Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Eight
Alicia's POV
I stayed in the garden long after Malachi left.
The fountain burbled. Birds sang. Everything was peaceful.
But my mind was chaos.
I'd just made a deal with Malachi Blackwood. Had agreed to let him back into my life, even temporarily. Had opened a door I'd spent weeks trying to keep closed.
Was I making a mistake?
Probably.
But what choice did I have? Zhao was out there. Planning. Waiting. And the Morettis, as much as I appreciated their protection, weren't equipped to handle someone like him.
Malachi was.
My hand went to my stomach. Still flat. No visible sign of the life growing inside me.
But it was there. Real. Getting bigger every day.
A baby. Malachi's baby.
I'd spent weeks trying not to think about what that meant. Trying to pretend I could do this alone. That I didn't need him.
