After the nurse left, I stared at the report.
Eight weeks.
That was when Matteo still came home late, held me in bed, and talked about our future. He once said that if we had children, he would step back from family business and make it home for dinner.
I called him.
“Isa?”
Someone was discussing the chapel seating plan in the background.
“Matteo, I need to tell you something.”
“I can’t talk. There’s a problem with the wedding schedule.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Silence followed.
“Isa—”
Someone called his name from the chapel, and the line went dead.
I removed the IV and returned to the Caruso estate with the report.
My mother and Bianca sat near the fireplace, surrounded by chapel plans, seating charts, and bridal catalogs. My father was reviewing the guest list with a De Luca lawyer. Matteo stood behind Bianca while she chose the processional music.
The room fell silent when I entered.
I walked to Matteo and handed him the report.
“I’m eight weeks pregnant.”
Shock crossed his face.
Bianca’s catalog slipped from her hands.
“Isa… could the hospital be wrong?”
“They tested twice.”
My mother took the report.
“You had to get pregnant now?”
“The child didn’t appear today.”
Tears filled Bianca’s eyes.
“If she’s carrying your child, the wedding should go back to her.” She looked at Matteo. “I can’t leave a child without a father. If my task fails, let it fail.”
She pressed a hand to her chest, struggling to breathe.
Matteo caught her at once.
“Don’t say that.”
My mother rubbed Bianca’s back, then turned on me.
“She just started recovering. Why would you tell her this now?”
“Because it’s Matteo’s child.”
“How do we know you aren’t using a report to take back the wedding?”
My father checked the hospital seal.
“You’ll be examined again tomorrow at the Caruso clinic.”
“You don’t believe me either?”
“This affects two families. I need confirmation.”
I looked at Matteo.
He was still holding Bianca, but his eyes had dropped to my stomach.
“The baby is yours.”
“I believe you.”
Bianca’s fingers tightened around his arm.
Matteo looked back at me.
“I’ll take responsibility. You and the child will have my protection, and the child will carry my name.”
“But you’ll still marry her.”
“The wedding cannot be canceled.”
【Time remaining: 03:46:08.】
I gripped his sleeve.
“I don’t want money. Look at me and tell me you love me. Mean it.”
“I already did.”
“You added Bianca afterward.”
“Because she will die.”
“So will I. And so will the baby.”
I told him about the countdown and the alternative condition. One sincere declaration, without duty or conditions, would save us.
His doubt hardened.
“Now you’re copying Bianca’s task?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“I watched her heart stop. You only told me today that you have a system and a few hours left. How am I supposed to believe that?”
I pushed the report toward him.
“Then believe the baby.”
“I’ll protect the child, but I won’t abandon someone whose heart has already stopped once because of a countdown I can’t prove.”
Bianca began to cry.
“Matteo, go with her. I can manage alone.”
She tried to stand and immediately swayed.
Matteo steadied her and turned to take her upstairs.
I still held his sleeve.
“One sentence won’t change your wedding.”
“Isa, let go.”
“Matteo, save our baby.”
He pulled his arm free. I stumbled into the marble edge of the fireplace, and pain tore through my abdomen hard enough to fold me forward.
Matteo moved toward me.
At the same moment, Bianca gasped and collapsed, her fingers catching his jacket. For one second, he stood between us.
Then he turned and caught her.
“Get Dr. Russo. Now.”
The guards rushed forward. My mother passed me without stopping, helping clear a path for Bianca while I remained bent beside the fireplace, one hand pressed over my stomach.
Matteo carried her toward the stairs without looking back.
Only after they disappeared did my mother return, grip my arm, and pull me from the room.
She never asked whether I could still stand.
Behind the closed door, she threw the report onto the table.
“If this pregnancy is real, end it tomorrow.”
My father stood by the door in silence.
“Why?”
“That child will keep Bianca afraid and could destroy the alliance. Matteo has chosen her. Keeping it will only make Matteo, Bianca, and the baby suffer.”
She had not counted me.
My father finally spoke.
“Isabella, let this go. The family will compensate you. You can have another child. Bianca cannot survive another failed task.”
“So I lose my fiancé and my baby.”
My mother’s voice softened.
“You’re losing a relationship and a child who hasn’t been born. Bianca would lose her life.”
I looked at the two people who were supposed to love me most.
“All right.”
“I understand.”
