DOMENICO

Reina twisted suddenly, eyes sharp and accusing. "How involved were you when your first baby mama was pregnant, Domenico? Did you hold her hair back when she was puking her guts out at 3 a.m.? Did you rub her swollen feet every single night like she begged you to? Or were you too busy fucking around and being the selfish bastard I know you can be?"

The questions sliced through the air like daggers. I kept my face a mask of calm devotion, though irritation flickered deep in my chest. My hands never stopped their sensual massage, thumbs digging into the new plushness of her hips.

"I was young and foolish then," I lied with silken smoothness. "I tried to be present, but I failed them. I see that now."

"And the second one?" she pressed, sitting up and glaring down at me, her voice rising with raw emotion. "When she was carrying your child, did you go to every ultrasound? Did you press your ear to her belly and talk to your son? Or did you treat her like an annoying inconvenience who ruined your perfect playboy life?"

I swallowed the urge to snap back and instead cupped her face tenderly. "I provided the best care money could buy. But I know I wasn’t the man they needed. With you, Reina... I want to be everything. The father. The partner. The obsessive lover who worships the ground you walk on."

"That isn’t what I asked you! Did you take care of them properly? Did you go to appointments? Rub their feet? Stay with them when they were sick?"

Jesus Christ.

I hid my annoyance carefully.

"What brought this on?"

"Answer the question."

Her tone sharpened instantly.

I studied her face for a second before answering calmly, "I provided for them. That’s all I did."

"Fucking heartless bastard!."

I sighed softly through my nose.

"I was busy back then."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I tried to think at least you are half a shitty person if you were involved throughout their pregnancies journey, but... You’re... Heartless.."

I almost laughed.

Almost.

Instead I kept my hands moving over her body slowly, forcing patience into my voice. "I wasn’t perfect. I never tried to hide that fact from you.."

"That means yes. You’re a shitty horrible person. The only great thing about you is your fucking cock. I shouldn’t have loved it that much. Fucking dick shooting your load everywhere when you wouldn’t even take the responsibility for your actions."

The hostility appeared out of nowhere, fast and irrational. One second she’d been relaxed in my arms, the next she looked genuinely angry at me over pregnancies that happened years ago.

I knew better than to push back.

So I changed the subject.

"There’s a charity gala tonight," I said smoothly. "Come with me. Please?"

She stared at me like I’d insulted her.

"No."

A pause.

Then colder—

"I’m not standing around smiling beside you like one of your whores while Paolo sits at home."

My jaw tightened slightly.

"Reina—"

"I said no."

She made a bitter, disbelieving sound and pulled away sharply.

Before I could stop her, Reina slid off the bed, snatched her dress from the chair, and stormed toward the door in nothing but my oversized shirt and a hastily grabbed coat. "I’m not going to your stupid charity gala. I’m not going to be your glittering arm candy while Paolo sits at home alone, wondering where the hell I am. Find another whore to parade around. I’m leaving."

"Reina, wait—"

The door slammed so hard the walls rattled.

Silence swallowed the room. I sat motionless for a long moment, staring at the space she’d vacated. The mood swings. The feral hunger. The sudden venom after melting submission. The vomiting I’d heard earlier that morning. The unmistakable changes to her body—the plumper ass I’d just worshipped, the heavier, sensitive breasts, the radiant glow on her skin.

Then it crashed over me like lightning.

Ruby.

Both of my previous pregnancies with Ruby had been exactly like this: a whirlwind of insatiable cravings followed by explosive cruelty, bizarre questions, and rapid, lush physical changes.

A deep, villainous laugh tore from my chest—low at first, then exploding into a rich, wicked roar that echoed through the penthouse. I threw my head back, tears of dark, unhinged joy streaming down my face as the realization sank in like the sweetest venom.

"Holy fuck..." I gasped between laughs, wiping my eyes. "She’s pregnant."

The words tasted like victory. Like fate itself had handed me the ultimate leash.

I rose from the bed, naked and magnificent, my body taut with possessive energy. Grabbing a cigar from the nightstand, I lit it with deliberate slowness, the flame illuminating my savage grin. Smoke curled around me like a dark halo as I strode to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the manicured gardens.

There she was—Reina, hurrying down the path below in my shirt, coat clutched tight around her, looking small, frantic, and deliciously vulnerable from this height.

I took a long, slow drag, exhaling a thick plume of smoke against the glass.

"You’re carrying my baby, Reina," I murmured, my voice dripping with dangerous promise. "My seed has taken root deep inside you. There’s no running now. No more hiding behind Paolo. No more games of ’just one night.’"

My grin widened into something feral, almost demonic, as I pressed a palm to the cool glass, imagining it was her swelling belly.

"You can scream. You can fight. You can slap me and curse my name. But that life growing inside your womb is mine. And that makes you mine—permanently. Irrevocably. I’m going to wrap you so tightly in my world, my wealth, my obsession, that escape becomes a fantasy you’ll never reach."

I chuckled darkly again, the sound low and resonant, as her figure disappeared into her building.

The game hadn’t just changed.

It had become eternal.

And I was going to savor every single second of binding her to me forever.