Chapter 2 - The Fake Marriage Became Too Real When Alessandro Started Protecting the Woman He Was Supposed to LeaveThe wedding took place in a private chapel.
No reporters.
No family crowd.
No elaborate celebration.
Just legal documents, two witnesses and an exchange of rings neither of them had chosen.
Meline wore a simple ivory dress.
Alessandro wore black.
When the minister asked whether they accepted each other, Meline hesitated.
Alessandro noticed.
“You can still walk away,” he whispered.
She looked at him.
“And lose the store.”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Then I accept.”
His jaw tightened.
The ceremony continued.
When they left, a dozen cameras were waiting outside.
Meline stared.
“I thought you said no reporters.”
“I said I didn't invite them.”
She looked at him.
“Your family?”
“Probably.”
One photograph became a dozen.
One headline became fifty.
VITALI HEIR MARRIES MYSTERY WOMAN IN SECRET CEREMONY
By Monday morning, Meline had become famous.
She hated every second.
Alessandro's penthouse felt even worse.
Everything was enormous.
Cold marble.
Glass walls.
Security at every entrance.
Meline stood in the bedroom doorway.
“Where am I sleeping?”
“Guest room.”
“Good.”
He handed her a key.
“Your own suite.”
She stared at him.
“You really aren't going to touch me?”
“No.”
“You're weird.”
“I've been called worse.”
Weeks passed.
Their marriage remained exactly as promised.
Separate rooms.
Separate schedules.
Separate lives.
Except Alessandro started noticing things.
Meline skipped breakfast.
She became pale.
She fell asleep on the couch.
She stopped drinking coffee.
One morning, she rushed into the bathroom.
He heard vomiting.
She emerged several minutes later.
“I'm fine.”
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“See a doctor.”
“I’m not sick.”
“You've been sick every morning for two weeks.”
She froze.
“How do you know?”
“I hear the bathroom door.”
She looked embarrassed.
Then angry.
“You don't need to monitor me.”
“I’m not.”
“You know exactly how long I've been sick.”
He paused.
“I pay attention.”
She stared at him.
The sentence landed differently than he intended.
Later that afternoon, Meline visited the antique store.
The shelves had been repaired.
The mortgage was paid.
The shop was safe.
For the first time in months, she could breathe.
Then she found a letter hidden beneath the floorboard.
Her father's handwriting.
Meline, if you ever find this, do not trust the Vitali family.
Her hands began to shake.
A second line followed.
Especially Alessandro.
She read it again.
Then again.
The words blurred.
That evening, Alessandro came home.
Meline was waiting.
“You knew my father.”
He stopped.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because he left me this.”
She handed him the letter.
His face changed.
“I never met him personally.”
“That's a lie.”
“I met him once.”
“When?”
“Six years before he died.”
“What happened?”
“He asked me for help.”
“With what?”
“A shipment.”
Meline whispered,
“What shipment?”
Alessandro looked at her.
“You are safer not knowing.”
“My father wrote that I shouldn't trust you.”
“He was probably right.”
Her heart sank.
“Then why did you marry me?”
He walked toward the window.
“Because I promised your aunt I would keep you alive.”
Meline stared.
“What?”
He turned.
“Your father asked my father for protection.”
“But you're saying my father knew your family.”
“Yes.”
“And then he died.”
“Yes.”
“Accident?”
Alessandro said nothing.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You know something.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“I don't have proof.”
“Tell me.”
“I believe the crash was arranged.”
Silence.
Meline's legs felt weak.
“Why?”
“Because your father's investigation was close to exposing something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
She stared at him.
“Then find out.”
He looked at her.
“I already am.”
Their marriage changed after that.
Not because they became romantic.
Because they became partners.
They ate together.
They talked.
Meline started seeing the man beneath the reputation.
He remembered the names of her customers.
He helped carry furniture.
He once spent forty minutes repairing Winston's broken wing.
“You do know that owl is fake,” she teased.
“He doesn't know that.”
She laughed.
He looked at her for too long.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Then came the first kiss.
Not planned.
Not romantic.
It happened during a storm.
The power went out.
Meline was afraid of thunder.
Alessandro found her sitting on the floor in the kitchen.
“You're scared?”
“No.”
Thunder cracked.
She jumped.
He almost smiled.
“Sure.”
“Don't laugh.”
He sat beside her.
She leaned against his shoulder.
He didn't move.
For the first time, Meline understood something dangerous.
She was beginning to like him.
And he was beginning to need her.
Three months later, they crossed a line neither had discussed.
The marriage was no longer fake.
But neither admitted it.
Until Meline collapsed.
It happened in the kitchen.
One second she was reaching for a glass.
The next, she was on the floor.
Alessandro caught her.
“Meline.”
She opened her eyes.
“I'm fine.”
He lifted her into his arms.
“No.”
“I just stood up too quickly.”
“You fainted.”
“I've been tired.”
“You're going to the doctor.”
She didn't argue.
The tests came back inconclusive.
Pregnancy test negative.
Blood work abnormal.
The doctor recommended further testing.
Alessandro noticed the doctor hesitate.
“What aren't you telling us?”
The doctor looked at Meline.
“I want to run one more scan.”
Hours later, the doctor returned.
His expression was serious.
“There is something we need to discuss.”
Meline took Alessandro's hand.
“What?”
The doctor looked down at the chart.
“Mrs. Vitali, are you certain your last menstrual cycle was when you believe it was?”
“Yes.”
“Because you're approximately fourteen weeks pregnant.”
Meline's face went completely still.
Alessandro stopped breathing.
“What?”
The doctor looked confused.
“According to the scan, you're pregnant.”
Meline whispered,
“But I took two tests.”
“False negatives can happen.”
Alessandro stared at her.
Then at the screen.
A tiny heartbeat flickered.
He looked at Meline.
And for the first time since marrying her, his carefully controlled expression completely broke.
“We're having a baby.”
She began to cry.
He pulled her into his arms.
Neither noticed the doctor leaving.
Neither saw the shadow standing outside the room.
A woman in a cream coat listened to everything.
Then she stepped into the hallway.
And called Alessandro's mother.
“The pregnancy is real.”
A pause.
“What do we do?”
May you like
The woman looked through the glass.
“Meline Pierce is becoming a problem.”
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