The Barren Wife He Buried Came Back With The Donna Crown Chapter 02
Congratulations, She’s Pregnant
The reporters were still calling. Still pushing for a number.
I gave them the same line.
“Three hundred dollars, flat. I’ve got a story for you that’ll put your rag on the front of every newsstand from here to Chicago.”
The paparazzi on the line laughed. “Donna Fuselli, has the Don finally driven you crazy? Alright, alright. This one’s on the house. We’ll settle up next time you catch him with his pants down.”
He hung up.
And Luca walked in.
He saw me and reached for me on instinct, but I stepped back. His hand caught air.
The softness in his face disappeared. “You’re mad.”
He came closer, working his voice into that low, soft tone he used when he wanted forgiveness.
“That little bitch Cara wouldn’t let it go. She wanted to be the mistress with the biggest payout on record. She said she wanted to be the one you paid the most for. You know how she gets.”
He tilted his head. “She’s got your face at eighteen, Mia. She smiled. I gave in. It’s my weakness. You know it’s my weakness.”
Then, like an afterthought. “How’s Nonna?”
I looked at him. My voice was flat. “Nonna’s dead, Luca. You don’t want to ask how?”
He shrugged. Actually shrugged.
“She was sick a long time, honey. It was coming. Don’t take it hard. I’ll pay for the whole funeral. Everything Cosa Nostra style. A wake the city will remember.”
I closed my eyes. My fingernails cut into my palm.
He didn’t see it. He was already steering me toward the door, hand on the small of my back. “I had the auction house set something aside for you tonight. A gift. You’ll love it. Consider it my apology.”
I let him walk me out.
…
The auction house was already full.
Old money. Old blood. Every Boss in the city with a woman on his arm.
I hadn’t opened my program when Luca’s phone lit up on the table.
A video call.
He glanced at the screen.
Then he sat up straight. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.
He turned and grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed the side of my face, twice, three times.
“Baby. Baby, I’ve got good news. Wait here. Don’t move.”
He shoved out of his seat and left.
I sat there. Couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t remember the last time he’d held me like that. Kissed me like that.
Well, maybe I could.
The day the doctor told him I was pregnant.
…
Ten minutes later, Luca came back.
He was leading Cara Vane by her hand.
She was dripping diamonds. New ones. Pieces he hadn’t bought me in five years.
She smiled at me, sweet as sugar. “Mrs. Fuselli. Would you scoot over? My feet are killing me.”
She patted her stomach. “I’m carrying a baby now. The doctor says I need to rest a lot.”
For a second, I couldn’t hear the room.
I’d stopped loving Luca a long time ago. I’d stopped hoping longer than that. But hearing that this girl was carrying his baby cracked something in me I thought was already dead.
Because Luca had sworn, on his blood, on his mother’s grave, that no other woman would ever carry his name.
He’d said it lying next to me the night I got out of the hospital. “I owe you a child, Mia. That’s my sin. I’ll die owing you that. If you can’t carry, I don’t want one. Not from anyone.”
He tapped Cara’s nose. Then he met my eyes and said it, casual, like he was ordering coffee.
“I’m getting older. Every Don needs an heir. It’s time.”
Cara peeked out from behind his arm.
“Luca’s worried I’ll get jumped if I stay at my place. He’s moving me into the Sycamore Estate. I hope you don’t mind.”
She stuck her tongue out. “I know he built it just for you. Isn’t it sweet he’s letting me stay too? Please be nice to me, Donna.”
Luca smiled down at her. Then at me. “You know the estate better than anyone, honey. You’ll help her settle in. Make sure she eats right. Take care of her through the pregnancy.”
He leaned close to my ear. “She and my son matter to me, Mia. Nothing bad happens to them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”