"Look at me, Allie," he said quietly.
When I didn't move, his hands gently settled on my shoulders, turning me to face him. I kept my eyes down, focusing on the Venetian carpet beneath our feet his polished leather shoes opposite my worn gardening boots. The visual difference between us couldn't have been more stark.
"I've made mistakes," he admitted. "I've been trying to navigate impossible expectations while protecting what matters most to me." His fingers lifted my chin. "You. You matter most."
The sincerity in his eyes made my heart stutter. I'd heard promises before, yet here we still were—me hidden away, him engaged to another woman.
"Pretty words," I whispered. "But what happens tomorrow, Giorgio? Or next week? Your family—"
"My family doesn't control me," he interrupted, a flash of frustration crossing his face. "Yes, I've allowed them to dictate terms for too long, but this changes everything."
I shook my head. "How? How does this change anything with your mother? She'll still see me as the servant who seduced her son. The Omega who ruined her perfect dynastic plans."
Giorgio's jaw tightened. "Because I'm done pretending. Magdalene carrying another man's child releases me from our arrangement. There was a morality clause in our contract."
"Your marriage had a contract?" I couldn't hide my surprise.
A humorless smile curved his lips. "Welcome to the Rossi family, where even love is legislated." He reached for my hand again. "But this is our chance, Allie. Don't you see?"
Hope flickered dangerously in my chest. I'd learned to suffocate that emotion months ago, when I first realized I was falling in love with an engaged man an Alpha so far above my station that loving him could only end in heartbreak.
"I'm afraid to see," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "I'm afraid to hope."
Giorgio's expression softened. He guided me to the leather sofa near the fireplace, sitting beside me with our hands still intertwined.
"When I claimed you," he began, "it was instinct. An Alpha recognizing his true Omega. But I was already trapped in this arrangement with Magdalene, a contract negotiated since childhood." His thumb traced circles on my palm. "I've been torturing myself, trying to honor commitments while my heart and body recognized only you."
"You could have broken the engagement," I said, the words I'd kept inside for months finally spilling out. "Instead, you kept me here, hidden away. Do you know what that feels like? To watch the man you love prepare to marry someone else?"
Pain flashed across his face. "It wasn't that simple. My father's dying wish—"
"Was for you to be unhappy?" I challenged.
"Was for me to protect our family legacy," he corrected gently. "The merger with Magdalene's family would have saved thousands of jobs, secured our position against rivals like Antonio Castellanos." He laughed bitterly. "The same man who apparently had no qualms about sleeping with my fiancée."
I processed this information slowly. The burden Giorgio carried was heavier than I'd realized—not just family expectations, but responsibility for thousands of employees whose livelihoods depended on his decisions.
"And now?" I asked, allowing myself to voice the question that terrified me.
Giorgio lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles with reverence. "Now I find another way to protect our interests. One that doesn't require sacrificing my chance at happiness—our chance."
Giorgio's free hand moved to rest gently on my abdomen. The tenderness in that gesture nearly broke me.
"Our child changes everything," he murmured. "I refuse to let him or her grow up in the shadows, Allie. I refuse to let you remain hidden away any longer."
The conviction in his voice made me shiver. I wanted so badly to believe him, but fear still coiled tightly within me.
"Your mother will never accept this," I whispered. "Veronica Rossi would rather set fire to her own fortune than see her son with a gardener's daughter—an Omega, no less."
"My mother doesn't control the Rossi empire. I do." His voice took on that commanding edge that reminded me he was born to lead. "And I've compromised enough of my life to please her."
I pulled away slightly, needing space to think clearly. The heat of his body, the intoxicating scent of his Alpha pheromones they clouded my judgment, made me willing to believe impossibilities.
"You say that now," I said, rising from the sofa to pace before the fireplace. "But when she threatens to disown you? When your family's board of directors questions your judgment for choosing an Omega servant over a strategic alliance?" I turned to face him. "I've seen how they manipulate you, Giorgio. I've watched you leave my bed to attend galas with Magdalene on your arm."
A flash of shame crossed his face. "You're right," he admitted quietly. "I've been a coward."
The admission startled me into silence. Giorgio Rossi proud, powerful Alpha that he was rarely acknowledged weakness.
"Not a coward," I finally said, softening. "Just trapped by obligation and duty. I've always understood that."
He stood, crossing to where I stood by the fire. The flames cast dancing shadows across his face, highlighting the determined set of his jaw.
"Understanding doesn't make it right," he said. "I've kept you waiting, hidden you away, all while trying to convince myself I was doing the honorable thing." His hands framed my face. "But there's no honor in denying what we are to each other. No honor in pretending I could ever be satisfied with a marriage of convenience when my soul has already found its match."
My breath caught. In all our months together, through stolen moments and midnight rendezvous, Giorgio had never been this direct about his feelings. He'd shown me with his body, with his protection and care, but words explicit declarations had remained carefully guarded.
"What exactly are you saying?" I asked, needing him to be absolutely clear.
His dark eyes held mine. "I'm saying I love you, Allie. I'm saying you're carrying my child, and I want the world to know it." His thumbs brushed my cheekbones. "I'm saying I'm done with half-measures and compromises."