Katerina De Luca

Warm.

Something soft and small clung to my stomach as I fought to open my eyes. It was an internal battle that lasted just a few moments but felt like an eternity. Part of me didn't want to wake up at all, while the other part wanted to see my loving family again. Ever so slowly, my eyelids fluttered open as I squinted them up at the bright lights in the familiar luxurious hospital room I had been in before.

Wait...when did I slee--

"Oh good, you're up...again! You scared us back there, you had passed out as soon as the word 'pregnant' left my mouth," the female doctor, a hispanic woman in her late fifties laughed lightly as she gently peeled the IV off my right arm while I stared in a daze at her nametag that read 'Dr. Santiago'.

I willed my hazy mind to clear up so that I could register her words but it was barely cooperating with me. Looking down, I realized that the small bit of warmth I was feeling came from little Elijah who was sleeping on my side with his head buried into my stomach.

A small smile made its way onto my face as I reached out and gently ruffled the top of his black curls. He's the cutest baby I have ever seen, sometimes I wish I could have held him in my arms as soon as he was born. I could almost picture how adorable his teeny tiny hands and small feet would have been all bundled up into a small baby blanket.

'Babies are such blessings,' I thought to myself as I gently placed little Eli's head onto the bed and slowly lifted myself up so that I was leaning against the bed headboard.

The first thing that came into my line of vision were the various flowers of all colors and sizes elegantly decorated around the room with huge balloons that read 'congratulations'. My brows furrowed in confusion as I raised my hand up to caress the side of my aching head but my hand froze midair.

Wait... babies...

I'm

having

a

baby.

"I...I'm...you said...I'm pregnant?" the words left my lips slowly and hesitantly as black spots began to cloud my vision. My head continuously pounded and I held it between my hands, begging silently for the pain to fade away.

"Yes, Mrs. De Luca. You are a little over a month pregnant, congratulation!" Dr. Santiago stated with a beaming smile before her face fell when she took in my expression. My eyes had widened in shock as tears quickly built up in them.

How could...I...I should be happy but I just can't. How can I be happy when I'm pregnant with a...with a... a monster's chil--

"Levati di mezzo, I need to see my wife," Arosio's enraged voice rang through the perfectly silent room from outside of the door. A cold shiver shot up my spine as I sat perfectly still and turned my face away from the door. (Get out of my way)

I could briefly make out the voices of Alanzo and Adriano trying to stop him from entering the room but Arosio paid them no mind. Within seconds, the door flew open and hit the ground with a loud 'thud' as I jumped in the bed and began to cry even more.

Little Elijah awoke to the sound of the door slamming against the floor and looked around the room in confusion. Once Elijah made eye contact with his father who stood silently at the front of the room, the little boy seemed unfazed and instead turned his worried gaze to me. The fact that Elijah was so calm and accustomed to his father's rage both shocked and appalled me, making me pull him into my arms and turn away from the dangerous man.

"Katerina," Arosio breathed a sigh of relief when I met his eyes but his expression quickly darkened when I began to shiver in fear and turned my gaze away from him again.

Blood...every time I look at him... all I see is his clothes coated in blood and the sound of his sadistic laughter replaying in my mind over and over again.

"NO! Stay away, please, get away from me. Don't come near me, help! Someone please help, get him away from me," I screamed in terror as soon as Arosio began to take a few steps towards me. His brothers stood behind him in shock and I could see sympathy flash across their gazes as I averted their eyes and refused to look at Arosio.

The room stilled as Arosio's footsteps came to a sudden halt and I could practically feel the rage radiating off of him. Little Elijah began to squirm in my arms but I unconsciously held him tighter and shielded his eyes and ears from that monster.

"Tesoro, please listen to me," a few moments of silence ensued before Arosio began to plead with me but by now the fear I felt of him was too much and my body began to tremble even more in fear as the heart monitor machine beside the bed beeped rapidly.

"With all due respect, I think it would be better for the patient if you left the room Mr. De Luca," Dr. Santiago stated in a timid voice as she took a slow step forward and shielded me away from Arosio's line of sight.

"Yeah, bro. Let principessa rest first. Let's leave her alone for a bit," Alanzo let out a nervous laugh as Adriano hummed in agreement before slowly approaching me and taking Elijah out of my arms. I wanted to protest but froze when I noticed the slightly red marks around Elijah's pale arm.

I had been in so much fear when Arosio stepped into the room and accidentally held Elijah too tightly. Before I could apologize, a gunshot rang through the room, making my frightened gaze snap up to Arosio in pure shock and horror.

"Finally. Do I really need to use this just to get my own wife to look at me?" Arosio's hard voice penetrated the silent room with his darkened gaze fixed on me as I quickly lowered my eyes back to the floor. It was only for a brief moment but I could see the anger swirling in his dark orbs and it reminded me of when I first met him.

"Now the rest of you, get out. I would like some privacy with my wife, and I will not repeat myself," Arosio threatened as he held the gun up and I cried even more when Doctor Santiago immediately left the room with a surprised Alanzo and Adriano in tow. They had probably never thought that their older brother would point his gun at them.

My mind was going crazy while I glanced around the room, looking for an escape route. Before Arosio could even approach the bed, I had practically jumped off of it and backed away from him.

"No...stay away... get away from me!" I screamed in fear as he slowly stalked towards me, his darkened gaze never leaving my terrified eyes and his jaw clenched in anger. My eyes slowly trailed to his hand that held his gun as I gasped before my back hit the wall behind me.

I kept my gaze fixed on the floor and stiffened instantly when Arosio's designer black shoes stopped right in front of me. His hand slowly lifted up to caress the side of my face, making me shut my eyes tightly before flinching back in fear. It was a light touch but it made my skin crawl in disgust.

"Don't...just don't...ever touch me," my lips trembled in fear as I mustered up the courage to utter such words but quickly regretted it when Arosio let out an animalistic sound before tightly gripping my chin and pulling it up so that our eyes met.

"You saw one thing, just one thing and all of the love you had for me disappeared? Just like that? You won't even give me the chance to explain my actions, Katerina?" Arosio whispered darkly as he leaned his forehead against mine and gently cupped my face in his hands.

No...that's not true...I still...I still love...

Before I could sort through my own feelings, my body completely froze up in terror as that poor man's empty eyes replayed in my mind after Arosio had given him hope and then shot him dead in front of me. I immediately pushed Arosio away from me before falling to the ground and wrapping my arms around my body to protect myself against him.

"No...I didn't...I didn't love...I would never love... a monster. I must've lost my mind...I didn't love..." I whispered while shaking my head in denial with more tears falling from my eyes. Arosio's gaze hardened at my words as he roughly yanked me up, making me wince in pain before he held both of my arms above my head in a deathly grip.

"Mi scusi? You never loved me? Then what is this? This is proof of our love, Mrs. Katerina De Luca," Arosio stated huskily as he gently placed his hand on my stomach and gazed into my widened eyes. (Excuse me?)

I have no idea where this sudden courage came from but right now, my only thought is to protect my baby from this heartless murderer. Without thinking any further, my hands flew down and pushed Arosio's hand away from my stomach as I glared at him furiously before finally speaking my mind.

"Don't touch me! This is my baby and I will never let you touch my baby. A murderer like you doesn't deserve to have any kids. That man that you gave so much hope to before shooting dead could have had a child but do you even care? His children might be plotting to kill your children right now but do you even care?" my voice came out surprisingly strong and steady as I looked a shocked Arosio straight in his dark eyes and refused to back down. He opened his mouth to speak but I held my hand up to stop him.

"No, you don't care. Do you know why? Because emotionless monsters like you don't have any feelings. I'm leaving you, Arosio De Luca. I will file for divorce and have the papers mailed to your house. As for my baby, the courts will always rule in the mother's favor and I will gain full custody. I would fight for full custody of Elijah too but I know that your parents will never allow that. I will file for joint custody though. From today onward, please forget that we were ever married because I will be doing the same. Goodbye forever, Arosio De Luca," my chest was heaving up and down as I finished letting everything out while Arosio stood there staring at me in a mixture of shock and anger.

I only managed to take one step away from him before I was roughly pulled back and slammed against the wall behind me. Pain immediately shot up my back as a scream escaped my trembling lips before Arosio's hand gripped onto my neck and gave it a harsh squeeze.

My breathing began to come out short and ragged as he began to squeeze even harder before something hard was jabbed into my stomach. My eyes widened in fear when Arosio slowly leaned down to my ear before whispering such terrifying words that made me instantly stop breathing.

"If you ever even think of leaving me, just know that you won't like the consequences. I love you and I will do anything to keep you by my side, anything, understood, tesoro?" Arosio pressed the gun into my stomach once more with the silent threat hanging above us as my vision blurred with more tears.

Arosio began to squeeze harder when I refused to answer him and instead I tried to move his gun away from my stomach. We began to struggle for a few moments as Arosio's grip on the gun remained tight and firm.

I screamed in pain when everything happened so fast, I could barely blink before hearing a gunshot and gasping in pain with my hands instantly clutching the bleeding wound on my stomach. My shocked eyes snapped up to Arosio whose gaze widened in shock as well.

"My...my...my baby," I whispered weakly before my vision went completely black and I fell to the cold ground.

***

"NOO" a horrified scream escaped me as I shot up from the comfortable bed I laid in as I recognized the familiar surroundings of the hospital VIP room. My breathing came out hard and ragged with sweat dripping down from the side of my forehead. My hands immediately flew down to my stomach to feel for any blood or wound but there was nothing.

I'm fine...it was just a dream...only a nightmare.

"We're safe, baby. Don't worry, mommy will protect you. You're safe," I whispered to my baby as I gently caressed my flat stomach. I failed to notice Doctor Santiago who was staring at me in confusion from the side of my bed before she spoke up.

"Of course you're safe, Mrs. De Luca. Your husband would tear this hospital down if even a strand of hair on top of your head were harmed," Doctor Santiago let out a small laugh as I visibly stiffened at the mention of his name.

"Aros...he...where did he...I mean what happened?" I trailed off awkwardly as I leaned back onto the headboard and gently massaged the side of my aching head.

"Mrs. De Luca, you had passed out a few hours ago when I told you about your pregnancy. But don't worry, both you and the baby are safe and in stable condition right now. I told that to your husband before but Mr. De Luca refused to leave your side for the whole day. He didn't leave the room to eat or anything for that matter. His brothers just managed to bring him out of the room to eat something from the canteen a few minutes ago," Dr. Santiago began as she seemed to be studying my reactions. I could understand her confusion, she was probably curious as to why I seemed so shaken up whenever Arosio was mentioned.

"Oh, thank you...and please don't call me Mrs. De Luca," I stated numbly while clutching my stomach tighter, the only thoughts crossing my mind were the fragments from my nightmare.

Arosio's enraged expression, the murderous gaze in his dark orbs, the gun he held against my unborn baby, the pain from the gunshot in my stomach..I can never forget that.

It all felt so terrifyingly real.

Many thoughts were crossing my mind but the main thought was on how to get away from that coldblooded monster. There's no way I can ever mention the word divorce in front of him, if he pulls out a gun and points it at my baby again, then my nightmare will come true. At the thought of this, tears began to gather in my eyes but I quickly wiped them away when Dr. Santiago sat down on my bed with a concerned expression on her gentle face.

"Are you alright, dear? Should I call your husband back?" Dr. Santiago suggested but I was quick to refuse her idea.

"NO! Uh...I mean...it's fine...let him eat first," I came up with the first excuse I could think of and couldn't help but cringe when the older woman gave me a teasing smile.

"How romantic! First the husband refuses to leave his wife's side and barely let any of my medical team even touch her and now the wife is concerned with her husband who hasn't eaten all day. So lovely, your unborn child is lucky to have such loving parents," Dr. Santiago stated warmly before gently placing her hand onto mine as tears gathered in my eyes.

Loving parents? I wish.

"Yeah...thank you," I barely managed to spit the words out with a neutral expression on my face before the room fell into a comfortable silence.

I had a million plans crossing my mind like getting this doctor out of the room so that I could run out the back door. But then where would I go? I don't have any car, I have no money and no family here.

Even if I manage to escape, it wouldn't be worth it if I didn't have a set plan. Arosio has so many connections and men working for him, if I leave now, he will find me within a few hours like he did when I went to New York to see Ethan and Rylan.

No, this time I will need to be smarter and plan this in advance.

"Um...Dr. Santiago, may I ask you a question please?" my small voice pierced through the silence as the older woman nodded her head with a smile.

"Well you see, Arosio's step-cousin is getting married in Italy in two months and we promised to attend. But I was wondering, when is it safe to fly?" I tried to phrase my question in a way that wouldn't raise any suspicions and in a way, my lie was true. Arosio's step-cousin is getting married to the current Mafia leader in Italy who took over for Arosio's uncle.

"Oh definitely not right now, dear. The risk of a miscarriage while flying during the first trimester is typically much higher. But in two months time, you will be entering your second trimester so flying shouldn't be a problem. You should still check in with us first so that we can run tests before your departure," Dr. Santiago calmly explained but we were interrupted by the sound of an enraged voice yelling in Italian.

"Mia moglie è sveglia e nessuno me l'ha detto? Get out of my way," Before I could reply to the doctor, the room door flew open as Arosio stood before us with a wide smile on his handsome face. (My wife is awake and nobody told me?)

He was dressed in black dress pants with a white button up shirt but he looked visibly shaken up. His typically clean cut look was ruined by the wrinkles in his clothing, and his dark hair that was typically combed back neatly looked like a mess as though he ran his hands through it repeatedly. The bags under his eyes indicated that he probably hadn't slept at all in the past day and much to my dismay, my heart ached at the sight of him like this.

Arosio's dark gaze remained fixed on me but unlike in my dream, affection and tenderness were evident in his dark orbs. Still, my body couldn't help but stiffen and flinch back in fear as he took a few long strides towards my bed while Doctor Santiago quickly excused herself from the room.

"Thank God, I was so worried about you and our baby. Thank you for waking up, I am sorry for everything, tesoro. I love you so much, please let me explain what happened?" Arosio stated in his deep voice as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me into his warm embrace. I could hear the slight panic in his voice which shocked me since he was always calm and collected.

For a brief second, I almost screamed in terror and pushed him away from me but I stopped myself before I could do that. Swallowing my fears down, I slowly raised my shaky hands up and wrapped them around him. I could feel him smile against my shoulder when I nodded my head for him to explain what happened.

"You were never meant to see any of that, Katerina. Even though I am the Mafia boss, I have tried to keep that part of my life separate from our private life. The only reason I had dealt with that man in our childhood home is because he was sent by your father to hurt you and Elijah. My men caught him spying on you and Elijah when you went shopping a few days ago and that bastard had tried to kill you both. He escaped from my men that day but then he snuck in past the security guards at our childhood mansion yesterday and was armed with a gun to harm our family," Arosio explained calmly before he gently rubbed the top of my head soothingly and studied my facial expressions to see how I would react.

Without saying anything, I nodded my head and gave him a small smile in return. He let out a sigh of relief before leaning down to kiss my lips softly. I almost raised my hand to wipe my lips clean but forced my hand back down.

"You understand, right? I had to do that in order to send your father a message, or else he would continue to send more killers after you and our family," Arosio whispered darkly as his hatred for my father showed but he quickly masked his emotions and looked towards me hopefully instead.

"Yes, I understand," I stated softly and maintained my fake smile as Arosio pulled me into another warm hug and held me tightly in his strong arms.

No, I will never understand you. The way you so easily ended another person's life, I will never understand you and I never want to understand you. If that bullet was off by a mere centimetre, both my baby and I would be dead right now.

"Really?" He questioned further, as I slowly wrapped my arms around him again and took a deep breath. His familiar addicting scent filled my every senses but this time, I didn't feel safe like I used to.

No, not really. I will never understand a murderer like you, Arosio De Luca.

"Yes, Arosio," I breathed out after a few moments of silence and shivered when he kissed the side of my neck.

"Thank you, tesoro. I promise, I will always protect our family. I love you for eternity," Arosio stated huskily before leaning down so his lips were merely inches away from mine.

"I love you too, Arosio," I whispered back after a few moments of silence and wanted to scream when his lips met mine.

My eyes remained opened as I stared emotionlessly at the clock hanging on the wall in front of us. From today onward, time will become my greatest enemy.

Two months.

All I have is two months to plan my escape from the Mafia boss.

And this time, I won't lose.

********* Hello lovely readers!

First off, thank you for your patience! I didn't update because I was studying for my second midterm exam for my summer course (I got an A!!!) so thank you all for waiting patiently. Here's an extra long chapter to make up for it!

Also, ahaha did I scare y'all with that nightmare scene?

I hope you enjoyed this update, as always please share your thoughts in the comment section! I read everything and I try to reply to everyone's comments and messages!

PLEASE READ, VOTE & COMMENT!