Chapter 6 - Our Daughter's First Kick
Pregnancy changed everything.
I couldn't hide my growing stomach anymore.
The newspapers had discovered the story.
Nico Bellini's secret wife had returned.
Some reports called me a gold digger.
Others called me a mafia princess.
The reality was much less glamorous.
I was nauseous every morning.
My back hurt.
I cried over commercials.
And I had suddenly developed a ridiculous obsession with pickles.
Nico found it hilarious.
One night, he opened the refrigerator.
“Why are there fourteen jars of pickles?”
“Because I like them.”
“You hated pickles.”
“I've grown.”
He smiled.
“I'll buy fifteen.”
“I don't need fifteen.”
“You do now.”
He looked happier than I had seen him in years.
But peace did not come easily.
Threats continued.
Some people blamed me for Nico's decision to dismantle the organization.
Others blamed him for cooperating with federal authorities.
One evening, I received a letter.
You destroyed the Bellini name.
Betrayal will be remembered.
I showed Nico.
He didn't panic.
He simply kissed my forehead.
“You're not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
“And neither is our daughter.”
That was the first time he called the baby our daughter.
I smiled.
We hadn't even chosen a name.
But somehow, the word sounded right.
Two months later, Nico's legitimate company held a charity event.
This time, I walked beside him.
Not twenty feet away.
Not behind a column.
Beside him.
The cameras flashed.
A reporter shouted:
“Mr. Bellini, is this your wife?”
Nico stopped.
He looked at me.
Then at the cameras.
“Yes.”
The reporter asked, “For how long?”
Nico smiled.
“Longer than I deserved to keep her.”
I laughed.
The answer became headline news.
For the first time, the world knew me as Norah Bellini.
Not a secret.
Not a rumor.
His wife.
Three weeks later, our daughter kicked for the first time.
I was sitting on the sofa reading a book.
“Nico.”
He rushed in.
“What?”
“Come here.”
He knelt beside me.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
I grabbed his hand.
Then placed it against my stomach.
A tiny movement.
He froze.
His eyes widened.
“She kicked.”
I smiled.
He looked at me.
“She knows me.”
“She might.”
He laughed.
Then kissed my stomach.
“Hi, baby girl.”
Another kick.
He looked shocked.
“She heard me.”
I laughed.
“You're ridiculous.”
“I don't care.”
He kissed me.
That night, we chose her name.
Lena Rose Bellini.
Rose had been my mother's middle name.
Lena had been Nico's grandmother's name.
Two families.
One child.
A new beginning.
But there was one problem.
Arthur came into the room holding a file.
“Nico.”
The happiness disappeared from his face.
“What?”
“We found another account.”
“Matteo?”
“No.”
Arthur placed the document on the table.
“This belongs to your father.”
Nico stared.
“That's impossible.”
“It was created twenty years ago.”
I leaned closer.
There was a name attached.
My mother.
I stared at it.
“She knew.”
Nico's mother had been right.
Our parents had been connected for decades.
The account contained enough money to fund a complete life outside the country.
It had been intended as an escape fund.
For Richard.
For my mother.
For Nico's mother.
All three had tried to escape.
Only one succeeded.
The final document was a letter from my mother.
It was addressed to me.
My hands shook as I opened it.
She wrote about my father.
About Nico's father.
About Matteo.
And about the one thing she wanted most.
I wanted you to grow up believing love was safe.
I failed to give you that.
But maybe one day, you will build the life I couldn't.
I cried.
Nico held me.
“You did,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
May you like
“What?”
“You built it.”
