"And what about your family's legacy? The business you're trying to protect?"
"I'll find another way," he said firmly. "One that doesn't require selling my soul or sacrificing you."
A knock at the study door interrupted us. Giorgio stepped away, composing himself with practiced ease before calling, "Enter."
Marco, his personal assistant, appeared in the doorway. His eyes flickered briefly to me before returning to Giorgio with practiced discretion.
"Pardon the interruption, sir. Your mother is demanding to speak with you. She says it's urgent."
Giorgio's expression hardened. "Tell her I'll be with her shortly."
Marco hesitated. "She's... quite insistent, sir. She mentioned something about Miss Cordova leaving in distress."
News traveled fast in this house. I wondered if the servants already knew about Magdalene's pregnancy or worse, about mine.
"Thank you, Marco. That will be all." Giorgio's dismissal was clear.
After Marco left, closing the door behind him, Giorgio turned back to me. "It begins already."
"You should go to her," I said, though the words pained me. "She'll only grow more suspicious if you avoid her."
Giorgio nodded, but made no move to leave. Instead, he took my hands in his once more. "Stay here. Wait for me. This conversation between us isn't finished."
"I should return to the cottage," I protested weakly. "If someone sees me here."
Chapter 5: Shattered Truths (continued)
"Let them see," he said with unexpected fierceness. "I'm done hiding you away, Allie. Starting tonight."
My heart thundered in my chest. "Giorgio, don't do anything rash. We need to think this through."
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I've been thinking for months. Calculating, planning, trying to find a way out that wouldn't destroy everything my family has built." His expression softened. "But some things are worth the risk. You are worth the risk."
Before I could respond, he strode from the room, leaving me alone with the crackling fire and my tumultuous thoughts.
I sank back onto the sofa, suddenly exhausted. My hand drifted to my stomach, to the tiny life growing there our secret that wouldn't remain hidden much longer. The irony wasn't lost on me; Magdalene's unexpected pregnancy might be the very thing that gave mine legitimacy.
The minutes stretched into an hour as I waited, anxiety building with each passing moment. I could hear raised voices occasionally—Veronica Rossi's cultured tones sharpening into something cold and brittle, Giorgio's deeper voice remaining steady but firm. I couldn't make out the words, but the tension reverberated through the mansion like electricity before a storm.
I considered slipping away back to my cottage. It would be safer, less confrontational. But something in Giorgio's last words kept me anchored in place. Starting tonight. A promise or a reckoning—perhaps both.
The study door finally opened, and I stood quickly, bracing myself. But it wasn't Giorgio who entered.
Veronica Rossi, elegant as always in her tailored navy dress, stood in the doorway. Her gray eyes, so like her son's but lacking their warmth, assessed me coldly.
"So," she said, her voice razor-sharp. "You're still here."
I straightened my spine, fighting the instinct to lower my eyes in submission. "Mrs. Rossi."
She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her with a decisive click. "I always suspected something like this. Giorgio's inexplicable visits to the gardens, his sudden interest in the estate's grounds." Her perfect lips curved into a humorless smile. "I should have fired you the moment you arrived."
"I'm good at my job," I said quietly. "The east rose garden has never looked better."
"How very admirable," she replied, her voice dripping with disdain. "Tell me, was seducing my son part of your gardening duties, or did you consider that a personal project?"
Heat rushed to my face—anger, not shame. "I didn't seduce him."
"No?" She arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Omegas like you never do, do they? You simply exist, emanating your... allure, waiting for Alphas to lose their minds and forget their responsibilities." She took another step toward me. "Giorgio tells me you're pregnant."
So he'd told her already. My hand instinctively moved to protect my abdomen. "Yes."
"And naturally, you expect this changes things." Her gaze was clinical, assessing. "That a child somehow entitles you to a place in this family."
"I've never expected anything from Giorgio," I said, the words tasting bitter but true. "He offered me protection when my heat came unexpectedly. He claimed me as his Omega. Everything that followed was his choice as much as mine."
Veronica circled me slowly, like a predator considering its options. "My son has worked his entire life to uphold the Rossi legacy. He's sacrificed, studied, prepared himself to lead our family's interests." She stopped directly before me. "And you think I'll allow all that to be thrown away for a pretty gardener with convenient biology?"
The cruelty of her words stung, but I refused to wilt under her gaze. "With respect, Mrs. Rossi, I don't believe it's your decision to allow or disallow anything. Giorgio is a grown man."
"A grown man with responsibilities beyond his personal desires," she countered. "Do you have any idea what's at stake? The Castellanos merger threatens to undercut our entire European operation. Magdalene's family connections were our strongest defense." Her voice hardened. "And now she's carrying Antonio's child. A complete disaster."
I blinked, surprised by her candor. "I'm sorry about the merger."
"Are you?"