Amethyst thought she'd have more time.
Time to adjust to the storm growing inside her.
Time to tell him the truth — that there were two heartbeats, not one.
Time to breathe before the next war found them.
But peace, as always, was an illusion in Luciano Valeri's world.
It shattered just before dawn.
She was in the garden, wrapped in one of Luciano's black button-downs, barefoot on the marble path. Morning dew glistened on the roses. Everything was still.
Then a whisper of movement.
Too quiet.
She froze.
One second later, a figure lunged from the hedges — masked, fast, knife in hand.
Amethyst ducked low on instinct, twisting hard to the side just as the blade grazed her arm. She screamed — not from pain, but from rage.
Guards were shouting.
Alarms blared.
Footsteps thundered.
But it wasn't fast enough.
The man grabbed her by the throat, yanked her against him, and hissed, "Let's see if Valeri bleeds when we carve the mother of his child—"
Gunshot.
His grip went slack.
He dropped.
Luciano stood ten feet away, breath heaving, gun still raised. His eyes locked on her — and then on the blood dripping from her arm.
Time fractured.
He crossed the space in seconds, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Are you hit? Did he touch your stomach? Amethyst—"
"I'm okay," she gasped. "I'm okay, I swear."
His hand was already on her belly, checking for any sign of trauma.
Guards swarmed, dragging the body away. But Luciano didn't look up. His entire world had narrowed to her — and the life growing inside her.
He pulled her against him, burying his face in her hair.
"I should've seen this coming," he muttered. "They knew. Somehow they knew."
Amethyst trembled in his arms, adrenaline crashing.
Then she whispered, barely audible, "Luciano… there's something I haven't told you."
He pulled back slowly. "What?"
Her voice cracked. "It's not just one."
His brow furrowed.
"There's two," she said. "I'm pregnant with twins."
Luciano froze.
For the first time in their entire war-drenched love story, he looked unsteady.
Then, without a word, he dropped to his knees in front of her, hands resting gently over her stomach.
He whispered something in Italian — too quiet to hear — then kissed the place just below her navel.
When he stood, his face was steel.
"They want war?" he said, voice like thunder. "Then let them come."
He turned to his guards.
"Double security. Move her to the south wing. Lock down all exits. I want the names of everyone who knew she was outside, and I want them tonight."
"Luciano," Amethyst said softly, touching his arm. "Don't disappear into vengeance."
He looked down at her — and for once, the fire in his eyes dimmed.
"I'm not disappearing," he said. "I'm building the kind of empire they'll never touch."
He kissed her forehead.
"Because now," he added, "I have something worth losing."