CHAPTER 22 — THE DECISION I COULDN’T TAKE BACK
1044 Words
📖 CHAPTER 22 — THE DECISION I COULDN’T TAKE BACK
POV: SERA
I didn’t sleep properly after that.
Every time I closed my eyes, my thoughts circled back to the same thing over and over again.
Leaving.
The word sat heavily inside my chest like guilt.
Because the worst part wasn’t that I wanted freedom.
The worst part was that I didn’t want to leave him.
And those were two completely different problems.
---
The next few days passed strangely after our conversation at breakfast.
Alessandro acted normal.
Too normal.
He still looked for me first whenever he entered a room. Still remembered little things about me. Still touched me gently like I was something fragile he didn’t want damaged.
But now I noticed everything differently.
Every guard outside doors.
Every time someone informed him where I was without asking me first.
Every decision already made before I could speak.
Once I noticed it clearly…
I couldn’t unsee it anymore.
---
“You’ve gone quiet again.”
I looked up from the flowers I had been pretending to arrange and found Isabella watching me carefully.
We were outside near the back garden while staff prepared lunch inside.
The weather was warm enough that the air smelled faintly like roses and rain.
Normally I liked it here.
Today I felt restless.
---
“I’m fine,” I said automatically.
Isabella rolled her eyes instantly. “You say that every time you’re not fine.”
I smiled faintly but didn’t answer.
She studied me for a few seconds longer before sighing dramatically.
“Did my emotionally constipated brother say something again?”
Despite everything, a soft laugh escaped me.
“You make him sound horrible.”
“He is horrible,” she replied proudly. “He’s just selectively nice to you.”
That should have comforted me.
Instead it made something tighten painfully inside my chest.
Because she was right.
---
My fingers stilled against the flowers.
“Isabella…”
She looked at me immediately.
“What?”
I hesitated.
Then quietly—
“Do you ever feel trapped here?”
The question surprised her enough that she stopped joking immediately.
“For real?”
I nodded slightly.
---
She leaned back slowly against the chair.
“I grew up here, Sera. I think I stopped noticing certain things a long time ago.”
That answer stayed with me.
Because maybe that was what had started happening to me too.
Maybe I was already adapting to things that should’ve frightened me.
---
Before I could respond, one of Alessandro’s men approached us carefully.
“Miss Sera.”
I looked up.
“There’s a doctor waiting inside. Mr. Moretti requested a routine check-up.”
My stomach tightened instantly.
“A doctor?”
The guard nodded politely. “Just precaution.”
Precaution.
That word again.
Always wrapped in concern.
Always sounding harmless until I thought about it too long.
---
“I’m not sick,” I murmured quietly.
The guard didn’t move.
“Mr. Moretti insisted.”
Of course he did.
---
Isabella noticed my expression immediately.
“You can refuse if you want.”
Can I?
The thought came so quickly it startled me.
Could I refuse?
Would Alessandro accept it calmly?
Or would he simply decide for me again under the excuse of safety?
---
I stood slowly.
“It’s fine,” I whispered.
Because arguing suddenly felt exhausting.
And maybe part of me already knew something else too:
I needed to stop depending on his permission for everything.
---
The doctor was kind.
Older.
Gentle voice.
The kind that reminded me vaguely of my aunt.
At first the appointment felt normal.
Routine questions.
Routine examinations.
Until her expression changed halfway through reading the results.
Very slightly.
But enough that I noticed.
---
“What is it?” I asked softly.
She looked up slowly.
Then smiled carefully.
“You’re pregnant.”
The room went completely silent.
I stared at her.
Certain I had heard wrong.
“What?”
“You’re early along,” she continued gently, “but yes. You’re pregnant.”
My breathing stopped.
Actually stopped.
---
Pregnant.
The word echoed painfully inside my head.
My hands instinctively moved toward my stomach before I could stop them.
Shock crashed into me first.
Then fear.
Then something softer.
Something terrifyingly emotional.
---
The doctor’s expression softened further.
“Would you like me to inform Mr. Moretti?”
My head snapped up immediately.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Too panicked.
---
She blinked slightly.
“I’m sorry?”
“Please,” I whispered quickly. “Don’t tell him.”
The doctor hesitated now.
“Miss Sera—”
“Please.”
My voice cracked softly.
Because suddenly I understood something with terrifying clarity.
If Alessandro found out about the baby…
I would never leave.
Never.
Every door around me would close permanently.
Every choice would disappear.
---
Fear crawled slowly into my chest.
Not fear of him hurting me.
That somehow made it worse.
Because I knew he would become gentler.
More protective.
More controlling.
And I already felt like I was disappearing inside his protection.
---
The doctor looked conflicted.
But after a long moment, she nodded once.
“I’ll keep this private for now.”
Relief hit me so hard my eyes nearly burned.
“Thank you.”
---
When I left the room, Alessandro was already waiting outside.
Of course he was.
He looked up immediately when he saw me.
His expression sharpened slightly.
“You’re pale.”
“I’m fine.”
His eyes narrowed almost invisibly at the automatic answer.
“What did the doctor say?”
Every muscle in my body tightened instantly.
“Nothing serious.”
That wasn’t technically a lie.
But guilt still crawled heavily through me anyway.
Because it was the first real secret I had ever kept from him.
And somehow…
I already knew it wouldn’t be the last.
---
That night, I sat alone in my room long after everyone slept.
One hand resting lightly against my stomach.
Thinking.
Planning.
Terrified.
Because now it wasn’t just about me anymore.
And somewhere deep down…
I realized the decision had already been made.
I was going to leave Alessandro.
No matter how much it hurt.
- Writer
