Episode 5

I spent the night awake.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face. Lorenzo Mancini. The way he entered that medical room as if he had the right. How he looked at me. How he spoke of the baby as my son, and not our son.

He was a man used to giving orders. To deciding. And, worse, to being obeyed.

But I wasn't the type to bend. Even trembling inside, I refused to back down.

Only, there was something about him that made me hesitate. It wasn't just fear... It was the fact that he believed. He really believed he had a right over me. That I was his. And that was the scariest thing.

When the clock struck noon, the doorbell rang.

I jumped on the sofa, my heart racing.

I knew he would come. He said he would pick me up for lunch. But even so... my body reacted as if it were facing the devil himself.

I took a deep breath, walked to the door and opened it.

Lorenzo was there. Dark shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, gold watch. His hair combed with precision, and that look that seemed to pierce my soul.

Behind him, a black car with tinted windows. And a driver waiting with the door open.

"You actually came," I murmured, surprised by my own tone.

"I said I would."

"I said I wouldn't."

"And I said you have no choice."

"Lorenzo..."

"Giulia." He interrupted me, with that firm, low voice. "It's just lunch."

"Nothing with you is just anything."

He gave a slight smile. It was almost... beautiful. If it wasn't so dark.

"Come with me. You need to eat. And we need to talk."

I looked at him. Then at the street. And finally, back into the house, where I could continue pretending that all this wasn't happening.

But I wasn't safe there. Nor outside. Nor anywhere.

"If I go... it'll be to a public restaurant. With people. Daylight."

"I don't need to kidnap you. If I wanted to, I would have already done it."

"I know. That's why I'm going. To prevent it from getting to that point."

He nodded once. Then stepped aside to let me pass. I walked to the car with wobbly legs and got in.

The driver closed the door, and Lorenzo sat next to me immediately after. We remained silent during the journey. He didn't touch me. Didn't look at me directly. But his presence filled the car, suffocated, burned.

We arrived at a discreet restaurant with a stone facade. Nothing overtly luxurious. But there was sophistication in the air. And too much discretion. A place made for those who didn't want to be seen.

As soon as we entered, the maître recognized us immediately.

"Mr. Mancini. Reserved table. This way."

Of course he had a table. Of course everyone there knew who he was.

We sat in a private area, surrounded by linen curtains, away from prying eyes.

"I asked them to serve seafood," he said, opening his napkin naturally. "Can you eat that?"

"I have no appetite," I murmured, tensely. "I don't know how you can eat in the midst of all this."

"Because I've learned that when the world is falling apart, you need to be firmer than ever."

"I'm not part of your world."

"But what you carry is."

"Here we go again," I retorted, crossing my arms. "You want the baby. I understand. But forcing me to marry you?! That's medieval!"

"I'm an old-fashioned man."

"You're a tyrant."

"And you're stubborn."

"What did you expect? That I would accept this nonsense with open arms?"

He was silent for a few seconds. Then he leaned over the table.

"Giulia, you want to protect this baby as much as I do. But unlike you, I have enemies. People who hate me. People who would do anything to hurt me."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"That if you continue alone, they will use you to get to me. You are the weak link. The easiest target. And if something happens to this baby, Giulia... I'll destroy the world."

Shivers ran through my entire body.

He wasn't bluffing.

"I know how to protect myself," I whispered.

"No. You know how to survive. It's different. I want to ensure you live. With my last name, my house, my security. And if that means forcing you to wear a ring... so be it."

"You think marriage is that? A sentence?"

"No. It's protection with benefits."

"What kind of benefits?"

"I sleep knowing that no one will touch you. And you sleep... knowing that you're alive."

The appetizers arrived. Fresh oysters, caprese salad, natural orange juice.

Everything delicate. Everything beautiful. So ironic, considering the silent war at that table.

"You have a peculiar way of protecting someone, Lorenzo."

"I'm a peculiar man."

I picked up a fork, stirred the salad. Didn't eat.

"And if I say no at the altar?" I asked, staring at him.

He smiled. Slowly.

"Then I'll say yes for you. And then take you home anyway."