22

The two of us lived in harmony with each other, and there was never a problem that arose again. Everything was perfect. A couple of years after the incident, something interesting happened. It was something I wasn't expecting at all.

I started having stomach pains and nausea. Sometimes, I would have occasional dizziness. This worried me, and I couldn't go to the doctor. I made sure that Pietro and I were completely blocked off from the world. It's not like I can conjure a doctor out of thin air either.

The only thing that might work is putting Pietro to sleep and then leave the house to get checked. It shouldn't take too long. I needed time to fly there, have the doctor check me out, and fly back home. Simple. Nothing too complicated.

---

The following Monday, I prepared to leave, but unfortunately, Pietro found me before I was ready. This was going to be hard to explain.

"Irina? What are you doing?"

I had a coat on, a purse in one hand, and keys in the other. It looked very suspicious and not something he would have ever seen since being here.

"Nothing. I was trying on this coat and wanted to see what it looked like with accessories. You don't have to worry about anything."

He looked at me funny, and I quickly forced a fake smile upon my face. There was no need for him to see things as they were. Everything needed to be a fantasy for him. His mind was too fragile to handle the truth.

"Something has gotten into you for the past few weeks, and I'm trying to figure out what that is. Now, I think I know."

I tensed up but tried not to show it as that would seem strange to him and show that I'm hiding something.

"Nothing is going on. I haven't been different than normal. Maybe you're just imagining things. You do like doing that, you know."

He shook his head and came closer to me. I tried to stop my body from shaking, but the combined fear and dizziness from what was going on with me made it hard. I went towards the bed and sat down quietly, breathing in and out to steady myself.

"Irina, I'm not as stupid as you think I am. I know when there's something wrong with my wife."

Pietro sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. His hand started traveling downwards and ended up at my waist. I looked at him, and he had a smile on his face. He knew what I knew.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you, Pietro. I didn't want you to worry about me."

Pietro's strong arms wrapped around me, and he buried his face in my hair. I could tell he was still smiling. He did always want a family. Now he was going to get one.

Maybe now everything could be perfect, and nothing would ever go wrong. I just hoped life wasn't going to mess this up too.