Something inside her broke.

She burst into tears and painful sobs that came from a place far deeper than fear.

“I have known I was pregnant for months,” she cried. “But I never allowed myself to feel it. I was too scared.”

She clutched my shirt. “What if I lost the baby? How would I survive that grief? Nico… I don’t want to feel it because if something goes wrong, I won’t live through it. I won’t.”

Her body shook. “I’m scared. I’m so scared. If things go wrong… north or south… I’ll die. I won’t be able to live.”

I held her tighter, rocking her gently.

“Look at me,” I said softly.

She did.

“I am here,” I said. “I will never leave you. I will never let anything happen to you or our child. I swear it on my life.”

I placed her hand over her heart. “And I swear it here.”

I kissed her tears away. “Please, Serena. Trust me. Have faith in me.”

She didn’t speak. She only held onto me, and for the first time, I felt her lean into my strength.

I would spend the rest of my life protecting this woman and the child she carried.