Scheming Heart (Available on Amazon Kindle)

Chapter 43

ALFONSO

I was the happiest man on earth when I learned that Claudia was already expecting our first child—a child that was created because of our love for one another. And then, I left the luckiest man on earth when she accepted my marriage proposal and we started planning our wedding.

But everything went down crashing one morning when I woke up only to find that every tabloid in the country had one topic—and that was Violet's unexpected pregnancy.

To be honest, at first, I wasn't remotely interested if she was also expecting her first child. I was happy for her that she finally moved on from our separation and now with the man she truly loves but my happiness for her only lasted until my father pointed out that the newspapers were pointing out that I was the father of her child.

I couldn't believe what I was reading at that time. What kind of nonsense was that? I was beyond in disbelief at the news article. People will not believe such bullshit, right? Oh, wait...maybe they will.

My heart sank in the pit of my stomach at the thought and the first person I could think of was my pregnant fiancée. I immediately went to the telephone in the corner of the room and dialed her parents' telephone number but my future mother-in-law told me that Claudia had gone walking with her younger sister.

I didn't waste my time jumping in my car and traveling to her parent's house where my fiancée currently resides until our wedding. I want to explain to her firsthand that it wasn't true—that the tabloids were lying about me fathering Violet's child before she learned it from the others. But my optimism shattered when I saw a copy of the tabloid in their house and I was sure as hell that Claudia had already seen a copy of it.

Will I ever have the chance to explain my side to her? Will she call off the wedding because of this? Is this my karma?

I thought her father would chew me alive because of that scandal in the newspaper but I was surprised that he was understanding about my situation and even offered advice on how to handle this matter. But my anxiety only intensified when Gianna went home alone crying because Claudia managed to sneak away while she was buying drinks for her.

Where is she?

Did she run away? Oh, God, I hope not. I don't know what I will do if that happens. I want to scour every street of Rome just to find her.

I was about to do that when I saw her walking back home on her feet but it was clear that she was deep in her thoughts she was probably thinking about the lies on the tabloids.

I didn't waste my time sweeping her in my arms and being thankful for my lucky star that she and our baby were safe and assured me that she trusted me and she would never leave me because of that bloody scandal.

That very same day I have the resolve to protect her and her love for me at all cost. In the beginning, I didn't have any plans of making a public statement about the issue even if several journalists kept calling the vineyard asking for my side of the story but I could see that it was affecting Claudia very much and my first job as her future husband is to protect her at all cost and ease her worries.

That's when I decided to phone Violet that same night to clear the issue once and for all. The sooner we clear this matter the better.

I dialed her number and as expected her manager answered the call. It's always like her manager controls almost everything in her life even her personal affairs. When I asked for Violet he was reluctant to give the phone to her citing that her condition was delicate at the moment and her doctor advised her not to stress herself.