Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Emanuele left and closed the door behind him. Isabella opened her eyes which she had kept shut till then.

She was still overwhelmed by mixed emotions of excitement, happiness and anxiety. The thought of having a little life growing inside her made her extremely happy but at the same time, she was worried about what Emanuele would say if he found out about it. He might ask her to get an abortion as he had decided that he would have children only when he turned forty years old. What if this sudden arrival of their child made him angry? For his career’s sake, there was a possibility that he might ask Isabella to terminate the pregnancy.

God! She couldn’t give up any of her children!

But even if she managed to keep it hidden now, how could she hide it later when everyone could see that she was pregnant? And what about Emanuele’s enemies who were still lurking around? It wasn’t appropriate for them to know about their child at this moment.

She couldn’t tell anyone else either because once they knew, there was a chance that their enemies would find out too – including Evelyn who was Isabella’s best friend or Grazia who was like an elder sister to her.

It wasn’t because Isabella didn’t trust them; it just wasn’t safe for anyone else besides herself and Emanuele to know right now.

Is Grazia okay now?

“Oh! Isabella I’m so glad you called me,” Grazia’s cheerful voice came through on video call.

Grazia looked slightly plumper than before with a slight bump showing in front indicating that she must be five months pregnant or more.

“Grazia are you feeling okay?” asked Isabella concernedly.

“I feel pretty good actually,” replied Grazia smilingly “At first I couldn’t eat much but now I can eat enough food for two people alone – even more than Rocco eats sometimes.” She laughed while rubbing her belly “Oh God! If I continue eating like this then I’ll become really fat soon… I miss my slim figure.”

Watching Grazia’s worried expression somehow made Isabelle envious of how things were going smoothly for Grazi despite being pregnant.

She felt guilty for her unborn child. It must have been around three months old, but she had thought it was just her being overweight and had even gone on a diet and exercised more to try to lose weight. It was not easy for the baby to stay healthy in her belly.

“It’s okay, as long as you give birth to it. What about Rocco’s sister? Is she still bothering you?”

“No, after that day when she left, Rocco didn’t allow her to come over anymore. Thank you, Isabella. Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.” Grazia sincerely thanked Isabella.

“Grazia, how did you take care of yourself when you first got pregnant? I have a friend… she’s pregnant now and doesn’t understand these things. She asked me to ask my friends who have been pregnant before and the only person I could think of is you.” Isabella came up with a lame excuse.

She felt helpless now that she was suddenly pregnant without any preparation or anyone to confide in except for her mother who wasn’t alive anymore. Isabella was sad because if her mother were still alive then she could talk with her about this situation.

“Well… I couldn’t eat much at first so I ate more fruits and foods that would supplement my nutrition intake. But eventually the morning sickness went away,” Grazia began sharing with Isabella.

Since Grazia didn’t have many friends in Italy and only talked with servants every day which made it hard for herself so talking with someone like Isabella made Grazia happy since they shared their experiences together.

Isabella listened while taking mental notes of what Grazia said.

After ending the call, Isabella decided from today onwards Lilly would help plan out nutritious meals instead of continuing on eating diet food like before.

However recently she hadn’t had much appetite but even if it’s difficult for herself , she will try harder since there’s a child inside of her.

The next day, Isabelle went back work. She took away the pregnancy test strip from home, took it into hospital, and threw it into trash bin so no one would find out. But still, she worried about Emanuele finding out later when he noticed how big his wife’s belly has become during 5-6 months. Isabelle couldn’t share this joyous moment openly like other couples do, she felt like a thief sneaking around secretly doing things behind closed doors instead of celebrating happily together as husband and wife should be doing together

“I’ll think about it later. If things don’t work out, I’ll tell Emanuele that I want to go back to the countryside for a while and disappear from his sight until after I give birth,” Isabella thought to herself.

But soon, Isabella realized that she couldn’t handle working at the hospital anymore. Her senses were heightened due to her pregnancy, and sometimes when severely injured patients came in with open wounds oozing blood and emitting a strong odor of blood, her stomach would twist and turn as if she was going to vomit.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Isabella, come help this patient with their wound. Stitch them up,” an experienced doctor instructed her.

Isabella could ignore the bloody wounds before but now the smell made her feel sick. She apologized then ran off to throw up in the bathroom.

After vomiting, Isabella splashed cold water on her face from the faucet and rinsed out her mouth. Looking at herself in the mirror pale and haggard without any of her former vitality made Isabella realize that she couldn’t continue being a doctor for now.

She had heard before that some women were very sensitive during early pregnancy while others weren’t so much but never thought it would happen to herself. It was going to be difficult getting through this stage of pregnancy.

“I think I’m going stay in our apartment for a while,” Isabella told Emanuele later on.

“But you said you wanted half-day shifts just two days ago? Why not go?” Emanuele asked confusedly.

“I think you’re right; staying home is safer.”

“Yes.” Emanuele kissed Isabelle’s cheek affectionately. “I’m glad you’re listening; if there’s anything you need or want just let Lilly or me know.”

Isabelle hugged him tightly feeling guilty about deceiving him but knew he wouldn’t want this child if he found out about it beforehand anyway.

No matter what happened though she had promised herself that she would protect this child no matter what cost it took on herself emotionally or physically

As Isabella was lost in thought, a hand slipped inside her clothing. The hot and rough palm caressed her skin, causing goosebumps to rise all over her body and making her feel weak in the knees.