With His Baby, Without Him

I looked around the home I shared with Leo, my heart raw.

I couldn't stay here.

Tomorrow, I had to be gone.

But first, I went to Dr. Romano's private clinic.

He gave me some pills, said they'd help with the early pregnancy.

I stared at the pills for a long moment before flushing them down the toilet.

The clinic parking lot was quiet.

Chicago is a dangerous city after dark, but tonight, the monsters were already inside me. I just needed to breathe.

Then I saw them.

Leo was gently draping his suit jacket over a girl's shoulders.

She was thin, small, like a frightened deer.

Her hands were shaking, and Leo was comforting her in a low voice.

Ava Collins.

The way she looked up at Leo was full of dependence and adoration.

A pure, innocent kind of love.

My stomach turned. Not from the pregnancy. From disgust.

Leo sensed me. He turned and saw me standing at the clinic door.

His brow furrowed immediately.

"Jennifer, what are you doing here?" His voice was a low warning, laced with disbelief. "I told you I would handle this. Don't cause a scene."

Make trouble?

He was worried I'd cause a scene.

Ava shrank behind Leo, but her eyes peeked out at me over his shoulder.

And in them, I saw it. Not fear. Not even curiosity. It was the smug satisfaction of a victor studying the vanquished.

I walked slowly towards them.

"You look remarkably well for someone who just tried to kill herself," I said to Ava, my voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. "Congratulations."

Ava immediately shrank back, faking fear. "I'm sorry… I didn't want to… I just…"

"Enough," Leo said, stepping in front of her. "Jennifer, you know her condition. Don't do this to her."

I stopped, just three steps away.

"Her condition?" A wave of nausea hit me, and tears spilled from my eyes. "Leo, what I want to know is, when you were with me last night, were you thinking about her?"

Leo's face flushed. "Jennifer!"

"I want to know, when your lips were on mine last night, were you just practicing for her?"

"Shut up!" Leo took a step forward. "Are you crazy?"

I looked at Ava.

A flash of triumph crossed her eyes before she masked it with fear.

What an actress.

My fingers went to the bodice of my ruined wedding gown. With a slow, deliberate motion, I unbuttoned the front, exposing the skin over my heart.

And the tattoo there.

A single, black rose.

The brand of the Moretti family.

"Jennifer, what are you doing?" Leo watched me, on guard.

From a hidden sheath strapped to my thigh, beneath the layers of silk and lace, I pulled a small, wicked-looking knife.

A sixteenth birthday gift from my father, my name etched into the silver handle.

"This mark," I said, pressing the blade’s cruel point to my skin, right over the rose. "It means I belong to the Morettis. That I belong to you." My voice was a venomous whisper. "And I don't tolerate traitors."

"Jennifer, no!" Leo lunged for me.

Too late.

I dragged the blade down. Hard.

A clean, searing line of fire and blood, carving through the ink, destroying the rose.

The flesh was mangled, but I felt no pain.

Ava screamed and covered her eyes.

Leo was frozen, staring at the blood running down my chest. "Jennifer… you…"

"It doesn't belong to the Moretti family anymore," I said, wiping the blood with a handkerchief. "Just like me."

I turned and walked to my car.

My driver, Tony, was already waiting.

"Miss, you're bleeding," Tony said, his voice tight with alarm.

"Get me my father," I ordered, sliding into the back seat. "Tell him I’m done. I want my things out of that apartment. Tonight."

The car pulled away.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Leo still standing there, watching us leave.

An hour later, I was standing in the penthouse I shared with Leo.

Three years of memories were in this place.

From our engagement until now, we'd spent countless nights here.

My people were already packing.

Clothes, jewelry, papers, and the pictures.

The elevator doors opened.

Leo walked out.

Ava was right behind him, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

"Jennifer, you can't do this," Leo said, looking at the boxes everywhere. "This is our home."

"No," I said, my back to him. "This was our home. Now, it's yours. I was just keeping it warm for her."

"I'm not letting you leave." Leo grabbed my arm.

I shook him off. "You don't have a choice."

Ava chose that moment to speak, her voice a pathetic whimper. "Maybe… maybe I should leave..."

"No," Leo said, turning to her instantly, his voice softening. "You're staying here. In the guest room. You'll be safe. I'll protect you."

I froze.

He was going to move her into our home?

"Leo." My voice was deceptively calm, a quiet storm that made the air in the room crackle. "What did you just say?"

"She needs a safe place," Leo said, meeting my gaze. "This place has the best security."

Ava walked over to the sofa and sat down carefully.

She looked like she was claiming her throne.

The door was pushed open.

My father, Salvatore, walked in, flanked by three of our men.

"Are you done packing?" he asked me.

"Almost," I answered.

Salvatore looked at Leo, his eyes blazing. "Moretti, what you did today was an insult to my daughter and my entire family."

"Mr. Salvatore Rossi, I can explain…"

"Explain what?" my father said, walking towards him. "Explain why you abandoned my daughter at a holy wedding to save a stranger?"

"She's not a stranger. She's…"

"What is she?" Salvatore's voice got colder. "Your mistress?"

"No!" Leo denied it fiercely. "She's just… I have a duty to protect her."

Suddenly, Salvatore pulled his gun. The black barrel was aimed right at Ava's forehead.

"Dad, no!" I screamed.

Ava shrieked and collapsed on the floor.

Leo tried to dive to protect her, but two of my father's men grabbed him.

And Leo, without a fraction of a second's hesitation, moved to shield her with his own body.

"In our world, an insult demands a price," Salvatore's voice was pure ice. "And this girl's existence is an insult to my bloodline."

"Please… please don't…" Ava sobbed hysterically.

"Let her go!" Leo struggled. "If you're going to kill someone, kill me!"

I watched the scene. Watched him ready to die for Ava.

Only one thought was left in my head.

He would die for her. But he wouldn't live for me.

I snatched the gun from my father's hand.

"Jennifer!" everyone yelled.

I turned and took steady aim at the wall behind Leo's left shoulder.

BANG.

The bullet shattered a porcelain vase on the table behind him.

A shard flew like a missile, embedding itself deep in his shoulder.

He cried out, stumbling back, blood blooming across the crisp white of his shirt.

"Jennifer!" Leo's mother, Elena, screamed, bursting into the room.

Leo was on the floor, clutching his wound, staring at me.

His eyes were full of shock and confusion.

I walked towards him, step by step, and pulled the still-warm ultrasound photo from my purse.

I knelt down, meeting his eyes as he bled on the floor.

And I put the flimsy piece of paper into his bloody hand.

Leo struggled to sit up and looked at the picture.

A light sparked in his eyes.

"Jennifer… is this…"

"Don't get any ideas," I whispered, my lips brushing his ear, my breath a ghost on his skin.

"That baby will never be a Moretti. There will be no wedding. Not for us.”

“I will erase you from my life. I swear on my name."