Becoming Mrs DeLuca novel Chapter 28

ADRIAN

Valentina’s eyes went wide, and for a moment I couldn’t read what was going through her head. My own thoughts weren’t much clearer- they were still muddled by the lingering taste of her lips and the heat of her body pressed to mine only seconds ago. I’d promised myself I would keep my distance and give her time, the first real opportunity I had, I’d pulled her into my lap like I couldn’t help myself.

yet

And the worst part? She hadn’t fought me. She’d come willingly, or at least without protest. That small detail gnawed at me now. Did she really want me? Or was she just scared to refuse me?

Sofia’s cries cut through the air again, demanding attention. The sound snapped me back to reality.

“She’s probably hungry,” I muttered, already recognizing the particular pitch of it.

Valentina blinked at me, shoulders tensing, and gave a faint, uncertain nod. “Okay?” The word came out more like a question, as if she had no idea what was expected of her, no idea how to step into this role that had been thrust on her overnight.

She looked like a deer frozen in headlights, not sure which way to run.

I blew out a breath, dragging a hand over my face. My cock was still hard, the ache was inconvenient and obvious, so I shifted my pants, trying to make myself decent again before standing. “Come on,” I said. “I’ll show you everything you need to know.”

Her posture eased slightly at that- not much, but enough for me to notice. And for the first time since we’d stepped into this house together, it hit me how lost she really was.

She pulled a robe over and followed after me. I was on the way downstairs to prepare the bottle, but she froze. “Shouldn’t we console her first before going down into the kitchen?”

I considered that then nodded slowly. Sybil usually prepared the bottle while I took care of Sofia. Once Sybil fed her, I returned to bed.

Valentina and I went to Sofia’s bedroom and walked in. I turned the lights on. Sofia’s face scrunched up with her cries, her skin already turning red. Her cries tore at me. She’d always been a crier, but since Serena’s death, it had become worse. Now every one of her cries seemed to ring with an undertone of accusation, and my guilt weighed heavy on my shoulders.

I walked over to the crib and picked her up, cradling her in my arms. She quieted only briefly. Sighing, I headed back to the door where Valentina was hovering with an uncertain expression. “You don’t know anything about children, do you?”

She hesitated. “Only what I’ve read.”

It was exactly what I’d suspected. Her parents had tried to sell her as if she were some experienced babysitter, but of course, that had been nothing more than strategy. Empty words.

Rocking Sofia against my chest, I started going downstairs. Valentina trailed close behind. The rhythmic weight of my daughter was familiar and grounding, but my thoughts kept circling. Please don’t let Stefan

wake too. Handling one crying child was barely manageable. But two at once? Stefan wouldn’t even let me near him, not when he was upset.

Pushing down my frustration, I stepped into the kitchen. Sybil had been efficient as always. Everything was Laid out on the counter, bottles lined up beside the tin of formula. It had been a while since I’d prepared one myself, but I knew the motions well enough.

I nodded toward the counter. “You need to make the bottle.”

Valentina’s head jerked up, eyes wide. “I’ve never done it before.”

Of course not. I bit back a sigh and shifted Sofia in my arms. “Then you’ll hold her while I show you” i extended my daughter toward her.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. Her eyes flicked from Sofia’s tiny fists to my face. A flush crept into her cheeks, part embarrassment, part nerves. She looked younger in that moment- too young for all of this. Meeting my gaze, she whispered what I was already expecting. “I’ve never held a baby in my life.”

For a moment, I felt the urge to lash out at her verbally, but I shoved it down. Valentina had even less say in marrying me than I did. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know the first thing about being a mother. “It’s not difficult. Just hold out your arms and take her.”

“What if I drop her? Or hurt her? Or-”

“Valentina, it’s going to be fine. You won’t drop her, and you won’t hurt her.”

She nodded and finally held out her arms. I put Sofia into them, and Valentina immediately cradled her to her chest. “Oh, she’s heavier than I thought.”

I hovered beside her to see if she could handle it, but she only had eyes for Sofia. She looked terrified and a little lost. Then Sofia did what she always did when anyone but me or my sister or mother held her; she began bawling, her tiny arms and legs thrashing as she tried to squirm away from the stranger.

Valentina’s eyes grew wide and scared, as she sought my gaze for help.

Sighing, I went over to the bottles. “Try to console her. She needs to get used to you.”

Sofia had never gotten used to Sybil or the other maids. If the same happened with Valentina, months of sleepless nights would turn into years and my daughter would remain without a mother figure in her life. It was an option I didn’t want to entertain.

“Shh… Shh… don’t cry.” Valentina rocked Sofia, but even from afar I could see her anxiety, and Sofia could probably feel it too. The crying didn’t cease. If possible, it got even more intense. I moved faster, preparing the formula, trying not to let the cries snap my patience. I wanted to call Paul Romano right this moment and tell him that he’d regret lying to me about his daughter, that I’d find a way to make him pay. The best way, of course, to pay him back would be to nullify our marriage because he’d cheated me of a promised mother figure.

With the bottle, I walked over to Valentina, who looked close to tears herself. But it would be absolutely dishonorable to cancel the marriage at this point, and not just that…. Nothing in this world would make me give up Valentina now that I had her. Maybe she wasn’t the mother my children needed, but fuck, she was

what I craved.

The moment I took Sofia from her arms, her shoulders sagged with relief. Sofia quieted in my hold and accepted the bottle, watching me with teary eyes, her chubby cheeks blotchy.

“I’m sorry,” Valentina said. Guilt filled her expression.

I didn’t say anything. Slowly, I made my way back upstairs and into Sofia’s room. Valentina was quiet. I should say something, tell her it would get better, but I wasn’t sure if it was true.

She watched me the entire time that I fed my daughter. Sofia was calm as I cradled her against my chest. “Should I try to hold her again?” she asked, uncertain.

“No,” I clipped. I couldn’t bear another crying fit.

She nodded slowly, looking away. Silence settled over us, only disturbed by the suckling sounds of Sofia drinking her bottle. When she was finally done, my eyes burned with exhaustion. I tried to put Sofia back down in her crib, but the moment I did, she began wailing again.

With a small sigh, I went over to the rocking chair in the corner and sank down. The thing groaned under my weight. “You can go to sleep. I don’t need you.”

Valentina winced as if I’d slapped her. She turned, walked out, and silently closed the door.

I rocked, watching my daughter who looked wide awake. This would be another sleepless night.

**

Sofia had eventually fallen asleep so I was able to catch two hours of sleep before my alarm rang at six. Groaning, and feeling absolutely exhausted, I straightened in bed. Valentina sat up too. Just like after our first night together, her eyes were puffy from crying. Maybe our bond was doomed the same way my bond with Serena had been.

“Good morning,” she said, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear and straightening her bangs. “I didn’t hear you come to bed.”

“It was late. Sofia wouldn’t fall asleep.”

She bit her lip. “Sybil’s going to be here today, right?”

nodded. “You don’t have to worry. You won’t have to be alone with my children yet. Sybil will show you how to take care of them until you know what to do. But Sybil’s main job is to clean and cook.”

“Okay,” she said softly.

“I’m going to get ready. Your bodyguards are coming over at seven so I can introduce you before I leave for work.”

“Are they your late wife’s bodyguards?”

Fury burned in my chest. “No.” Which was mostly the truth.

She got out of bed, but her eyes were on me. “When will you be home tonight?”

EL 55 Vauctions

“I don’t know.” I headed into the bathroom and closed the door. The hot shower did nothing to dissipate the heavy sense of exhaustion.

While Valentina got ready, I dressed in my usual three–piece suit before I headed to Stefan’s room. As expected, he wasn’t inside. I found him on his mother’s bed, still in his PJs, staring down at his tablet. “Stefan, you know you aren’t supposed to be in here.”

He didn’t react, except for rounding in his small shoulders and jutting out his chin. I went over to him and picked him up. He squirmed in my hold, but I didn’t set him down.

“It’s enough,” I snapped. My patience was running thin after last night.

He only struggled harder. My chest tightened in a mix of despair and frustration. “Stefan, stop it now!”

He froze and so did Valentina, who was watching from her spot in the doorway to our bedroom.

Sofia began wailing in her room. Seconds later, the dog began barking up a storm downstairs. I stopped and for a moment, I was sure I’d lose it. Swallowing hard, I went over to Valentina and set Stefan down in front of her.

“Get him dressed and don’t allow him to spend all day on the tablet. I’ll take care of Sofia.” I didn’t wait for her reply.

Turning my back on her and my son’s accusing little face, I headed to my daughter. Once in her room, I rested my forehead against the cool door for a couple of heartbeats before finally I felt in a state of mind to console my little girl.