Katerina De Luca

My eyes darted back and forth from our master bedroom door to Doctor Santiago who stood perfectly still beside my bed. The older woman looked visibly shaken up by my absurd request and remained completely silent with her mouth opening and closing every few seconds like a fish.

"Please, Arosio will be back any minute now. Please tell him what I just told you," I whispered in a low voice while trying my best to hide the urgency in my voice. Arosio left the room to take a call just a minute ago, usually he is always present in our bedroom for the doctor's house visits. This is my only chance!

"But...I do not understand, Mrs. De Luca! Your vitals are perfectly fine, you have finished with the first trimester of your pregnancy and are officially in your second trimester. Mr. De Luca wanted to be extra careful before all of you fly off to Italy so I have come every day this week and took your vitals. I have already told him that you are perfectly healthy, how can you expect me to suddenly tell Mr. De Luca that your health is at risk and that you cannot fly tonight?" Doctor Santiago questioned gently before sitting down beside me and taking my hand in hers. She felt slightly cold, nothing like Arosio's warm hands.

"Please, just tell him that I can't fly tonight and that you will come back tomorrow to check my vitals again," I pleaded with tears in my eyes and flinched back when she raised her hand up to my shoulders.

"Are you...alright, Mrs. De Luca? Do you need any help?" Doctor Santiago whispered hesitantly as her eyes darted to the bedroom door before returning to meet my widened green eyes.

'Yes, my husband is a coldblooded killer and Mafia boss, please get me away from him' I wanted to scream aloud but instead my fists tightly gripped the silky bedsheet at my side before I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Of course not! I am...I am completely fine. I have a surprise planned for Arosio's birthday and that is why I need him to fly to Italy a day before me..." I trailed off as my mind fought my fatigue in its attempt to come up with a plausible lie. My pregnancy has made me so tired and hungry every minute of the day.

Technically, Arosio's birthday is tomorrow which is the day before his step-cousin, Aliana Coldwell, and the current Italy's Mafia boss, Saverio D'Amore's, wedding day. We are suppose to fly to Italy tonight and reach there tomorrow evening since it is a 14 hour flight.

"Oh, why didn't you say so earlier! You had me worried there for a second!" Doctor Santiago laughed and patted my hands gently. I smiled back awkwardly but froze when Arosio's deep voice suddenly filled the room.

"Worried? Of what? I trust that my wife is in good health, correct?" Arosio's piercing gaze was fixed on the older woman who immediately stood up and shuffled away from me so that Arosio could sit down beside me.

Without missing a beat, Arosio swiftly took a seat beside me before caressing the side of my head. Unlike my mistake last month, this time I leaned into his warm touch and even kissed his lips softly, earning a genuine smile from him within seconds.

Meanwhile, everything inside of me was screaming to get away from this man. But I can't afford to act recklessly again. After what happened with Nonno and his gun last month, Arosio sat me down and we had a long talk. He wanted me to understand that he and his family would never hurt me, and all I could do was smile and assure him that I was fine.

That we were fine.

And that we would always be together, for eternity, like he always says.

But in reality, this time tomorrow, I will be free from him... forever.

"It's nothing, honey. I am fine, right Doctor Santiago?" I smiled sweetly towards Arosio who kissed the top of my head and looked towards the confused doctor.

My eyes briefly met with Doctor Santiago as I discreetly winked one eye and breathed a small sigh of relief when her eyes widened slightly before she nodded her head and addressed Arosio.

"On the contrary, Mr. De Luca, something is very wrong and I cannot recommend allowing Mrs. De Luca to fly with you and your family to Italy tonight," Arosio's looked at her in shock before wrapping his strong arms around me protectively and nodding at her to explain.

"You see, Mrs. De Luca's blood pressure is very high right now, this could be due to stress or fatigue. Pregnant women with high blood pressure must be cautious about air travel. High blood pressure is associated with suboptimal blood supply to the fetus, and at 30,000 feet high in the air, the concentration of oxygen in the air is lower, which means both the mother and baby are getting less oxygen. This could lead to a miscarriage," Doctor Santiago stated solemnly as I silently applauded her amazing acting skills. If her career as a doctor didn't work well, she could have done splendidly in the entertainment industry.

"Furthermore, since it has only been three months, Mrs. De Luca's bump should be slightly big but right now it is bigger than the average pregnant woman. I do not have my sonogram machine now so I have taken a sample of her blood instead and will call you with the details later on tonight," Doctor Santiago continued as I froze in shock upon realizing that my bump was indeed bigger than other pregnant women that I have seen. Unlike what she said before, this was not a lie and she did in fact take my blood sample earlier on.

My body instantly stiffened when Arosio looked visibly shaken before pulling me straight into his chest and wrapping his arms around me even tighter. Gritting my teeth, I suppressed my true feelings and instead slowly wrapped my arms around his muscled back before rubbing it up and down. Doctor Santiago quietly excused herself and winked at me discreetly as I gave her a small smile.

"Arosio, I am fine. We can still fly tonight, I don't want the plans to get ruined because of me," I whispered into the hug and almost felt guilty when Arosio instantly objected.

"No! I couldn't care less about that wedding. We are not flying tonight, you, Elijah and our baby are my life, my top priorities, understood tesoro?" Arosio stared deeply into my eyes with his penetrating gaze that instantly made me forget how to breathe.

I forgot how easy it was to get lost in those dark, alluring orbs of his. I forgot how much love his gaze held whenever he looks at me.

"But we promised your uncle that we would be in Italy for tomorrow, please Arosio I do not want them to think we broke our promise," I pleaded with Arosio with a soft voice and puppy dog eyes, and had to suppress my laughter when he subconsciously nodded his head in agreement before he realized what he was doing and sent me a small glare.

"No, my cucciola your health is more important. I will call Nonno now and tell them to go ahead of us tonight," Arosio stated with finality, his darkened gaze silently challenging me to object him.

I could do nothing but nod my head and fidget with my fingers as he stood up and began to pace the room while speaking in Italian over the phone to Nonno. My hand rested over my rounded stomach and I wished little Eli was here but I usually send him to his grandparents home during these in home doctor visits so that he doesn't feel bored and lonely.

"Che cosa vuoi dire, nonno? Come posso lasciare sola Katerina?" Arosio demanded into the phone as his hand gripped it so tightly, I could see the veins bulging. (What do you mean, grandpa? How can I leave Katerina alone?)

Thankfully, I learnt Italian during the past two months with a private tutor who visited me three times a week. At first, Arosio did not want me to strain myself with studying while pregnant but I convinced him by saying that I want our kids to learn Italian from the both of us.

But in reality, it is because I do not want any more secrets. You know what they say, know your enemies better than yourself and they'll never be able to take advantage of you...

"Non mi importa se lo zio ha bisogno del mio aiuto con la mafia. Saverio è il leader mafioso in Italia, digli di gestirlo. Non lascerò sola mia moglie incinta," Arosio seethed out with his jaw clenched tightly before he took a deep breath and took a couple steps away from our bed. (I don't care if uncle needs my help with the Mafia. Saverio is the Mafia leader in Italy, tell him to handle it. I am not leaving my pregnant wife alone)

He was standing too far now and I could barely hear what Nonno was saying on the other end. Frowning, I slowly got off the bed using the nightstand to help lift myself up before I took hesitant steps towards Arosio and rubbed his back soothingly up and down. He seemed taken aback at first before he smiled down at me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I smirked since I was finally able to hear what Nonno was saying.

"Saverio è impegnato, sua moglie è scappata stamattina e la sta rintracciando. Abbiamo bisogno che tu ti prenda cura di una possibile minaccia in Italia, devi volare lì stasera, nipote. Se non vuoi che la nipote voli da sola, starò dietro e volerò con lei domani mattina," Nonno's cold tone was different from the way he had spoken to me in the past month, taking me by complete surprise. I was even more shocked when I realized what he said. (Saverio is busy, his bride ran away this morning and he is tracking her down. We need you to take care of a possible threat in Italy, you need to fly there tonight, grandson. If you don't want granddaughter to fly alone, I will stay behind and fly with her tomorrow morning.)

Saverio D'Amore's bride ran away? Isn't that Aliana Coldwell, Arosio's step-cousin? But they're wedding is in less than 48 hours!

"Aliana è scappata? Perché diavolo l'avrebbe fatto? Non importa, non mi interessa, cosa c'entra niente di tutto questo con noi? Voglio solo stare con mia moglie per l'amor di Dio," Arosio yelled furiously before throwing his cellphone across the room which resulted in a loud piercing sound that had me instantly jumping in his arms. (Aliana ran away? Why in the hell would she do that? Nevermind, I don't care, what does any of this have to do with us? I just want to be with my wife for hell's sake)

This is exactly the kind of violent environment that I refuse to let my baby be raised in.

Arosio's hardened gaze snapped down to meet my frightened gaze before his facial expression visibly softened and he rubbed my back up and down soothingly while whispering apologies.

"I'm so sorry, tesoro, I didn't mean to do that. I just don't want to leave you behind but Nonno is saying that there is a problem with a rival Mafia in Italy and Saverio cannot handle it since he is trying to locate where Aliana ran off to," Arosio sighed deeply before letting go of me and pacing the room again.

Since Papa is older, Mama does not want him to get involved with Mafia affairs anymore. Adriano and Alanzo have zero experience with the Mafia business, apart from Adriano handling the legal aspects and Alanzo keeping in contact with a wide range of clientele thanks to his club business. So that means, Arosio is the only one who can help with the problem in Italy.

Perfect.

"Honey, don't fight with Nonno, we should listen to our elders. Besides, my blood pressure has been fine this whole week, maybe I didn't sleep well yesterday so today it showed a bit higher. You can fly tonight with Papa, Mama, little Eli, Alanzo and Adriano. I will sleep extra early and have my blood pressure checked again tomorrow morning. Then I will fly with Nonno and reach Italy before the wedding," I stated cheerfully before leaning down to lay a soft kiss on Arosio's lips in an attempt to distract him. I tried to keep my voice steady and sound as nonchalant as possible so that Arosio wouldn't suspect anything.

Arosio remained perfectly silent for a few moments and I could tell he was struggling with an internal battle. Panic quickly took over my every sense before I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I had carefully planned my escape for two months now.

Everything is in my control, I have predicted every single one of Arosio's potential reactions and I have created a countermeasure to deal with it. This hesitant reaction of his and his reluctance to agree with my plan is something that I thought of ahead.

Without wasting another second, I let out a sob and began to cry out loudly. Arosio instantly snapped out of his thoughts and immediately fussed over me.

"What's wrong, Katerina? Are you okay?" Arosio held my arms and looked me over from top to bottom before he ran towards the house phone on our nightstand and almost called the doctor but I stopped him in time.

"No...I'm fine... it's just... I planned this surprise for your birthday and I thought we would be celebrating your birthday together in Italy tomorrow but we can't do that anymore. It's fine though, we will be together the day after tomorrow for the wedding but here, open my gift now first," I whispered through tears and silently cringed when Arosio looked at me with that lovestruck intense gaze of his.

I quickly shuffled to the other side of the room, into our walk-in closet before I pulled out my secret weapon. If this doesn't convince Arosio that I am in love with him and that he can travel without worrying about me escaping, then I don't know what will.

"Here you go, open it Arosio," I gave Arosio a beaming smile but he kept his gaze down with his mouth slightly open in shock.

Arosio's hands slowly took the gift box from my hand before he pulled the pink ribbon off and lifted the top of the box open. His movements completely froze when he saw what was inside and I tried to read his expression but his gaze remained down on the gift so I couldn't see his eyes.

"This...tesoro...you..." Arosio mumbled in shock before taking the gift from the box and lifting it up in front of him into the air.

I secretly found out our baby's gender during a private scan at my tenth week two weeks ago while Arosio was preoccupied in a meeting. Then I knitted a light pink onesie for our baby girl and sewed the name Ariana De Luca on it.

My sweet Ariana, I promise I will protect you from this monster's world.

***

Hello Lovely Readers!

Thank you for your patience! I finally finished my summer course and thank God I ended it with an A!!!

Here's a double update to celebrate!

I hope you all enjoyed this update and as always please leave your comments, I try to reply to all of them and I do read all of them!

PLEASE READ, COMMENT AND VOTE!