Page 69 of Isabella

Nicco drops his hand from my chin and takes mine into his once more. “What is it? You know you can tell me anything.” The concern in his voice is apparent.

“I… I don’t really know how to say this without just coming out and saying it.” My heart is pounding so hard it’s thrumming in my ears. “When you left—before you left—I was… I was pregnant.”

Nicco freezes, and I swear he stops breathing as he takes in that one sentence. Dropping my hands, he stutters out, “W-what?”

His loss of contact hits me hard in the chest, making me feel even more vulnerable than I did before.

He hates me.

Nicco must see the worry wash over my face, because his features soften and he shoots his hands out, wrapping them around mine. “I’m sorry, I just… I don’t understand. Y-you werepregnant?”

I nod a few times. “I l-lost it.” The trails of tears trickle down my cheeks, the weight of this secret finally being set free taking its toll on me. The weight of the anger and resentment I held over Nicco finally freeing itself from my body. “I was pregnant, but then I lost it. I’m so sorry, Nicco.”

He pulls me into him, and my head falls to his chest while the small sobs take over my body. I thought I was over this, but telling Nicco is like opening the wound all over again, making me feel like it happened just yesterday.

Nicco rubs my back, and the comforting embrace soothes me. Once the tears finally stop flowing, I pull back and gaze into his mournful eyes. “I didn’t find out until a few weeks after you left.” I wipe away my tears with the back of my sleeve and sniffle. “I had no idea I was… until I wasn’t anymore.”

Nicco closes his eyes and sighs deeply before opening them and focusing his gaze on mine. “And you didn’t tell me?”

My heart drops. “I didn’t?—”

“You didn’t tell me because of how I treated you,” he continues.“Fuck!”

I jump at his outburst.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Isabella. I left you alone at a time when you needed me the most. I’m the reason?—”

“No, don’t say it. Don’t say you’re the reason I had the miscarriage. It was early in the pregnancy, and I don’t blame you at all for it happening.”

“How could you not?” he cries out.

“The doctor said I had extremely low progesterone levels. I was bound to have a miscarriage, even if everything that happened between the two of us never did.”

Nicco lets out another long breath and runs his hand through his hair. Dropping his head, he shakes it before bringing his gaze back up to mine. “I still should’ve been there for you. You shouldn’t have gone through that by yourself.”

“I had Liana and my mom,” I utter.

“And I’m glad you did,” Nicco says. Sadness mixed with relief fill his voice. “I’m glad they were there for you when I wasn’t. When I couldn’t be.” Nicco pulls me back into him, holding me tightly and whispers into my hair, “I’m so fucking sorry, my sweet Isabella.”

We hold each other for what feels like forever, making up for the time we’ve lost. When we finally pull away, Nicco says, “I love you. You don’t have to say it back, but they’re words I’ll never stop telling you because I need you to know how much you mean to me. I know I hurt you, Isabella, in more ways than one, but I will spend every day of the rest of our lives proving to you that I’m worthy of your love again.”

My heart squeezes at his words, and I want to say them back, but I find them lodged in my throat, incapable of forcing themselves out no matter how I feel. I can’t avoid the small voice in my head that keeps saying our happily ever after doesn’t exist, but I will at least enjoy the time with Nicco while I can. Because no matter what, in the end, this bubble we’re trying to live inwillpop, and I’m not sure my heart will be able to take it again.

43

ISABELLA

Areason to kill him.

Nicco’s words continue to ring through my ears, the promise of what he has planned for his dad quickly becoming a reality. Between my brother and him, Giuseppe Silvestri will soon no longer be an issue for any of us. But even with him out of the way, I can’t stop thinking about Teo not being okay with Nicco and me being together.

I shake my head and try not to let the negative thoughts about Nicco’s and my future consume me. Finally coming clean to him about my pregnancy has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, and now that I have him back in my life, all I can think about is how much I’ve missed him. I selfishly want to stay in this little bubble for as long as I can.

It reminds me of when we dated in college. We made it work back then, sneaking around and not telling anyone about us. Why can’t we do that now? Even if it is only for a little bit.

A knock sounds on my door as I walk out of the bathroom and pull the towel out of my freshly washed hair. “Come in,” I call out.

Lux walks in wearing a baggy sweatshirt and leggings with a bottle of rosé and two empty wineglasses. “I feel like I’ve been absent a bit lately, so I come with a present,” she says with an apologetic smile.

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