Page 48 of Married to the Ruthless Mafia Heir

Since I was fine, Lucia helped with the discharge paperwork. Outside, the sunlight was brilliant. I squinted, clutching the pregnancy report, feeling like I'd survived something catastrophic.

Yesterday, I thought it was all ending. But today, a tiny new life was growing inside me.

"Elena."

Two people stepped out of a car nearby. The moment I saw them, nausea churned in my stomach again. Though with how little I'd eaten, there was nothing left to throw up.

Valentina called my name, walking toward me with a pretty smile. She was so well-maintained she looked barely older than me, wild curls blowing in the wind. Someone this beautiful didn't belong in a hospital setting.

She reached me and took both my hands, face soft with what looked like guilt. "Are you okay? I heard you were hospitalized. I was so worried."

I glanced at her, then at Marco standing behind her like a pillar, confused about what was happening.

Valentina looked back at Marco as if confirming something, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Elena, I'm here to apologize."

I frowned, more puzzled. And when Valentina got close, her perfume was too familiar—identical to what I'd smelled on Dante. I pulled my hands away instinctively, stepping back.

"For yesterday." She kept her voice low, her posture humble. "There's nothing between Dante and me. I was the one clinging to him, insisting on coming back with him. He was just soft-hearted, didn't know how to refuse me. I'm here to explain—this was all my own delusion. It had nothing to do with him."

She turned to Marco. "Marco can verify this."

Marco was silent for several seconds, then met my eyes and nodded seriously. He was a man who rarely smiled and had no reason to lie to me, so Valentina's words seemed credible.

But I couldn't process it immediately. "Last night you two seemed so close. That was all fake?"

Did Valentina feel sorry because she thought she was the reason I ended up in the hospital? Oh, please. God, I really hated people who made everything about themselves, especially this woman who made me jealous.

Valentina nodded, looking sincere. "Dante's heart belongs to you. He brought me back yesterday to make you taste jealousy for once. He just didn't expect it to blow up like this. He regrets it deeply."

My heart suddenly raced.

Valentina told me Dante's heart belonged to me. No one had ever said this so definitively before, but now I'd heard it with my own ears.

I looked down at the pregnancy report in my hands. If Valentina was telling the truth, did that mean Dante would welcome this child? The corners of my mouth lifted involuntarily.

I raised the report, about to speak.

The next second, the paper was snatched from my hand.

Valentina moved fast—too fast for me to react. She grabbed the report, scanned it quickly, then looked up at me with a meaningful smile.

"Elena, I have something to tell you. Privately." She tilted her head toward a nearby tree. "Let's talk over there?"

Her smile seemed genuine. I didn't want to create conflict that would disgust Dante. Lucia and Marco looked concerned, but I nodded and followed her.

Under the tree, away from Marco and Lucia's line of sight, Valentina turned to me and her smile vanished instantly.

Replacing it was a cold, appraising look. She crossed her arms, looking down at me, voice cutting like an ice pick.

"Elena, I'm warning you—don't let Dante know you're pregnant."

Her face changed faster than a circus clown. I covered my stomach instinctively. "Why?"

This master of disguise smiled without warmth, eyes full of mockery. "Because Dante belongs to me. The woman by his side can only be me."

She said it calmly, like stating a fact.

"What are you talking about?" I tried to keep my voice steady. "Dante sent you to explain to me. That means I matter to him. If he hadn't sent you, you wouldn't even be standing here."