Ambra didn't notice. Or maybe she did and just didn't care.
"And there was this one time," she continued, peeling another strip, her voice softening again. "I got into a fight with my ex. It was really bad. I blocked everyone, disappeared for a few days."
She glanced at me, like she was about to share something intimate.
"Domenico went crazy trying to find me. When he did, he dragged me out of that place himself. He was so angry, I thought he was going to kill someone." She laughed lightly. "He kept cursing, saying, 'You think you can just disappear on me like that? I'll tear this whole city apart if I have to.'"
My heart twisted. I remembered that night too.
Christmas Eve.
He came home late. Different. Rough. Like something inside him had snapped. He didn't say much. Just claimed me, over and over again, like he couldn't stop.
I thought…
I thought maybe he finally wanted me. That maybe, he was starting to feel something.
I was so stupid.
The next morning, when I woke up, the bed beside me was already cold. I told myself he had Family business. That was normal, right? The Don always had somewhere to be.
But now? Now I know. He wasn't busy. He was running to her. Always her.
Ambra finished peeling the apple and finally handed it to me. "Here."
I didn't take it.
She didn't mind. She just set it down beside me and looked at me with that same soft, harmless expression.
"You're really kind, Mrs. Valente," she said gently. "Staying by his side all these years, taking care of him like that."
Her eyes lingered on me, something unreadable passing through them.
"But some things…" she added quietly, "no matter how hard you try, they just don't belong to you."
I lowered my gaze to my hand, the IV needle still buried in my skin. My left wrist was bare. I almost reached for it, that phantom weight where my grandmother's bracelet once sat. I stopped myself.
Yeah.
I think I finally understood that.
…
After I got discharged, I went back to the Valente estate and packed everything quietly. Clothes. Jewelry. Things I barely touched. Things I once thought mattered. I didn't take much. What was the point? I was just waiting. Waiting for the dissolution of the blood-bound union to finalize. Waiting for it all to end.
During those days, Ambra kept sending me messages. Not even hiding it. Videos. Photos. One after another. At first I didn't open them. Then I did. I don't even know why. Maybe I wanted to hurt myself properly. Maybe I just needed to see it with my own eyes.
Domenico stayed by her side the whole time. Not for a moment did he leave. In one video, he was sitting beside her hospital bed, carefully feeding her fruit, peeling everything clean like it was something precious. In another, he was adjusting her blanket, his movements slow, patient… gentle. Gentle. I stared at the screen for a long time. Was this the same man? The same man who never even looked at me twice?
Then another message came. A video.
"Look, Mrs. Valente," Ambra said, her face filling the screen as she turned the camera.
Domenico was there, talking to a doctor in the private ward, his expression serious, controlled. That same cold aura. That same authority that made soldiers lower their eyes when he passed.
"He sent my mom abroad for treatment," she continued casually. "Paid for everything. Even bought her a house there. There's a maid, a private doctor… everything's arranged." She laughed a little. "He's really something, right?"
My fingers tightened around my phone.
"Mrs. Valente, I'm sorry for taking your husband for now, okay?" she added, voice soft, almost teasing. "He just missed me too much. He loves me so much, I can't even push him away." Her smile didn't change. "You can't really compete with that, can you?"
The screen went dark. I didn't realize I was crying until the tears hit my hand. Drop by drop. I wiped them away quickly, taking a shaky breath.
Over the years, I did all those things too. He had a bad stomach, so I woke up early every day to cook for him. I waited for him with the lights on, no matter how late it got, no matter what business kept him in those back rooms where I wasn't allowed. I peeled his fruit, cut everything into small pieces so he wouldn't even have to think. I gave him everything. And now… he was doing all of that for someone else.
I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. "It's fine," I whispered to myself. "It'll be over soon." Right? Once I stop loving him, I'll be okay. I'll take care of myself. I have to.
…
A week later, he suddenly came home. I was surprised when I saw him. Shouldn't he be with her?
"Get changed," he said, already loosening his tie. "We're having dinner at the estate tonight."
"…Okay."
I didn't ask anything. I just went upstairs and changed.
At the dinner, everything felt normal. Too normal. The long dining table in the main hall was set with the good silver, candles lit, wine poured from bottles older than anyone sitting around them. People were laughing, talking, raising their glasses like this was just another Sunday gathering. Capos and their wives. Associates who owed the Family their livelihoods. Then the topic shifted.
"You've been married five years now. It's about time you had a child."
"Yeah, Domenico's the head of the Family now. There needs to be an heir."
"Serafina, you should hurry up."
I kept my head down, fingers brushing against the rim of my glass. A child? With him? Did I even have that right?
"No rush," Domenico said.
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through everything. The whole room went still. Forks paused. Conversations died mid-syllable. Everyone exchanged looks but no one dared say anything else. Not to him. Not to the Don. The atmosphere turned stiff after that and the dinner ended quickly.
"Serafina," Donatella said sharply as we stood. "Come with me to the study."
I knew what that meant. Anyone could see it. A warning. About children. About my place.
"If you've got something to say, say it in front of me," Domenico said, frowning.
Before she could respond, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his expression changed immediately.
"…Ambra?" he answered, already stepping aside. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
His voice… it wasn't the same voice he used with me. Not even close.
Donatella let out a cold snort. Her hand drifted to the gold crucifix at her throat, adjusting it slowly, deliberately. "Come with me."
I pressed my lips together and followed her without a word. As soon as the study door closed, her face changed. All that fake calm from dinner disappeared.
"Kneel."
I didn't argue. I just went down slowly, my knees hitting the cold marble floor. It stung, but I was already used to that kind of pain.
"Do you know where you went wrong?" she asked, looking down at me like I was something dirty.
I lowered my eyes and stayed quiet.
A loud bang hit the desk. "You stupid girl!" she snapped, her voice sharp and cold. "Domenico said he's not in a hurry to have a child and you just sat there? You didn't even try to change his mind?"
My fingers curled slightly. Was I supposed to beg him? Force him? Didn't he already make it clear… I meant nothing?
She opened a drawer and took out a small bottle, then slammed it in front of me. "Drink this. It's a fertility tonic. Starting today, you take it every day and you sleep with him until you get pregnant. I don't care what it takes. This Family needs an heir."
I stared at the bottle. In the past, I would've taken it without a word. But now… "I won't take it," I said quietly.
The room went still. The kind of still that falls over a room when someone has said the unsayable.
"What did you just say?" Her voice dropped, dangerous.
"I won't take it," I repeated, lifting my head slightly. "He doesn't want a child right now. I'm respecting that." That was the truth. Every time we were together, he made sure there were precautions, and if something slipped, he'd make me take pills right after. I used to think that maybe he just wasn't ready yet. Now I knew. He just didn't want one with me. And if I was leaving, why would I tie myself to him forever?
"You've got some nerve," she said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Say that again."
"I won't take it."
Her expression twisted. "You've gone too far!" she shouted. "As his wife, you can't even do your duty? You can't even give him a child? And you let him waste himself on that woman. All that effort, all that money, all for her and her damn family. You didn't stop him once."
My chest tightened. Stop him? When had I ever had that power? I was the blood-bound bride, not the one who held his heart. I was the arrangement. She was the choice.
Donatella turned her head slightly. "Bring it."
A servant stepped forward and handed her a thick leather strap. Dark. Heavy. The kind they used for punishment in the old country, the kind Donatella's own mother-in-law had kept in a drawer just like this one. My body tensed.
"I'll ask you one last time," she said, gripping it tightly. The crucifix at her throat caught the lamplight and held still. "Are you going to take the medicine or not?"
I shook my head.
The sound came before the pain.
CRACK.
A sharp crack filled the study, then it hit. My back arched as the pain exploded across my skin, burning and tearing at the same time. I bit my lip hard to stop myself from crying out.
