insist on an abortion the moment you shared the news of your pregnancy?”
My silence was all the answer he needed.
“So, that was the reason you didn't tell me?” His face grimaced as though he was bothered by the possibility.
“I was going to tell you,” I mumbled awkwardly.
He sneered. “But then you came up with that wonderful idea of using the stomach flu as an excuse.”
“How long have you known?” I asked, letting his comment about the stomach flu slip.
“I started suspecting the first time it happened,” he revealed. “By the third time, I was certain you were expecting a child. I just didn't know if it was mine.”
I squinted in confusion. Didn't he know I would rather kill myself than risk cheating on him after what had happened in that hotel? No, he didn't know. He was living in blissful ignorance while I had to cope with painful memories every moment of every day. “What made you doubt?” I inquired in a conversational tone.
He arched his eyebrows and smirked. “The constant secrecy…and the fact you went to the hospital accompanied by your bodyguard, then lied about where you'd been.”
“How—”
“The cars have integrated tracking systems, cara,” he explained.
Realization swept over me and suddenly, I could make perfect sense of his animosity toward Broderick. It was more than jealousy. “You thought that Broderick...”
“What else was I supposed to think?” he challenged. “The little jerk seemed to be the center of your universe. I wanted to snap his neck, but knew you’d never forgive me if I killed your lover.”
“He has never been my lover,” I said firmly.
“That was not how I saw it,” he muttered. “There are images I’ll never be able to get out of my head.”
I shook my head at him. “Alessandro...”
“I was very jealous,” he admitted quietly. “That’s why I postponed telling you I knew for so long. I would have murdered him if he was the father.”
I straightened my spine at his words. “You just said you wouldn't touch him,” I reminded him.
He shrugged. “There’s an exception to every rule. Show me a man who can forgive such a betrayal.”
His dangerous side reared its ugly head out and it reminded me of the evil he was capable of executing without breaking a sweat. Olivia, don't forget you’re lying in the arms of a heartless murderer. “What would happen to me if the baby wasn't yours?” I asked cautiously.
“I certainly wouldn't be happy about it.” His face settled into a sour, serious expression. “But since that isn't the case, there is no point talking about it, so let's leave it at that.”
“Would you kill me?” I blurted out.
His eyes widened. “Olivia, why on earth are you asking me these things?”
A nervous smile twisted my lips. “I was just wondering...morbid curiosity.”
He shot me a long hard look. “No, I wouldn't kill you, tesoro, but I don't know if I would be able to forgive. Happy?”
“Would you make me...”
Alessandro exhaled a breath filled with irritation. “Cara, I don't believe in abortion. I don't have many scruples, but I would never hurt a child or rob it of its right to live. Can we please close this subject?”
I gazed at him in silent disbelief because he was so adamant about not wanting to hurt children. It gave me a flicker of hope that hung by a very thin thread. If I ended up in prison or dead, there was a slight chance he would keep our baby safe, and that he wouldn't make it pay for my sins. “So you really do want the baby?” I asked incredulously.
“Olivia, how many more times do you intend to ask?” he inquired. “I want the baby. I want you. I want the whole package.” He looked at me and a flicker of light flashed in his gaze. “What about you?”
“I want the baby too,” I whispered.
He smiled sadly. “But you don't want me?”
Tears brimmed in my eyes at the sight of this man who appeared so devastated by my constant rejection. Why did he make me feel like this? Why when he was the one who had ruined everything? “Alessandro, it's not as simple as you think.” I didn't have the heart to tell him I didn't want him in those exact words. Not now. Not like this.
“I don't think it's simple, cara,” he said in a distant voice, pulling my head on his chest. “I think it doesn't get more complicated than this.”
I remained motionless in his arms and didn't say another word. Neither