Chapter 37: Breakfast

Carla's POV

The hospital room felt suffocating after Marco left. I stared at the ceiling tiles while my mind replayed everything that had happened. Alessandro's bloody knuckles, Luca's broken fingers, the sound of bones cracking in the hallway. He had protected me without hesitation, choosing violence over family peace.

The weight of that sacrifice pressed against my chest like a stone.

By midnight, the nurses had finished their rounds, and the ward had settled into the quiet rhythm of overnight shifts. I waited until I was certain everyone was asleep before slipping out of bed. My discharge papers weren't ready《 》but I couldn't stay here any longer.

I dressed quickly in the clothes Maria had brought earlier, then gathered my things and walked toward the elevators. The night staff was minimal, and no one questioned a woman in street clothes moving through the halls.

Once outside, I hailed a taxi and gave the driver a stop at an all-night grocery store. Alessandro's penthouse was immaculate but probably lacking basic cooking supplies.

At the store, I selected items for a simple but nourishing breakfast: fresh eggs, artisanal bread, butter, cream, smoked salmon, and seasonal fruit.

The taxi dropped me at Alessandro's building around four in the morning. The doorman recognized me and nodded sleepily as I passed through the lobby.

The penthouse was dark when I arrived. I punched in the security code Alessandro had given me and let myself in quietly.

I moved through the living room carefully, not wanting to wake him. The kitchen was pristine and modern, but as I'd suspected, sparsely stocked. I unpacked my ingredients and began working by the soft light under the cabinets.

I started with eggs Benedict, poaching the eggs carefully while I toasted the bread and prepared a light hollandaise sauce. The ritual of cooking calmed my nerves, giving my hands something useful to do while my mind processed the events of the evening. I added fresh fruit, strong coffee, and arranged everything with care on his dining table.

After everything he'd sacrificed to protect me, preparing breakfast seemed like the least I could offer in return.

By the time I finished, exhaustion had settled into my bones like lead. The adrenaline that had sustained me through the hospital ordeal was finally wearing off, leaving me drained and hollow. I collapsed onto his leather sofa, intending to rest my eyes for just a moment.

Sleep came immediately, pulling me under before I could even remove my shoes.

But my dreams were far from peaceful.

I found myself standing in a courtroom filled with harsh fluorescent lighting and judgment. The jury box was packed with faces I recognized: Beatrice, Ricardo, my parents, Dr. Gregg, even Luca with his bandaged fingers pointing accusingly at me.

"She's a liar," they chanted in unison. "A deceiver. A manipulator who pretends to be pregnant while carrying sex toys to seduce her husband's brother."

The judge's gavel came down like thunder. "Guilty of fraud. Guilty of adultery. Guilty of destroying a family with her selfishness."

I tried to speak, to defend myself, but my voice was gone. The courtroom began to crumble around me, pieces of the ceiling falling like rain. In the chaos, I heard Ricardo's voice calling my name, weak and desperate.

"Carla, how could you do this to me? How could you betray everything we had?"

I reached toward the sound of his voice, but my hands passed through empty air. The ground beneath my feet gave way, and I began falling into darkness.

Just as panic consumed me completely, I felt strong hands catch me. Warm arms wrapped around my body, holding me against a solid chest. A deep voice whispered reassurances against my ear, telling me I was safe, that no one could hurt me anymore.

I looked up to see the face of my protector, expecting Ricardo's gentle features.

Instead, I saw Alessandro's dark eyes looking down at me with unexpected tenderness.

I woke with a start, my heart racing and my skin damp with perspiration. The morning light was streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I could hear the soft clink of silverware from the dining room.

Alessandro sat at his table, fully dressed in a charcoal suit, eating the breakfast I'd prepared hours earlier. He looked up when I appeared in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

"Good morning," he said simply. "Thank you for this."

I smoothed my wrinkled clothes self-consciously. "I wanted to do something. After last night, after what you did for me..."

"You don't owe me anything, Carla."

But I did owe him. More than he could possibly know.

I moved toward the kitchen to pour myself coffee, but Alessandro's voice stopped me.

"You're bleeding."

I looked down at my hands and saw a thin line of blood across my index finger. I must have cut myself while preparing the hollandaise sauce, too distracted by my thoughts to notice the small injury.

"It's nothing," I said quickly. "Just a small cut from cooking."

Alessandro stood and walked to a cabinet, retrieving a first aid kit. "Sit."

His hands were gentle as he cleaned the wound, his touch surprisingly tender for someone who had broken another man's bones just hours earlier. As he wrapped the bandage around my finger, I found myself studying his face. The sharp line of his jaw, the way his dark lashes cast shadows on his cheeks.

The dream rushed back to me.

Those same hands catching me as I fell, those same eyes looking at me with protective warmth. My pulse quickened as he secured the bandage, his fingers lingering against my skin.

"There," he said quietly. "Better."

But I wasn't better. I was confused, shaken by the unexpected intimacy of the moment and the lingering memory of my dream. This was Ricardo's brother. So why did his gentle care make my chest feel tight with something that wasn't gratitude?

The sound of the elevator arriving broke the spell between us. Alessandro straightened immediately, his expression returning to its usual controlled mask.

The doors opened to reveal a stunning blonde woman in a tight red dress. Her enhanced curves and confident stride marked her as one of the women from Lilith's network.

"Good morning, Alessandro," she purred, completely ignoring my presence. "You called for me?"

Reality crashed over me like cold water. Of course.He had business to attend to, needs to satisfy that had nothing to do with me or the tender moment we'd just shared.

"I should go," I said quickly, gathering my purse. "Beatrice will be wondering where I am."

Alessandro's hand caught my wrist gently but firmly. "Stay. I need to speak with you about something important."

He turned to the blonde woman. "Upstairs. I'll join you in a few minutes."

She nodded and headed toward the spiral staircase that led to the second floor of the penthouse, her heels clicking against the marble steps.

I stood frozen in the living room, listening to their footsteps overhead, trying not to imagine what was happening above me. Whatever Alessandro needed to discuss could apparently wait until after he'd satisfied his physical needs.