Page 213 of Falling for the Wife

She didn’t hesitate to follow through with what she wanted. As long as her heart was in it, she would brave whatever life chose to send her way. Travesty, she surely wasn’t.

After timidly waiting for the right moment to broach the long awaited conversation with her, I finally had my opening when the nurse decided that it was time to take little Gian Luca back to sleep, leaving Kim and me by ourselves once again.

“Can I get you anything? Something to eat or drink, perhaps?” I gently asked, gazing at her depleted form against the cushion of pillows.

She shut her lids for a moment before shaking her head. “I’m okay, thank you. Just a lot to digest, that’s all. I’m still feeling as if I’m in a twilight zone.”

I seconded her sentiment. However, as much as I wanted to give her space, I knew I had to get this over and done with, or I wouldn’t be able to move forward with anything at all.

“I know you’re beyond exhausted, but we must discuss what we should do. We didn’t have the chance to speak about what happened the other day, and I’m thankful you didn’t press for any information, but I did confront her. Rest assured, she won’t be hounding you any longer. But before we get through that ordeal, we must settle the first thing that I consider the biggest hurdle.” I paused as I watched her contorted reaction, as if she knew what I was about to say next. “You have to annul your marriage.”

“I need time …” She looked perplexed. “This is all happening so fast.”

She made a valid point. I understood that. However, if we lagged on this, I was terrified it would remain on the back burner, and nothing would be resolved, that we would all be stuck in the same limbo as we were at the moment.

“How much time?” I pressed. “Will a week or two suffice?” Surely, that would be adequate enough to cover whatever unresolved ties she had with him.

“A month or so,” she finally voiced with hesitation laced in her tone.

I didn’t want to be an arse about it all, but … the lingering response ofor sodidn’t bide well with me.

“Or so meaning a monthortwo? Five?Twelve?Give me a clearer picture here,per favore.”

She took a sharp intake of breath, as if she were losing patience with me. “I’m saying I need time, Luca.”

“Well,Ifucking don’t. So much time has been wasted already. You surely can’t expect me to wait on the sidelines. He is my child, too, in case you’ve forgotten that important detail. You can’t expect me to sit back, and before you know, you’ll be giving my son, my flesh and blood, my sole heir some other man’s last name! Over my fucking dead body!”So much for being reasonable,I thought as her mystified expression registered.

“Stop pressuring me! I can’t think.”

Someone had to, or she would resort to sitting still. If the past months hadn’t showed me anything, this surely did.

“As Gian Luca’s father, it’s my bloody job to pressure you,” I countered, hoping she would see how I wasn’t going to take her route in sorting things out by trying to ignore it.

“For goodness sake, Luca! You don’t have to be so fucking crazy all the damn time!”

“I have to be because it seems like you’re pretty comfortable with where you’re at right now, even after I had persisted my mother won’t rear her ugliness to pester you any longer. If that isn’t enough, I do intend to have that contract null and void while she delivers all that was promised in the bargain. What else can I do to make you happy, Kim? What else am I not doing right?”

She pressed her lips together while her fingers toyed with the seams of the sheets. “I’m grateful for everything; you must know that,” she murmured in a whisper I could barely hear. “You and your family are powerful. Your last name alone pretty much is the jurisdiction around here. I don’t want to jump from one prison to another.”

“What prison?” It was my turn to be flabbergasted by her choice of words. “You honestly believe that I’d do that to you?”Santo Cielo.“You are the mother of my child. I would never dream of treating you in such a way. Never in a million years. For you to even consider such an idea proves you clearly have a low opinion of me.”

How could she fathom that I would do such a damning thing? Sure, I could be a bastard most times when I didn’t get my way, but I would never do that to her, most especially not after this, not after what my mother had made her do.

When she met my gaze, I was surprised it was moistened with unshed tears. “I’m worth nothing here, Luca. I mean, I’m worth dirt in the States, too, but at least there’s some balance, at least I get to have more say when it comes to my baby.” She paused. “Here, you have the power to do anything you like. You could take the baby away for all I know, and I would have such a hard time fighting you in court. You carry the iron fist here, and that terrifies me.”

“Your imagination gets the best of you,” I commented before stalking towards her, sitting next to her, and holding her cold hand against my chest. “I love you. Trust in me that I would never let you fall. Trust in me that I will make the best decision for us, but most of all, for you and Gian Luca. I will protect you … forever if you just let me. Follow your heart; it will lead you back to me.”

“When you don’t have much money, you’d be surprised where someone’s imagination could go,” She commented. “But what you must understand is that I have to be selfish to secure my position in my son’s life, Luca. You know how I feel about you, but I will never forgive myself if I made a decision that took away what I have fought so hard to protect.”

“Then I simply have to make a contract that will ensure you that, no matter what happens, I don’t have the authority to take Gian Luca away. Would that suffice?” I would have given her the moon right then and there had she wished it.

“Okay, we have a deal. But you must give me a week or two to tie everything up,” she insisted, and I agreed to whatever she asked.

I would solely deal with all the legal aspects, because I needed her not to be bombarded by all sorts of problems, knowing she was going through changes due to motherhood.

Two weeks.

Life awaited … in two weeks. Yes, it was a journey I couldn’t wait to embark on.