Page 118 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

VALENTINO

WhenIfindLaylaagain, she’s talking to Mattia.

My first instinct is to step in, to be by her side, to protect her, but then it dawns on me that Mattia is not a stranger to her. He’s her half-brother.

Mattia has always been an enigma. Despite being Silvano’s son, he has never inherited his father’s cruelty or his reckless behavior. If anything, he’s the most level-headed Salvatore I know.

I hang back, watching them from a distance.

Layla’s posture is tense, her arms wrapped tightly around herself like she’s holding her very soul together.

Mattia listens intently, nodding at her words. Then, after a brief exchange, he gives her a firm nod and disappears back into the house.

I don’t hesitate any longer. I rush over to Layla.

“Hey,” I murmur, my arm instinctively wrapping around her.

She feels so fragile, so exhausted.

She doesn’t resist. Instead, she buries her face into my chest, her fingers curling against my jacket.

“H-he said yes, Valentino. He’s agreed to… to test for us.”

My whole body exhales with relief.

I tighten my hold on her, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head before catching myself.

That’s not my place anymore. But right now, none of that matters.

“Layla, this is good news.”

She pulls back just enough to look up at me, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Let’s get back to the hospital.”

The drive back is different this time.

Less tense. Less suffocating.

Layla isn’t curled into herself like before, withdrawn behind a wall of silence. Instead, she sits a little more relaxed, her hands loosely folded in her lap. Every so often, she glances at me, like she’s trying to figure out how to navigate this new version of us.

We’re still on unsteady ground, still balancing between what we were and what we might become, but something is shifting.

And honestly? It’s a relief.

She exhales, resting her head lightly against the seat. “It’s nice to have hope again.”

I steal a glance at her.

The weight of the last few days is still etched into her features, but something about the way she says it, it’s lighter.

“Yeah.” My fingers tighten around the wheel. “It really is.”

She turns toward me, a small smile playing on her lips. It’s not the effortless kind, the ones she used to give so freely, but it’s something.

I find myself wanting to see more of that.

Over the next few days, the atmosphere at the hospital feels different.

Lighter, almost.

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