Chapter 2 - The Gilded Cage of Manhattan
The elevator ride to the penthouse felt like an ascent to another planet.
I stood as far away from Adrian as possible,
clutching my stomach,
my eyes fixed on the changing floor numbers.
He didn't speak,
but I could feel his gaze on me,
heavy and possessive.
When the doors opened,
the scent of expensive lilies and polished wood hit me.
This had been our home,
the place where we had shared breakfasts and secrets before the business swallowed him whole.
Now,
it felt like a mausoleum of the woman I used to be.
"Sit,"
he said,
pointing to the Italian leather sofa.
I sat,
mostly because my legs felt like they were made of water.
A maid I didn't recognize appeared with a tray of water and fresh fruit.
She looked at my belly with wide eyes,
then hurried away when Adrian glanced her way.
"Why did you really leave,
Elena?"
he asked,
pouring himself a drink that he didn't touch.
"I told you,"
I replied,
staring at the floor.
"I saw the way you looked at the Moretti brothers."
"I saw the blood on your cuff links."
"I didn't want my child to grow up thinking that violence was an inheritance."
Adrian walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows,
looking out at the city he ruled.
"Everything I do,
I do to keep you safe,"
he said,
his back to me.
"The world is a dark place,
Elena."
"I am the monster that keeps the other monsters away."
"But you became one of them,"
I whispered.
He turned,
his face bathed in the twilight glow of the city.
"And yet,
here you are,"
he said.
"Back in my house,
carrying my blood."
"Do you know what my enemies would do if they knew about this?"
"They would see a weakness,
Adrian,"
I said,
finally meeting his gaze.
"They would see a way to break you."
"That’s why I stayed in Queens."
"They don't look for the King’s child in a diner."
He flinched,
a small crack in his armor that he couldn't hide.
"You think I didn't look for you?"
he asked,
his voice low.
"I tore the city apart,
Elena."
"I thought you were dead."
"I thought they had taken you to get to me."
"I spent eight months in a hell of my own making,
believing I had lost the only thing that mattered."
"And all the while,
you were ten miles away,
hiding the one thing that could have brought me peace."
The baby kicked again,
a sharp,
uncomfortable movement that made me gasp.
In an instant,
Adrian was across the room,
kneeling at my feet.
His hand moved instinctively toward my stomach,
then paused,
his fingers trembling.
"May I?"
he asked,
his voice barely a whisper.
I looked at him,
at the man who could order a hit with a nod,
and saw a man who was terrified of a tiny life.
I nodded,
slowly.
His hand landed on the curve of my belly,
his palm large and warm.
The baby,
usually shy with strangers,
pressed back against him.
Adrian’s eyes went wide,
a single tear escaping and rolling down his cheek.
"She’s strong,"
he breathed.
"She?"
I asked,
surprised.
"I can feel it,"
he said,
closing his eyes.
"She has your spirit,
and my stubbornness."
For a moment,
the mafia and the billions didn't matter.
We were just two people,
broken and lost,
connected by a heartbeat.
But then his phone buzzed on the coffee table.
A message from the world outside.
The moment shattered.
He stood up,
the cold mask returning to his face.
"The doctor is here,"
he said,
stepping back.
"And my security team is doubling the guard."
"The Moretti family is moving,
Elena."
"They know you’re back."
"And they will try to use you."
I felt the chill return to my bones.
May you like
The cage wasn't just gilded,
it was fortified for a war I had tried so hard to escape.
