Chapter 3
The study door tapped softly. I looked up, genuinely surprised to see Valentina hovering in the doorway.]
“Miss Moretti, could I… talk to you for a minute?”
I nodded and pushed a teacup across the silver tray toward her.]
“Sit down.”
“Oh. I can’t have tea. Miss MorettL Just water, please. My doctor says caffeine’s dangerous for the baby.”
My hand stopped mid–pour. I snapped my fingers for a servant to bring water instead.]]
Valentina kept watching me with this calculated mix of fake humility and barely concealed smugness. She couldn’t resist Tetting her hands drift to her stomach in the most obvious display I’d ever seen.
“Fabiano up in the slums, and I’m just some nobody orphan. We’re both cursed maybe you could help us pick a name for the baby? Share some of your blessing?”
I studied her perfectly flat belly with amusement.[]
d with terrible luck, so we were hoping…
“Let’s see if it makes it past the first trimester before we start planning the christening.”
Her saccharine smile flickered. That stung, and suddenly she found some backbone.]
“Miss Moretti, I came to apologize. I know I took something that belonged to you.”
“But Fabiano and I… we couldn’t fight what we felt. Moscow was a war zone, and he said I was the only person he could trust completely. And me, having no one in the world, he became everything to me.“[]
She leaned forward conspiratorially, eyes gleaming “Two years ago, he came back from a meeting completely drugged. Some rival family tried to poison him. He was delirious, mistook me for you, and… well, that’s how our first time happened. He stumbled into my room and-“]
CRACK–THUNK!]
My letter opener flew from my fingers, the blade slicing a hair’s breadth from her cheek before embedding itself in the mahogany wall behind her head. Blood bloomed along the thin cut on her face.
The knife vibrated in the wood like a tuning fork
I didn’t even lift my head from where it rested on my palm.]
“Valentina, sweetheart, you can’t possibly think I’m some soft–hearted little princess, can you?“]|
“You walk in here, refuse my hospitality, then sit in my chair spinning fairy tales about tragic romance. I personally had you flown back from Moscow when you were nothing but collateral damage. You chose to stay and play house with my man.
My voice dropped to a whisper that could freeze blood. “I’m letting you keep breathing because Fabiano occasionally proves useful. But if you can’t grasp exactly what kind of insignificant little bug you are in my world, I’ll pin you to that wall like the
specimen you deserve to be.“]
Valentina’s face went chalk white. She collapsed to her knees, whole body shaking as she stammered:
“Miss Moretti, please… I won’t… I’ll never…” “0
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway. I glanced toward the door with predatory satisfaction, arms crossed:
“Running to the rescue, are we?“]
“How romantic, Fabiano. Playing knight in shining armor?”
Valentina whipped around immediately, her bloodied face turned up to him in desperate appeal. But Fabiano barely spared her a glance. Instead, he walked straight to the wall, wrenched my blade free, and methodically cleaned the blood off with his silk pocket square before offering it back to me with a respectful bow.
accepted the letter opener and immediately cracked my palm across his face with enough force to snap his head sideways. Before he could recover, I backhanded him just as hard.[]
“Keep your bitch on a leash.“]
Fabiano stood frozen, his cheek already swelling, staring at me like I’d just materialized from thin air.
I tilted my head toward Valentina, still cowering on the Persian carpet.]
“Pick her up.“]
“She’s carrying precious cargo, after all. Too much kneeling might hurt the baby.“]
