Chapter 24 Cosa mia
CHAPTER 24: Cosa mia
Vera
I was trembling slightly when Silas’s footsteps stopped behind me.
Was that really Damien?
Has he found us already?
“Vera.”
I blinked.
Blood pounded in my ears and my fingertips turned cold, but I tried to pull a calm expression as I turned to face Silas, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He was standing so close that I could smell his cologne, clean…sharp, painfully familiar.
His face was unreadable, but his eyes weren’t. They were fixed somewhere behind me.
Had he seen him too?
My heart skipped a beat, my hands clenching tightly.
Silas’ gaze swept over me, noting the tremble in my hands, the stiff set of my shoulders.
“Who was that?” he asked.
I swallowed. “No one.”
His gaze didn’t soften.
“Just a man,” I said. I forced a breath. “He bumped into me just as I was coming out of the doctor's office. He helped me gather my things, then he asked for directions.”
A pause.
It stretched, heavy and deliberate, pressing into my ribs. I held my breath, praying he believed me.
I couldn’t tell him the truth. I remember his warning about being fooled or deceived. And I never told him about Damien. If he found out, I doubt he was going to be forgiving.
Silas looked past me, down the corridor, then back again. He didn’t say he believed me. He didn’t say he didn’t.
“That’s all?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Another silence.
My skin prickled under his scrutiny, the memory of that morning rose again, unbidden. Standing this close to him now felt dangerous in a different way.
But when I remembered that I had possibly run into Damien, those thoughts quickly faded.
If that was him, which I was sure of, then it was no coincidence. He was following me.
He had found us.
The fear, the anxiety, the possibility of all that could go wrong pressed down on me like an avalanche.
Damien’s eyes dropped to the papers in my hands.
“You left the house without letting me know.”
It was more of a statement than a question.
“Yes,” I admitted quietly. “I’m sorry I didn't tell you. I just wanted to check on the baby.”
That earned a flicker… brief, sharp…across his expression.
“And?” he asked.
“The doctor said everything's good,” I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “I’m two months along.”
“Anything else?”
I shook my head. “Nothing important. She said I just need to avoid stress. And eat right.”
The corner of his jaw tightened.
“You should have informed me before leaving the house. You can’t continue to make decisions on your own.”
“I know.” My voice lowered. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to hide it. I just… needed to know.”
He held my gaze for a long moment. Yet, I couldn't tell if he believed me or not.
With Silas, I could never tell.
I couldn’t tell if he even believed me about the man asking for directions.
Taking a quick glance at him, it sunk in that he was here.
Why was he here and not at work?
I decided to seize the change in subject like a lifeline.
“What are you doing here?” I asked carefully, hoping it sounded natural.
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “We have somewhere important to be,” he said evenly. “I tried calling you, but it was not connecting.”
Guilt crept in, warm and unwelcome. I had switched off my phone before I left the house.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I just—” I exhaled slowly. “I planned to inform you later.”
He stared at me. He made it as if to say something, then decided against it.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
Suddenly, dizziness hit me, sharp and sudden. I swayed, vision tilting.
His hand hooked around my waist and caught me instantly.
Firm. Steady. Too aware.
I held onto his biceps, the papers floating to the ground again. I felt woozy…weightless.
But strangely, I was aware of him…his proximity, his touch. His smell.
The contact sent a jolt through me. I hated how my body reacted…the heat, the awareness, the way my breath caught traitorously in my chest.
“Careful,” he said quietly, his voice a bit tight...restrained.
“I’m okay,” I said quickly, even as my knees threatened to buckle.
“You look pale,” he observed.
I looked up at him.
We locked in a gaze, and I noticed his gaze trail to my lips. His adam's apple bobbed.
Flash.
The flash of the camera, sliced through the moment.
Our heads snapped in that direction.
Another flash followed…distant, hidden. Someone was taking pictures.
Silas’s jaw tightened, his grip shifted, subtle but unmistakable, pulling me slightly behind him as his body angled forward.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He didn’t wait.
He picked up the scattered papers and grabbed my hands firmly, then guided me down the corridor, his hand never leaving mine, his presence a shield I hadn’t asked for but couldn’t deny.
I felt eyes on us, felt the weight of curiosity and whispers trailing in our wake.
Outside, the car door opened as soon as we emerged from the doors.
Once we were inside, silence settled between us again…taut, charged.
I scooted to the far corner of the car, my palm resting on the test results he left on the seat between us.
I watched him pull out his phone, jaw set, eyes dark, as he typed away.
“Drive,” he said to the driver. “Laurent.”
I blinked. “Laurent?”
I had not stayed long in the city, but I knew the name of the number one leading luxury fashion label in the country.
“We have an engagement,” he replied.
Nothing more.
I didn’t press further. I twisted my hands together, my thoughts going back to the man in the corridor.
If that was Damien, then he already knew about the baby.
Would he tell the father?
Or would he tell me who the father was if I paid him what I took from him?
My phone buzzed in my hand.
I looked down. It was an unknown number. But, It was the monosyllabic message that made chills run down my spine:
“Congratulations, cosa mia.”
My thing.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
I froze.
It was Damien.