I'd just finished the last appointment on my specialist clinic roster when a pregnant woman forced her way in.
My medical assistant reminded her she needed to register. She rolled her eyes.
"Register my ass! I'm carrying the Don of the Corsetti Family's baby. That's the only pass I need!"
Except the Don of the Corsetti Family, Domenico Corsetti, was my husband of seven years. A marriage everyone called perfect.
She must have seen the color drain from my face, because she tugged her collar low with a look of pure triumph.
"Domenico is so insatiable. I'm already pregnant and he still can't keep his hands off me. Hickeys everywhere, and now I've got a low-grade fever from all the excitement. Be a good doctor and check me out, would you?"
I stared at her for a long time before I spoke. "Let's start with a blood test."
The woman let out a laugh that was hard to read.
"A blood test? Trying to find out the sex, aren't you? You want to know even more than I do whether this baby will be the Corsetti heir. Isn't that right, Mrs. Corsetti? Seven years and you still haven't managed to produce a single egg!"
I shook my head, cold and steady.
Low-grade fever. Red lesions no amount of hickeys could hide.
All I wanted to confirm was whether she had HIV.
……
"Fever? More like you're in heat."
A family member of one of my regular patients happened to be passing and couldn't hold back.
"I wasn't going to say anything since you're pregnant, but that delusion of yours needs treating! Everyone knows how much Don Corsetti loves Dr. Valente."
"I've only been here a few times, and every visit there's a fresh bouquet flown in for her, a different arrangement every day, just to keep Dr. Valente in good spirits."
"When Dr. Valente had a stomachache, he dropped an arrangement worth hundreds of millions to come bring her congee and rub her back himself."
"Even the Corsetti matriarch says Seraphina Valente is the only daughter-in-law she'll ever recognize. Save yourself some dignity and stop making things up!"
Those words slowly steadied the panic hammering through my chest.
I should trust Domenico.
"Making things up?!"
The pregnant woman, Giuliana Ferraro, looked like her face might twist off from rage.
"Open your damn eyes and wait. I'll get him here right now!"
She pulled up a chat window and sent a voice message: "Domenico, baby, I'm at the clinic. Come quick, okay?"
Whatever came back was instant, because Giuliana's chin lifted in victory. "Don Corsetti says he's on his way!"
The commotion had drawn a crowd of onlookers filling the corridor. Two of the clinic's security men stood near the far wall, hands loose at their sides, watching without intervening. They answered to Salvatore Benedetti, not to the Corsetti Family, and on neutral ground they moved only when the head of the clinic told them to move.
I didn't leave either, though I was only waiting for her blood test results. That was my duty as a doctor.
"Domenico! Over here!"
Giuliana's face broke into a gloating smile as she waved toward the far end of the hallway.
I turned, disbelieving, and there he was. Domenico, in the flesh.
The corridor went quiet the way corridors always went quiet when he entered. Conversations died. The security men straightened against the wall. He moved through the crowd without adjusting his pace, and people stepped aside not because he asked but because his presence made standing in his path feel like a mistake.
He slid his hand around Giuliana's waist, his voice indulgent and faintly chiding.
"Why didn't you stay home like a good girl instead of running over here?"
Giuliana pouted. "Because someone keeps wearing me out. I was worried about the baby, so I came to get checked. And then they accused me of faking it! Domenico, tell them. This baby is yours, isn't it?"
Domenico's gaze went ice-cold as it swept the room. "Who's tired of living? Who dares question my woman?"
My woman.
Two words that crushed every doubting stare in the room.
And crushed every last shred of hope inside me.
Only then did Domenico notice me standing in the corner, eyes burning red.
A flash of panic crossed his face, gone almost before it arrived. He composed himself and walked toward me.
"Honey, I wasn't planning to keep this from you forever. After all, the baby Giuliana's carrying will be yours to raise. You can't have children, so I had no choice but to find someone to have one for you. Everything I've done has been for your sake. Come on. Be gracious about this."
He said it low enough that only I could hear, but every word landed like a fist to the chest.
