The Billionaire’s Prodigal Wife (Mackenna and Alessandro) novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Alessandro eyed her with irritation as she evaded his questions. ―You‘re changing the subject

―Yup She nodded as she took more of the risotto off his plate. ―You should try this, it‘s really good

―Tell me something Mackenna He ignored her instructions. ―When you almost died, did it not occur to you to come home to me?.

She held his serious gaze with one equally serious. ―Yes, Alessandro it did. Then one of the nurses thought she was doing me a good deed by bringing me reading material. You were on the front page of a glossy magazine with Dulce, and I remembered why it was I had left in the first place. You were doing a show with her in Japan, and I knew she would come ahead of me. There was no way I was going to set myself up for you to tell me you were too busy to come for me

―I would have come He argued.

―I was better then. It would have been no different than today. You would have said I was resting comfortably and left me to tend to her every want and desire. I come second to Dulce. Always have and always will

She saw his fingers clench around the butter knife in his hand and she glared at him. ―Don‘t deny it Alessandro. You couldn‘t last a full twenty–four hours without contact from her and she couldn‘t last without contact from you. She‘s the priority in your life and there is nothing you can say to make me change my mind

He was about to argue with her and then he stopped. He took a breath and looked away from her. ―You‘re right. I put too much of my time and effort into making Dulce the perfect representative for my company and in doing so, I alienated the one person who meant more to me than anything else. If I could go back in time to fix it, Mackenna, I would but I cannot. I can only ask you to reconsider the divorce and give me a chance to be a better husband

His words struck her as if he‘d used his open hand to deliver a blow and she grappled with the knowledge he was admitting he‘d put the other woman ahead of her. She felt the bitter taste of bile rising in her throat. ―I don‘t think I can Alessandro. you can be a good husband is not something I‘m able to do

―What does that mean?. He was torn between hope and despair at her words.

―It means I don‘t believe you when you say you love me. I don‘t believe you when you say you didn‘t cheat on me, and it means I don‘t believe you when you say you want to try again The phone rang interrupting the moment, and she knew who it was, and she rose to answer it. She picked up the telephone and sat down on the edge of the sofa as she spoke into the receiver. ―Hello

She listened to Doctor Ingram confirm her suspicions and then she thanked him replacing the receiver before curling her legs up against her chest and tucked her chin to her knees. She stared blankly at the glossy cover of a magazine on the low table and felt the tears welling in her eyes, blurring her sight but she didn‘t try to wipe them and didn‘t try to hide them.

A small sob escaped her chest and she admitted she was torn between crying and hysterical laughter, and she whimpered as the pain in her chest grew.

Alessandro moved to sit beside her, worried by her reaction. ―Are you okay?” ―I‘m fine She sniffed as she pushed her hair off her face.

―The doctor?. He asked quietly as he rubbed her shoulder. ―Were you correct in your thoughts?.

―Yeah She couldn‘t look at him. The desire to throw her arms around his neck was mixed with wanting to bludgeon him with a blunt instrument. He had won. He had won the war because she knew she could not do the impossible and win the divorce now. It would destroy her. She was going to have to live with the knowledge for the rest of her life she was stuck married to a man who neither loved nor respected her enough to make his mistress go away.

She knew he was waiting, and she took a shaky breath. ―When I got sick, I was in the hospital for almost a month. Intensive care for ten days and then quarantined for four more and then I was still sick, and I spent two more weeks at home She was openly admitting she had downplayed her illness and lied about being back to her desk within a month. ―At the time, the only medications I was on was a birth

multi-vitamin. My period didn‘t change at all when I was in the hospital. It seems! outgrew the terrible stuff of my adolescence, and my hormones were normal. Since 1 didn‘t have anyone in my life, I opted not to bother taking them again

She gave a loud sniff as she reached for a tissue from the side table and blew her nose. ―I hadn‘t even realized until today I had skipped my period altogether She

felt his hand go still on her shoulder where he‘d been rubbing sympathetically.― Actually, I only realized it when I woke up from my nap. I had a dream,‖ she choked on a sob, ―and in my dream you missed the birth of our first child to be with Dulce. I realized it wasn‘t so far of a stretch because it‘s probably what will happen but as soon as I woke up, I knew.”

Her voice was hoarse now as she tried to talk through the tears falling in a steady stream. ―All I wanted was to get my life back. I just wanted my self-respect back. Now, I‘ll never know what it will be like to look at myself in the mirror and not see the pathetic excuse for a woman my mother would be ashamed of looking back at her She turned to face him then. ―You won‘t let me go now, will you?.

―No,‖ he said as he wondered if when her chest had hurt earlier if it felt anything remotely like the agony he now felt. ―If you are truly pregnant with my child, there will absolutely be no divorce

―I thought not Her lips twisted sadly. ―I have so many regrets in my life. I only hope this child is a boy because I do not want a daughter who would try to emulate me. I am a disgrace

―You do not want our child?. Searing pain pushed his lungs into his ribs.

―Of course, I do. It‘s why I won‘t pursue the divorce. I‘m not stupid Alessandro. There‘s not a judge in the universe who wouldn‘t take a child away from a woman who lives in a tiny twobedroom apartment to place him with his billionaire father. I don‘t have a leg to stand on or the funds to fight you. I‘ll cut my losses and go home. It‘s all I can do