CHAPTER 96

SOPHIA'S POV

Five months later, the early spring air across the Tuscan valley carried the crisp smell of blooming almond blossoms and fresh rain.

The sunset painted the sky above Val d'Orcia in wide bands of violet, rose, and burnished gold. From the wide glass balcony of our main bedroom, the world looked calm, endless, and completely at peace.

Inside the candlelit nursery, however, time seemed to stand still.

The soft, steady sound of rain against the windowpanes was suddenly cut through by a tiny, wonderful cry, a soft, high-pitched newborn squeak that echoed through the warm, quiet room.

I lay back against the soft, white linen pillows...