Page 157 of Modern Romance June 2025 1-4

Pregnant Before “I Do”

Bella Mason

For Felicety

You introduced me to Sleep Token so I don’t know if this is quite enough, but for all the music, the inspo, the unending support, two books’ worth of questions about Italy and years of friendship… This one’s for you!

PROLOGUE

Two months ago

Beep…beep…beep.

The constant sound of the hospital monitor greeted Emilio De Luca as he entered his mother’s bedroom. It might not be the master suite of the generations-old estate that had been passed down fromcontetoconte, but it still had an uninterrupted view of the vineyard-covered hills Perlano was known for.

The sound was a comfort to him. His mother lay in the large bed, machines all around her. She was quite still—sleeping, most likely. Emilio moved into the room as quietly as possible.

‘Don’t hover,piccolo re,’ Valentina said in a small voice.

Emilio chuckled as he took a seat beside her bed. Though they weren’t blooming locally at this time of year, a bouquet of pink oleander sat on her bedside table: her favourite flower. And, even though she was too frail to move around on her own, her make-up was applied as impeccably as ever. She was dressed in a soft warm blouse, looking as good as she could despite how ill she was. It was a small thing, but he knew that it made her still feel like herself.

‘I thought you were asleep.’

His mother gave a small shake of her head. ‘It’s cold,’ she said, looking out of the window. A leather-bound book shut with a clasp lay beside her on the covers.

Emilio knew what she really meant. He didn’t want to think about it, but the truth was that Valentina was unlikely to see the vineyards in all their glory again. No amount of hope could change winter to summer.

There was nothing he could say. Emilio De Luca was CEO of the American division of De Luca and Co, a man with so much influence and power he could control the world’s elite with a word…and yet that was all so utterly useless now. It couldn’t save his mother. So, instead of saying anything, he pulled up the throw from the foot of the bed, fussing until he was satisfied that she was comfortably tucked in.

‘Stop fussing. I am fine.’ But she wasn’t. Otherwise she wouldn’t have a nasal cannula to help her breathe, or a monitor attached to her index finger. She took Emilio’s hand; he adjusted their hold to make sure he avoided the drip attached to her mottled skin. ‘I worry about you,’ his mother said.

‘Me?’ he asked in confusion. Emilio was the picture of health and wealth. If there was anything he wanted, he could simply buy it, regardless of cost.

Except Mamma’s health.

The one thing he wanted most of all. But all the money in the world couldn’t restore her.

‘Yes,’ Valentina continued. ‘I worry about what will happen to both my sons when I’m gone. But I especially worry about you.’

‘Mamma.’ Again, Emilio knew what his mother was getting at, but he didn’t want to talk about his brother.

‘You made a mistake.’

Yes, he had—a drunken mistake, an impulsive one. Emilio had never intended to sleep with his brother’s fiancée, and he had never forgiven himself for doing so. For the wound he had inflicted.

‘He will forgive you one day,’ his mother said. ‘You can make up for it,mio figlio.’

I have been trying.Emilio couldn’t say the words out loud but every single day he fought that impulsive side of himself. Every day he tried to be better, every decision driven by a desire to repent for the worst thing he had ever done.

His mother, in contrast, was driven by hope. And, with her condition deteriorating from one moment to the next, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the simple facts. Not only would Enzo never forgive him, Emilio didn’twantEnzo in his life.

‘I want you to know,piccolo re,’ Valentina went on, ‘that even when I’m gone, I will still be with you.’

‘Mamma, please…don’t.’ Even though Emilio had spent the last few weeks at his mother’s side, he refused to think about her death. All he wanted when he was with her was to hold onto the moment for as long as he could.

But Valentina was insistent. ‘I will take care of you.’

This time Emilio had no idea what she meant. ‘Don’t speak like this, Mamma. You need to save your strength.’

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