CHAPTER 87: PREPARING FOR PARENTHOOD

The news of the pregnancy changed everything, not with fireworks or fanfare, but with quiet ripples that reshaped every corner of their lives. Luca DeLuca, the feared Don of the most powerful mafia family in Italy, found himself obsessing over baby cribs and prenatal vitamins. Aria, the woman who once flinched at the sound of gunfire, now found herself flinching at the scent of garlic, demanding fresh strawberries at midnight instead.

Their world, once painted in gunmetal and shadows, began to soften around the edges.

It began with the doctor’s visit.

Luca insisted on booking a private appointment under a false name, with a security detail surrounding the clinic. The doctor, a middle-aged woman with calm eyes and steady hands, greeted them with polite professionalism. But when she congratulated them and pointed out the faint flicker of a heartbeat on the ultrasound screen, everything else disappeared.

"That’s our baby?" Aria whispered, eyes wide, voice trembling.

The doctor smiled. "That’s your little one’s heart."

Luca didn’t breathe. The sound was so small, so steady, it pierced through every wall he had built. He reached for Aria’s hand, gripping it tightly as though anchoring himself to the moment. His thumb brushed the back of her knuckles, and for once, he didn’t care who saw the emotion breaking across his face.

Aria turned to him, eyes shining with tears. "It’s real now, isn’t it?"

He nodded, unable to speak. The great Don DeLuca, speechless because of a heartbeat no bigger than a grain of rice.

When they left the clinic, the world felt different. The air seemed warmer, lighter. Even the city noise didn’t bother them.

That night, however, reality came crashing back.

Luca had been trying to pull away from mafia operations, letting Matteo’s betrayal serve as a warning of how deep internal corruption could run. But walking away wasn’t easy. Every night, phone calls, coded messages, and whispered threats still followed him. Aria noticed it all, the sleepless nights, the hidden frustration, the weight he tried to hide from her.

One evening, she found him standing by the window of their penthouse, cigarette in hand, staring out over the lights of Naples.

"You promised you’d quit," she said softly, leaning against the doorway.

He turned slightly, smirking. "I did quit. This is my farewell cigarette."

"You’ve said that three times this week."

He chuckled under his breath and stubbed it out. "Caught."

She walked over, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "You’re going to be a father, Luca. You can’t keep doing this."

He turned, his hands finding her waist, gentle now. "You’re right. I just" His voice trailed off. "I never thought I’d have something this fragile to lose."

She cupped his cheek. "You don’t have to protect us by destroying yourself."

His eyes softened. "You always know what to say."

"Maybe that’s why you married me."

He smiled faintly. "That, and because you terrified every man who tried to tell you what to do."

Her laughter filled the room, the kind of sound Luca hadn’t heard in too long. He kissed her forehead, lingering there as if trying to memorize the peace between storms.

The next few weeks became a delicate balance between chaos and tenderness. Aria’s mood swings were unpredictable, one moment she’d be teary over baby clothes, the next she’d be threatening to throw a pillow at Luca for teasing her about her sudden craving for pickles and chocolate.

"You have no right to laugh," she huffed one afternoon, standing in the kitchen surrounded by snacks.

"I’m not laughing," Luca said, hiding a grin behind his glass of water. "I’m just observing the miracle of life demanding peanut butter and sardines."

She glared at him, arms crossed over her chest. "You try growing a human being and see how you feel."

He immediately softened, walking over and kissing her temple. "You’re right. I surrender to the queen."

"Good," she muttered, before smirking. "Now go get me ice cream."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "It’s two in the morning."

"So?"

He sighed in mock defeat and grabbed his keys. "Fine. But if anyone sees me in the middle of Naples buying pistachio ice cream, I’m blaming you."

"You’ll thank me later," she called after him.

And he did. Because when he returned, she was waiting for him in one of his shirts, barefoot and sleepy, her hair a tangled mess of curls. She took the ice cream, smiled, and whispered, "You’re getting good at this, Daddy."

The word hit him harder than any bullet ever had.

Daddy.

He froze for a moment, then pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. "Say it again," he murmured.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah." His voice was rough, raw. "I like the sound of that."

But not everything was sweetness. With every passing week, Aria’s world felt smaller. Luca had insisted on more security, and his overprotectiveness became suffocating. Guards followed her to every appointment, every store, even the garden terrace she loved to sit on.

One afternoon, she snapped.

"Luca, I can’t breathe like this!" she yelled, slamming the door behind her as he entered the room.

His expression was unreadable. "It’s for your safety."

"I know that!" she said, her voice cracking. "But I’m not a prisoner anymore. I want to live, Luca. I want to go for a walk without ten men shadowing me. I want to feel normal again."

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Normal doesn’t exist for us, Aria."

"Maybe not for you, but I refuse to let our child grow up surrounded by fear."

That made him stop. The fire in her words disarmed him. He saw it then, not the frightened woman who had once begged for freedom, but the fierce mother who would fight the world for her child.

"You think I want that?" he said quietly. "You think I don’t want something better for them?"

She blinked back tears. "Then start living like it, Luca."

He closed the distance between them, his hands finding her face. "You drive me insane, you know that?"

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn’t meant to be one."

But then he kissed her, fierce and desperate, the kind of kiss that came from too much love and not enough words. When they finally broke apart, his forehead rested against hers.

"I’ll ease up," he whispered. "But don’t ask me to stop protecting you. I can’t."

"I wouldn’t dream of it," she whispered back.

A week later, he surprised her.

Luca took her to a villa outside Naples, secluded, sunlit, surrounded by vineyards. It had once belonged to his grandmother, he explained, and he wanted it to be their retreat, away from business, danger, and the city’s noise.

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Aria walked through the rooms, her fingertips brushing over dust-covered furniture and faded curtains. "It’s beautiful," she said softly.

"It’s old," Luca replied. "But it’s safe. And it’s ours."

In one of the rooms, sunlight spilled across the wooden floor where an old cradle sat, covered in a sheet. Aria lifted it carefully, revealing carved roses along the edges.

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"My grandmother had it made when my mother was born," Luca said quietly. "I thought maybe we could restore it."

Aria’s throat tightened. She turned to him, eyes shimmering. "You kept it all this time?"

He shrugged, almost embarrassed. "I don’t throw away history."

She smiled and reached for his hand. "Then let’s start ours here."

He nodded, and for the first time in a long while, the Don of Naples looked utterly human, just a man standing beside the woman he loved, dreaming of a future that didn’t smell of smoke or blood.

Outside, the wind carried the scent of ripening grapes and sea air. Inside, Aria laughed as Luca tried to assemble the new baby crib she had ordered, cursing under his breath every time a screw went missing.

"Don’t you dare tell anyone I can’t handle a crib," he muttered.

She smirked, settling on the bed. "Your secret’s safe with me, Daddy DeLuca."

And as he threw her a mock glare, both of them burst into laughter, the kind of laughter that sounded like hope reborn.

In that sun-drenched villa, surrounded by peace they had both fought for, Luca and Aria took their first real step into parenthood, chaotic, beautiful, terrifying, and full of love.

The months unfolded like pages in a well-worn book, each one bringing new layers to their evolving story. Aria’s belly swelled gently, a constant reminder of the life blossoming within. Luca adapted with surprising grace, trading late-night strategy sessions for evenings spent reading aloud from parenting guides, his deep voice stumbling over advice on swaddling and sleep training. "This says the baby needs a routine," he’d say, brow furrowed. "As if our lives have ever followed one."

Aria would laugh, nestling against him on the villa’s terrace, watching sunsets paint the vineyards in hues of amber and rose. "We’ll make our own," she’d reply. "One with fewer guns and more lullabies."

Security remained tight, but Luca honored his promise to ease up. Guards patrolled the perimeter discreetly, allowing Aria walks through the grapevines, her hand in his, discussing names under the open sky. "If it’s a boy, Alessandro," he suggested one afternoon, plucking a ripe grape for her. "Strong, like my grandfather."

She popped it into her mouth, savoring the sweetness. "And for a girl? Isabella. After my mother."

He nodded, eyes warm. "Perfect."

Prenatal classes became their secret ritual, Luca awkwardly practicing breathing exercises in a room full of expectant couples, his imposing frame comically out of place among yoga mats and birth balls. "Breathe in for four, out for six," the instructor coached. Luca tried, but his exhale came out as a frustrated sigh. Aria giggled, earning a playful glare. "You try focusing with a tiny human kicking your ribs," she teased later.

Nights brought intimacy in new forms. Luca’s hands, once calloused from handling weapons, now traced gentle paths over her curves, marveling at the changes. "You’re glowing," he’d whisper, kissing her shoulder. "More beautiful every day."