Chapter Two Hundred And Three
Alicia's POV
January turned into February. Winter in Italy was cold but beautiful. The countryside covered in frost. The villa warm and full of life.
I was twenty-six weeks now. Six and a half months. Lia was getting bigger. So was I.
My back ached constantly. My feet swelled. I couldn't see my toes anymore.
But I'd never been happier.
Malachi was attentive to the point of being overprotective. He carried everything. Wouldn't let me lift a finger. Hovered constantly.
"I'm pregnant, not dying," I told him one morning when he tried to carry me down the stairs.
"You're carrying precious cargo. I'm being careful."
"You're being ridiculous."
"I'm being a father."
I couldn't argue with that.
Sophie was thriving. She'd enrolled in the local international school. Made friends. Started dating a boy named Luca that Alessandro thoroughly vetted.
"He's a good kid," Alessandro reported. "Family's respectable. No criminal ties. Decent grades."
