His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 59

I was numb as Dr. Amato took my blood. She was on her third attempt to stick me, but I barely felt it.

I was piled under blankets, but the only thing keeping me warm, keeping me somewhat tethered to reality, was Noodle’s soft body against mine. He refused to move from my side. His head rested against my chest, the pressure keeping my panic at bay.

“Sofiya? Can you hear me? Sofiya?”

I jerked as I realized Dr. Amato was speaking to me. Time was running too slow and fast. The room spun around me, adding to my disorientation. I turned my head to face her. Her forehead was pinched with concern, her eyes sad, but I felt nothing. It was as if the cold had frozen my emotions.

Fine by me.

I didn’t want to feel. Didn’t want to be. I’d thought I had everything I wanted. Everything I dreamed of. Now it was gone, and the worst part was I didn’t understand why. What had I done to make my husband hate me? To make him want to torture me? Had anything we experienced been real?

I flinched as Dr. Amato touched my face.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’d like to take your temperature again and also give you a bag of IV fluids. You’re very dehydrated.”

I couldn’t replace any words to speak.

“How about some hot chocolate?” she asked. “It will help get you warm.”

I closed my eyes. Maybe I could block out the whole world.

Maybe I could just fade away.

Noodle nudged his cold, wet nose against my neck. I tried to ignore him, but he grew more and more insistent until I painstakingly removed my hand from underneath the weight of all the blankets to pat his head. A surge of emotion went through my chest at his gentle touch, the softness of his fur, but I quickly squashed it down. I wasn’t brave enough to face reality.

I curled around Noodle’s body, wrapping both arms around him. “I missed you,” I murmured. “Did you miss me?”

Noodle let out a long sigh, as if saying yes.

“Do I have your permission to give you IV fluids?” Dr. Amato asked.

I stayed pressed against Noodle, but nodded. It wasn’t like I cared about what happened anymore. The doctor could do whatever she wanted.

A metallic taste in my mouth told me she’d started the fluids. I kept my eyes closed.

“I’m going to bring your blood work to the lab, and I’ll be back this evening to check on you again.” She hesitated before asking, “Do you want anyone to sit with you while I’m gone?”

“No,” I said, my voice hoarse and broken.

I didn’t want anyone to see me.

No one was safe.

Dr. Amato opened the door, and I caught a brief glimpse of Matteo before it shut again. He looked ruined, with dark marks under red-rimmed eyes.

What did he have to be upset about?

I pressed my face into Noodle’s fur and closed my eyes, letting sleep take me away.

“Sofiya?”

Dr. Amato’s words floated their way to me, as if they had to cross a great chasm of space to reach me.

Noodle’s tail wagged, thumping against the mattress, but he didn’t move from his spot. Anxiety seized me when I realized he probably needed food and to go outside. Had anyone fed him while I was imprisoned?

I pushed myself to a seated position. “Has Noodle been fed?” I asked, an edge of panic in my voice.

“Oh,” Dr. Amato said, brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. I could ask someone?”

I chewed my lip, my fear of seeing anyone warring with my need to ensure Noodle was taken care of. “Angelo,” I finally said. “Can you bring him in here?”

A few minutes later, my bodyguard entered the room. The expression on his face was one of agony. He fell to his knees by my bed.

“I won’t ask for your forgiveness, because I don’t deserve it. I should have killed Domenico, should have done whatever was necessary to stop him from putting you in there.”

I swallowed hard against the lump of emotion in my throat.

“All I can say is that going forward, my loyalty is to you and only you. I am yours to command.”

I knew what happened wasn’t Angelo’s fault. The blame rested on the Don. But all I’d been able to think about while trapped in that cell was how I had given my trust away too easily to everyone around me.

“Has Noodle been fed?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

At the sound of his name, Noodle perked up. He turned to Angelo and licked his face.

“Yes, I’ve been feeding him and taking him out,” Angelo said.

“Okay,” I said. My lower lip started trembling, and I curled back on the bed, wrapping my arms around my dog. “You can go now.”

Angelo breathed in sharply, like he wanted to say more, but then he stood. “I’ll bring him dinner in about an hour.”

Dr. Amato returned to the side of the bed. “Sofiya, I have your lab results back.”

I stared blankly at the wall. I didn’t care about my lab results. What could she tell me that I didn’t already know? That my body was broken. I was broken.

“The results were mostly within normal range, but they also revealed—” She trailed off before clearing her throat. “Sofiya, you’re pregnant.”

Her words jerked me out of my fog. “What did you say?”

Aria eyed me carefully. “You’re pregnant.”

A flood of emotions cracked the numbness I’d surrounded myself with, nearly taking my breath away. I sat up, my hand going to my stomach under the blanket pile.

Noodle moved to my lap, pressing his nose against my belly as if he already knew that a life was growing there.

I shut my eyes tight, but tears still streaked down my cheeks. This had been my dream, all I’d ever wanted, but now it felt like I was trapped in a nightmare.

“I know this is a lot to take in, especially since you’re still in shock,” Dr. Amato said, her voice gentle.

A horrible thought gripped me and I reached out to grab the doctor’s hand, squeezing it tight. “Did you tell the Don?”

“No, I wanted to tell you⁠—”

“You can’t tell him,” I said, tightening my hold on her hand. “He can’t know.” My thoughts were muddled and I was tripping over my words, but my body was screaming not safe, not safe.

Her eyes shifted to the door and then back to me. “He’s going to replace out eventually.”

I dug my nails into her hand, her arm, pulling her body close to mine. “You have to promise me not to tell him. Promise me.” I knew what I was asking, what it could cost her to betray the Don. But I needed her to understand, needed her to protect me and my baby.

She took a slow breath, staring deep into my eyes. “Okay, Sofiya,” she said slowly. “I’ll keep quiet. For now.”

For now.

At least her silence should buy me some time to figure things out. I released her arm. I’d left crescent-shaped indentations in her skin.

“Is the baby okay?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure. Your body has gone through a lot of stress.” At my panicked expression, she put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “That doesn’t mean the baby isn’t okay. Do you know how far along you might be?”

I tried to remember how long it had been since Matteo and I first had sex, but my mind was racing too quickly to think clearly. “It can’t be more than a couple of weeks.”

Dr. Amato nodded. “It’s been just over two weeks since you asked me about pregnancy.”

God, it felt like a lifetime ago. Our first time having sex had been so magical, so perfect.

It was all a lie.

“Blood tests can show pregnancy more quickly than urine tests,” she continued. “Do you remember when your last period was?”

“I haven’t had one since before the wedding,” I said, running my hand down my face. “I should have suspected something. But my periods can be unpredictable.”

Dr. Amato clasped my hand between hers and gave me a gentle squeeze. “You’ve been through a lot lately. It doesn’t surprise me you didn’t notice.”

Noodle nudged my stomach again. My entire world had shifted in the last few minutes.

“Can’t you do an ultrasound to see if the baby’s okay?”

Dr. Amato shook her head. “It’s really too early to see anything on an ultrasound. Generally, you have to wait until at least six weeks to see anything.”

My heart sank. I wanted to see my baby now, wanted to know that I hadn’t already failed them. How could my body be a safe home to my baby when I wasn’t safe?

Tears filled my eyes and I let them come. I had been ready to give up, to let myself fade away from this life filled only with pain and suffering. But now I had a reason to keep going. I would give this baby all the love I’d dreamed of and never gotten, no matter what it cost.