Let's have another baby
1289 Words
Gia POV
Gia looked at her reflection in the mirror as she slipped on the earrings Leo had given her for their anniversary.
He could be sweet—almost loving—when he wanted to be.
She smoothed down her silk blouse and stepped into her heels. They weren’t too high, but not flat either—just the way Leo preferred.
Gia technically owned her own charity—well, Leo did—but she ran it. It was her little project, as Leo liked to call it.
After being a stay-at-home mom for a few years, juggling college classes on the side, Leo had "allowed" her to have something of her own. Something to keep her hands busy until they had children together.
Today, she had a meeting at a major company to hopefully secure a new sponsor. A small smile curved her lips as she fiddled with the golden bracelet on her wrist.
The charity helped single mothers and women trying to escape abusive relationships.
Leo had no idea. He thought it was a shelter for struggling families and nothing more.
Gia walked down the hallway, mentally preparing herself to say goodbye to Leo before the chauffeured car took her into the city.
She thought back, bitterly, to the days she'd complained to Sophia about her old car, the one her father had gifted her.
Freedom.
Back then, she'd taken it for granted. Now, she wasn’t even allowed to drive herself.
She knocked softly on the office door. “Darling?”
Leo looked up from the papers on his desk, his handsome face lighting up. Today was a good day.
Or at least, she prayed it would stay that way.
“Look at you. So perfect and beautiful,” Leo drawled, before his mouth twisted in a smirk. “Off to your little charity?” There it was. The dig behind the compliment. Always both.
“Yes, I am,” Gia answered, keeping her voice carefully neutral. She held her breath, hoping he hadn’t noticed the sharpness.
He chuckled, and patted his lap. “Come here, mi amore. I’m just teasing.”
She hesitated. One second too long. But she forced herself to smile and crossed the room.
Before she could sit gracefully, Leo grabbed her, pulling her roughly into his lap.
"You smell so good," he murmured against her neck, lips trailing down her throat. Gia closed her eyes briefly, willing herself to stay still. Leo was many things. Controlling. Selfish.
But not a cruel lover.
And if she closed her eyes hard enough, she could almost pretend it was someone else. Someone she would never stop dreaming about.
“Let’s have another baby,” Leo whispered, and Gia’s eyes snapped open. Apparently, he hadn’t forgotten that drunken promise he’d made last week.
"You make such beautiful babies," he said, pushing a lock of hair from her face with exaggerated tenderness. "Let's do it now. I'm so horny."
Gia forced a soft laugh, brushing a kiss across his mouth.
"I really want to," she lied smoothly, "but I have to go. They’re counting on me."
Seeing the dangerous flash in his eyes, she added quickly, "But tonight—I'll make love to you exactly the way you like."
Leo stared at her for a moment, his grip tightening briefly on her waist.
Then he smiled.
"Okay. Tonight."
Gia slipped off his lap, fixing her blouse, heart hammering.
Another escape.
For now.
—
The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the towering glass building. Gia wiped her damp palms on her skirt and pasted on her brightest, most convincing smile.
The driver — Marco, one of Leo’s men — stepped out immediately to open her door. He offered a small bow, all polished courtesy. But Gia knew better. He wasn't just a driver.
He was a leash.
Marco shadowed her as she walked through the lobby, his heavy boots thudding just a step behind. Gia gritted her teeth behind a tight smile. The deal was supposed to be that he'd drop her off and wait in the car.
But lately? Marco had started following her inside.
"Security," Leo had said casually. "You’re precious to me, Gia."
She knew better. Security wasn’t for her. It was for him.
Still, she nodded at the receptionist, pretending it was normal to have a bodyguard trailing her every move. Pretending was what she did best.
She clicked through her slides, voice steady, eyes scanning the room of executives and cold suits.
It was a presentation she'd written herself — about expanding shelter programs for women and children.
Leo would’ve sneered at her if he'd seen her now.
Charity is weakness, he'd once said. Women need strength, not handouts.
Gia smiled sweetly as she talked about hope, about safety, about rebuilding lives.
And all the while, her stomach churned with the memory of his mouth against her ear.
"Let's make another baby, amore."
She hadn’t taken her pill this morning.
She'd been too busy dressing for success, too busy pretending her life was still her own.
She'd have to find a moment later. Before tonight.
Her nails dug into her palm, unseen behind the podium.
Breathe. Smile. Survive.
She glanced at the crowd — polished suits, neutral expressions — and kept going.
"I won’t waste your time with statistics you already know. Instead, let me tell you about Rosa, a woman who came to us with nothing but the clothes on her back and her five-year-old son. Within six months, she had a job, an apartment, and a future again."
A few heads nodded. Gia pressed on, feeling herself relax.
"We don't offer charity. We offer a chance. And today, I’m asking you to be part of that."
She stepped back slightly, opening the floor for questions.
A woman near the front raised her hand. "What’s the percentage of your budget that goes directly to services versus administration?"
"Seventy-eight percent goes straight to client services," Gia answered smoothly. "We’re proud of our lean operating model."
Another hand shot up. A gruff man with a deep voice. "What’s your biggest barrier to growth?"
Gia smiled. "Funding consistent long-term housing solutions. The first step out of an unsafe situation is critical, but affordable housing is harder and harder to secure."
Another question came, this time from a younger man. "Do you have partnerships with corporations yet?"
"We have a few," she said, scanning the room. "But we’re actively looking for more."
The questions came steadily — polite, professional. Gia was handling them easily, like she had a hundred times before.
And then—
A voice. Smooth. Familiar.
Too familiar.
"Where do you see yourself in five years, Mrs. Costa?"
Gia’s heart slammed into her ribs.
Her head snapped toward the sound before she could stop herself.
And there he was.
Dante Mancini.
Sitting halfway back, dressed in a dark suit that made him look even more dangerously handsome than she remembered. His eyes locked onto hers — intense, unyielding — like no time had passed at all.
Gia blinked.
Only a second.
But the air between them shifted, sharp as glass.
She forced a tight smile onto her face. "Hopefully still helping women reclaim their lives," she said coolly, her voice not shaking even though her hands were.
Someone else asked another question, but Gia barely heard it. She was already gathering her things, her breathing shallow.
She wrapped up the presentation with a tight, polite nod. "Thank you for your time."
The moment she stepped off the podium, she all but fled toward the exit.
Her heels clicked faster across the marble floor, her hands clutching her bag.
She didn't look back.
She didn't have to.
She could feel him following.
- Writer
