Madly and Irrevocably in love
Madly and Irrevocably in love
Serena
A month had passed since everyone learned about my pregnancy, and ever since then I had become a fragile doll in Lucia’s words, something that needed constant watching, feeding, and protecting. Every movement I made was observed, every sigh questioned, and every meal turned into a discussion about nutrients, moods, and the future of the child growing inside me.
“Taste this,” Nina said as she placed a bowl in front of me with the seriousness of someone offering medicine rather than food. “It is very nutritious. I called my grandmother all the way in Beijing to ask about it, and it has everything you need. It will help your body and make your mood better as well.”
Grace snorted from her seat, clearly unimpressed, and said, “This is the first time I have heard that food can fix a mood so easily.”
Lucia, being Lucia, could never resist joining a conversation with fire, and she leaned back with a knowing smile before saying, “You would not understand if you keep surviving on sad salads and that devilish bitter drink everywhere you go. You live on bitter things, Grace, so it is no surprise that you are bitter and green on the inside.”
By green, Lucia meant jealous, and everyone at the table knew it even if Grace pretended not to care.
I sighed quietly, resting my hand on my stomach as I watched them, because I had no energy left to stop another argument from breaking out between Grace and Lucia. Their sharp words and dramatic pauses were part of everyday life now, and I had learned that trying to intervene only made things louder.
Grace raised her glass calmly and said, “Being green and bitter is far better than being a cynic who hides behind jokes.”
She took a slow sip of her wine, looking far too pleased with herself.
God, I wanted wine too, and the thought alone made my mouth water, which only made me more aware of everything I was not allowed to have anymore. Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt something strange inside my stomach, something small but sudden, like a soft jolt from within.
It startled me.
The sensation came again, a little stronger this time, and I let out a sharp yelp without meaning to.
Nico, who had been standing on the other side of the hall talking business with his brothers, reacted instantly. He ran toward me as if someone had fired a gun, his face filled with panic as he reached me in seconds and began asking questions without taking a breath.
“What happened, are you alright, are you in pain, should we call a doctor, should we go to the hospital right now, do you want me to carry you,” he asked in one rushed stream of words.
“Shut up,” I snapped before I could stop myself.
The room went silent.
Everyone turned to look at me, clearly shocked that I had raised my voice at the mafia don without hesitation. I saw Gino turn his face away to hide a laugh, and Luca press his lips together to stop a smirk, while Lucia openly grinned and said, “My dear brother in law, it fills my heart with joy to see someone humble you this quickly.”
Nico ignored her completely and kept his eyes fixed on me, filled with concern and something close to fear.
Before I could explain anything, the sensation came again, unexpected and unfamiliar, and I yelped once more, startled even though it did not hurt.
“What happened,” he asked again, his voice softer now but no less worried.
I took his hand and placed it gently on my stomach, guiding it as if I somehow knew what I was doing, even though this was new and frightening for me too. For a long moment, nothing happened, and Nico looked at me with confusion written clearly across his face.
“What am I supposed to feel,” he asked, as if he did not understand the language I was speaking.
Inside my head, I pleaded silently, urging the tiny life within me to move again, to prove that I was not imagining things.
Come on, baby, let your father feel you too, I thought, holding my breath.
As if listening to me, the baby kicked again, and this time Nico felt it.
His eyes widened instantly as he looked up at me, disbelief and awe mixing together in a way I had never seen before.
“What was that?” he asked, his voice almost a whisper.
“It is our child,” I said softly, my voice trembling despite myself. “Our child is kicking. Maybe he or she feels trapped inside.”
Nico did not speak for a long time. He simply placed his hand on my stomach again, holding it there as if afraid the moment would disappear if he moved. The baby did not kick again right away, but that did not seem to bother him. He stayed like that, completely still, as if the world around us no longer existed.
Watching him like that made something heavy settle in my chest.
With every passing day and with moments like this, I was finally beginning to understand that I was truly carrying a child, that this was not just fear or responsibility but life itself growing inside me. At the same time, the realization terrified me more than I could explain. Happiness felt dangerous, because I was always afraid that someone would take this child away from me, that fate would snatch away the one thing I was already starting to love.
That fear lived quietly in the back of my mind and refused to leave.
The rest of the day passed with jokes, teasing, and endless comments from Nico’s family, but Nico barely moved away from me. He stayed close, his hand finding its way back to my stomach again and again, as if hoping to feel the kick once more, as if that single movement had changed something deep inside him.
I could feel it then that Nico loved this child fiercely in a way that surprised even him.
Somewhere in my heart, I realized that this might be his first true love that does not need effort or learning and comes naturally and takes over without permission.
When I first met him, Nico told me that he did not believe in love, that it was a weakness he could not afford.
Looking at him now, standing guard beside me with quiet devotion and wonder in his eyes, I wondered who would tell Nico that he was already madly and irrevocably in love with his child.