Chapter 3 - The Cold Decision
The news of Arthur Romano’s upcoming nuptials hit the Chicago newspapers a month later.
Chloe sat in booth seven—the booth Arthur used to occupy—holding a cold cup of coffee while her brother, Ethan, wiped down the adjacent tables. The headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune was glaring: ROMANO AND CROFT ALLIANCE SEALED WITH SEPTEMBER WEDDING.
There was a photograph of Arthur. He was wearing a bespoke charcoal suit, standing beside a tall, impossibly slender woman with platinum blonde hair and a diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg on her finger. Vivien Croft. The daughter of Malcolm Croft, the man who had threatened Chloe in her own kitchen.
"You shouldn't be reading that garbage," Ethan said softly, gently sliding the newspaper away from her.
Ethan was twenty-two, fiercely protective, and knew just enough about Arthur Romano to hate him with every fiber of his soul. He didn't know the full extent of what had happened, but he knew his sister cried herself to sleep every night, and he knew her body was changing.
"It's everywhere, Ethan," Chloe said quietly, resting her hands against her lower stomach.
She was entering her fourth month. She wasn't showing heavily yet to the outside world—her natural curves and loose-fitting sweaters allowed her to hide it from customers—but when she looked in the mirror, the changes were undeniable. Her waist had thickened, her breasts were fuller, and a gentle, firm swell had formed below her navel.
"Does he know?" Ethan asked, his jaw tightening.
"No," Chloe answered immediately. "And he never will."
"Chloe, it's his child. He's a billionaire mobster. He has resources, doctors—"
"He has enemies, Ethan!" Chloe’s voice rose in sudden panic. She grabbed her brother's wrist. "Did you see who he's marrying? The Crofts! The same man who walked into our kitchen with a gun! If they find out Arthur has an illegitimate child with a diner waitress, what do you think they will do to my baby?"
Ethan fell silent. The harsh reality of her words settled heavily in the room.
"Arthur left to keep me safe," Chloe whispered, looking down at her hands. "If I go to him now, if I tell him about this baby, I drag my child straight into a war zone. I can raise this baby alone. We have the diner. We have each other."
She tried to convince herself that was enough. But every night, when she lay in her quiet bed, her hand would rest on her stomach, and she would remember the way Arthur’s rough, calloused hands had felt against her skin. She remembered the fierce, protective look in his eyes when he stood between her and Malcolm Croft. She wondered if he ever thought about her, or if she had just been a temporary distraction before he returned to his empire.
Across town, in a high-rise office overlooking the grey expanse of Lake Michigan, Arthur Romano was losing his mind.
"You need to focus, Arthur," Leo Barnes said, slamming a leather portfolio onto the heavy mahogany desk. "The Croft alliance is the only thing keeping the Syndicate from breaking into a full-scale turf war. Malcolm controls the docks. We control the distribution networks. Marrying Vivien cements the treaty."
Arthur didn't look up from the glass of scotch in his hand. He hadn't slept more than three hours a night since July. His eyes were shadowed, his jaw covered in dark stubble.
"I don't give a damn about Vivien Croft," Arthur said coldly.
"You don't have to love her!" Leo snapped, leaning over the desk. "You just have to marry her! Stand at the altar, sign the papers, and secure the territory. After that, you can live in separate houses for all I care."
Arthur stared out the window. Down on the streets, the city looked small, cold, and meaningless. Every time he closed his eyes, he didn't see figures or land titles. He saw Chloe’s tear-stained face. He felt the terrifying flinch when she had shrunk away from him.
"Have you kept men on her?" Arthur asked, his voice dropping into a dangerous key.
Leo sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yes, Arthur. As per your orders, two of my best guys are watching the diner twenty-four hours a day. She's fine. She works, she goes to the grocery store, she goes back to her apartment. Nobody from the Croft camp has gone near her."
"If anything happens to her—"
"Nothing is going to happen to her because Malcolm thinks you've moved on!" Leo interrupted forcefully. "He thinks she was just a fling! If you cancel this wedding, or if you show any sign that you still care about that waitress, Malcolm will realize she's your weakness. Is that what you want?"
Arthur’s hand tightened around the crystal glass until his knuckles turned white. "No."
"Then finish this," Leo urged. "Marry Vivien. Secure the peace. And leave Chloe Henderson in the quiet life she belongs in."
Arthur drained his glass, the amber liquid burning his throat, doing nothing to numb the hollow ache in his chest. "Get out, Leo."
When Leo left, Arthur opened the top drawer of his desk. Tucked beneath stacks of confidential reports was a small, velvet-lined box. Inside was a simple, elegant engagement ring—not a giant diamond like the one he had been forced to give Vivien, but a delicate sapphire surrounded by tiny pearls. He had bought it in June, intending to ask a diner waitress to be his wife.
May you like
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the cool wood of his desk. He thought he was saving her. He thought keeping his distance was the ultimate act of love.
He had no idea that while he was preparing to tie himself to a family of snakes, the woman he loved was carrying his legacy in secret, battling the morning sickness, the doctor's appointments, and the terrifying weight of motherhood entirely alone.
