Chapter 85 Bad Timing
Valentina
I was on my way to find Carol when I rounded the corner too fast and collided with something soft and loud. I immediately apologized before I even knew what or who I ran into.
“Ow—watch it!” Arianna snapped, stumbling back as she clutched her designer handbag like I’d tried to mug her instead of barely brushing her arm.
I blinked. “I said I was sorry. Haven’t you ever heard of an accident?”
She scoffed, eyes narrowed and full of venom. “You should be more careful.”
Before I could respond, her face twisted.
Then she froze.
“What just happened?” she asked, voice sharp with confusion.
I looked down.
A small pool had begun to spread on the marble floor beneath her heels.
I stared at it, then back at her belly.
“Oh my God,” I said slowly. “I think your water just broke.”
Arianna gasped, taking a step back like she was offended. “What?! No—it can’t. The baby’s not due for three more weeks!”
“Yeah,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “Pretty sure that’s not how that works.”
“This is your fault!” she cried, eyes wide and accusing. “You bumped into me!”
“And now the baby’s early? You think I body-checked your uterus into labor?” I deadpanned.
She swayed slightly, breathing fast, the shock starting to register behind her manicured panic.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
“Hang on,” I said, pulling out my phone. I hit Matteo’s number and turned my back to her just enough to block out the frantic pacing.
He answered on the first ring. “Baby?”
“Not me,” I said quickly. “Arianna. Her water just broke. We’re in the east wing hallway, near the library.”
There was a beat of silence, then the sound of chairs scraping and Rosco shouting something in the background. “We’re coming,” Matteo said and hung up.
I turned back to Arianna. She was holding the wall with one hand and her belly with the other, eyes glassy.
A minute later, I heard footsteps pounding the floor, then Matteo, Rosco, and Alessio appeared like a goddamn rescue squad. All three froze when they saw the puddle and Arianna’s face.
“Where’s Luca?” she gasped, voice high-pitched and wobbly.
“We don’t know,” Rosco said. “But let’s get you to the hospital first.”
“No, no—please,” Arianna turned her eyes to Alessio, nearly begging now. “Please don’t make me give birth at the general hospital. I want my baby born in a clean, quiet, private suite—in the VIP wing. At the private hospital.”
Alessio glanced at Matteo, who looked back with the tiniest flicker of something—annoyance maybe, or amusement—but gave a nod.
Alessio sighed and nodded too. “Fine. Matteo, call the car. And call ahead to the hospital.”
By the time we reached the hospital, a nurse was already waiting outside the emergency room entrance with a wheelchair. Arianna was breathing through shallow gasps, both hands braced on her swollen belly like she was holding something back. Or trying to.
The nurse helped her into the chair as Rosco parked illegally at the curb without even pretending to care.
“VIP labor and delivery is prepped,” the nurse said briskly. “We’ll go straight up.”
The ride to the top floor was a blur of elevators, hallway lights, and clipped nurse chatter. Everything was pristine. Quiet. Just like Arianna wanted. A private wing that reeked of antiseptic and generational wealth.
Inside the suite, she was hooked up to monitors while two nurses bustled around, checking vitals and typing into tablets.
And somehow, I found myself holding her hand.
I didn’t like Arianna.
Didn’t trust her.
Didn’t believe for a second that her “marriage” to Luca was anything more than a ploy.
But right now?
Right now she was a woman, scared, alone, about to push a human being out of her body—and there wasn’t a soul in the room she trusted to stay by her side.
So I shelved my dislike and gripped her hand tighter.
I could go back to hating her tomorrow.
Matteo stood by the windows, back stiff, phone to his ear for the third time since we left the house. I didn’t even have to hear the other side to know there wasn’t an answer.
“This is bullshit,” he muttered, lowering the phone, glancing at the screen like maybe it would change its mind.
Then he hit redial, paced, waited, and—voicemail.
“Luca,” he snapped, voice low and sharp with anger. “Where the fuck are you? Your wife is in labor. She’s about to have your goddamned baby. Get your ass to the hospital.”
He ended the call with enough force that I flinched.
Several hours passed. Nurses came and went. The contractions grew sharper, closer. Arianna groaned and squeezed my hand until I thought my bones would snap.
And still… no Luca.
I exchanged a glance with Matteo.
His expression was stone.
A doctor entered the room, scanned the monitors, checked her dilation and gave a tight nod.
“It’s time,” he said.
“No,” Arianna said immediately, shaking her head, hair plastered to her cheeks. “No. My husband isn’t here yet.”
The doctor looked unimpressed. “The baby’s coming now. It’s not waiting.”
Arianna’s face crumpled—not in fear, but in sheer, frustrated disbelief. Like this birth had personally betrayed her.
The nurses sprang into action. Legs in stirrups. Gown up. Encouragements and commands blurring together.
I stood back, watching from the corner with a twisting in my gut I didn’t expect.
“Push.”
Arianna screamed.
“Push again.”
And then—
A cry.
Small. Fragile. Beautiful.
“A girl,” the nurse announced softly, as if unsure that was the right answer.
Arianna’s head dropped back, her voice barely above a whisper.
“It was supposed to be a boy…”
No one responded.
The baby was cleaned quickly, wrapped in a blanket, and wheeled over for just a moment—just long enough for Arianna to glance, and then look away.
“Breathing’s a little irregular,” one of the nurses said gently. “Just to be safe, we’ll take her to NICU for observation.”
Arianna didn’t ask for a second look. Didn’t ask to hold her. Didn’t reach out.
“Thank god,” she murmured. “I can get some sleep before I have to deal with the baby.”
I stared at her, stunned.
Deal with the baby.
I didn’t even realize my nails were digging into my palms until the sting reminded me I still had feeling.
Matteo stood near the foot of the bed, arms crossed. He hadn’t said a word.
Just watched.
Then he turned to the nurse. “Let me know the moment she’s stable.”
He looked at me next. “Go check on the baby if you want. I’ll handle things here.”
I didn’t hesitate.
Because someone had to give a shit.