I had been married to Lorenzo Falcone for five years, and in those five years, it seemed like every few days, a new woman was paraded through the doors of the Falcone estate.
Each time, I would listen to the sounds of their passion filling the next room, marking it down in my memo.
Five years and ninety-eight times.
Today, it was a fresh-faced girl from some lesser household, delicate and young.
Once they were done, Lorenzo called for me to come in and clean up.
Bianca Costa lay lazily in his arms, a teasing smile playing on her lips as she spoke, "Lorenzo, is this the old, ugly wife you mentioned? The one your capos made you take? The one who can't even stir the slightest bit of desire?"
Lorenzo idly ran his fingers through Bianca's hair, offering nothing more than a dismissive grunt.
Bianca tossed the silk aside, her skin marked with fresh hickeys, her grin wide. "See? This is how a man reacts to a young, beautiful woman. As a woman, you really failed."
I stayed silent, my gaze fixed on the floor, as I quietly cleaned up the mess.
Their laughter echoed through the room, a cruel reminder of the silence that surrounded me.
Once I retreated to my room, I pulled the dissolution papers from the safe, the ones no consigliere had yet stamped.
Five years had passed, and in all that time, it felt as though I had forgotten Lorenzo and I were only bound by a pact between houses.
One week. Just one more week and the alliance would be severed for good.
——
The next morning, I woke early, as I always did.
Lorenzo had already called me three times, demanding breakfast be brought to his room.
Without a second thought, I refused.
"Don't you have hands or feet? Should I feed you bite by bite?"
I ended the call just as Lorenzo stormed into the room, his finger jabbing at me.
"Adriana, who are you throwing a tantrum at? Don't forget whose house you're in and who you're talking to!"
I didn't respond. Instead, I lifted my eyes to meet his, studying the face I'd once known so well, the face I had loved.
I knew he had never loved me, but the sting came from realizing that, for five years, he had never truly seen me as a part of his life.
Finally, I lowered my gaze, my voice soft but firm. "I'll leave this house sooner or later."
His anger flared, his voice rising. "Leave this house? You've lived off Falcone money all this time. How will you survive when you're gone? Not a single channel in this territory would touch you without my say."
Before I could reply, Bianca's voice cut through the tension, lazy and dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, the old woman's throwing a tantrum again? What's wrong? Getting old and can't bear seeing Lorenzo with younger, prettier women?"
"If it bothers you so much, why don't you just strip off your clothes and crawl into Lorenzo's bed? But—"
She laughed, the sound sharp and mocking, one hand drifting to her collarbone as though checking her jewels were still in place. "With that face, no man would even blink."
I slammed the spoon down onto the table, the sound sharp and sudden, like a match sparking something deep inside me.
Lorenzo, who had been standing nearby, scoffed.
"Did Bianca say something wrong? Are you throwing another tantrum?"
I pressed my lips together, silently clearing away the half-eaten breakfast before heading toward the kitchen. Under the table, my thumb found the plain silver band on my right hand and pressed it once, hard.
Bianca's triumphant voice floated from the dining room. "This is too good. Just stay obedient and play your part as the old housewife."
"Enough, stop talking."
Lorenzo's tone was scolding, but I could hear the underlying indulgence in his words.
I stared at the faucet, my thoughts drifting like a fog, so much so that I almost let the water overflow.
Then, a hand reached from behind and turned off the faucet.
"What are you lost in?"
The voice was too close, and when I turned, I found myself trapped in Lorenzo's intense, unreadable gaze.
I lowered my head again, focusing on the dishes in front of me.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about what comes next after the alliance is dissolved."
"Dissolved?" Lorenzo's voice was laced with amusement as if I'd just told him a joke. His thumb rolled the wedding band down to his knuckle and back. "You've been with me since before I took the ring, playing the dutiful housewife for five years. You've been cut off from the world, from every Family in this city. After we part ways, what will you even do?"
