That night, the Don's vessel had been full of screaming.
My body kept the trauma long after, dragging me into nightmares every night.
And it was him, always him, who stayed beside me.
The moment I jolted awake from a bad dream, his hand was there, stroking my back, soothing me.
He told me he couldn't rein in Salvatore, but Salvatore owed me a blood debt.
He swore he'd pay it back tenfold, a hundredfold.
To give me a wedding, he broke from the old Falcone line and built his own name in the territory.
He declared his devotion to me before every made man and his wife.
But in the end, five years of happiness had been nothing but a mirage.
The man who pulled me out of the abyss was the same man who shoved me into hell.
I stumbled back into the private lounge below deck.
Lorenzo saw how pale I'd gone, and his eyes flushed red with panic.
He gathered me into his arms and, just like before, patted my back gently.
"What's wrong, Adriana? Did you remember something again? Don't be afraid. This time I'm here with you. Those men won't ever come back."
"Before we boarded, I had the doctor send your medicine up. Drink it when the water's cooled a little."
Watching the false tenderness in his eyes, I said softly,
"Lorenzo, I don't want to take the medicine anymore."
"I'm better now. I want to go home."
The warmth in his eyes dropped a few degrees. Somewhere on deck, a clock ticked into the silence between us.
He reached out and tapped the tip of my nose. His thumb moved once along the edge of his wedding ring.
"Be good, Adriana. These things come back easily. The medicine helps you recover faster."
"Once you take it, you won't have nightmares anymore."
Before I could say another word, he'd already pushed the pills past my lips.
The warm water went down, but the cold spread through every inch of me.
He seemed certain I'd lose consciousness soon after taking it.
Lorenzo didn't stay with me any longer.
He turned and hurried out of the lounge, the door clicking shut behind him.
I knew where he was going. To find those men from five years ago.
The memories, shattered like a nightmare, came flooding back.
Cold sweat broke out over my whole body.
I collapsed onto the floor, writhing.
As my mind blurred, warm lips brushed my forehead.
"Good girl, Adriana. It'll be over soon. I'll be waiting for you."
What came next was a tearing, splitting pain.
Blood kept pouring out from beneath me.
That familiar feeling swallowed me whole.
Countless rough hands dragged across my skin.
I don't know how long it lasted before I heard Lorenzo's voice again.
"Did she lose it?"
"She did, Don Falcone. But the men couldn't rein it in. Went a little too hard, looks like. Miss Vitale probably won't be able to conceive again."
"Well done. Double the cut. Collect it when you're off the boat."
When I opened my eyes again, five hours had passed.
Lorenzo was clutching my hand tight in his, his eyes brimming with tenderness and grief.
"I'm sorry, Adriana. I didn't protect you."
"It was those men from five years ago. They learned you were aboard and came for the vendetta. We couldn't save the baby. The doctor said you'll have trouble ever conceiving again..."
"Don't worry. This time I caught every last one of them. They'll never surface again. Don't cry. No matter what happens, I'll be right here beside you. If the baby's gone, then it's gone. All I need is you."
I stared straight at the deck.
So numb I couldn't even feel the pain anymore.
I was the one who'd been violated, the one who'd lost a child.
Yet he wept harder than I did.
His acting was flawless. The performance of a man who'd ordered killings without blinking and could still summon tears on command. I couldn't be bothered to expose it.
After a while, when his voice finally fell silent,
I spoke slowly.
"Avenging me must have worn you out."
"Get some rest, Lorenzo. I'm fine."
Seeing that I wasn't making a scene, he let out a breath of relief, closed his eyes, and lay down beside me.
His breathing gradually evened out.
I quietly picked up his phone. My hands lay still after, no longer reaching for the ring on my finger.
Five years of marriage, and this was the first time I unlocked his screen.
