sia

s condition was deteriorating. They needed authorization for a new, expensive trea

n cold. I c

sabella's laugh in the background. They were in a meeting, fi

. The hospital needs p

lipped and laced with impatience.

hun

of the cost. My hands trembled as I dia

situation, my

ne immediate and absolute. "Don't wo

arly buckled my knees. It was followed

. I was supposed to attend as Dante's wife, a silent, beautiful accessory. I looked at the demure navy

n of blood-red silk that clung to every curve. It wasn

ived

om, a hush fell over the crowd. All eyes

was on

f pure fury. He was enraged by my audacity, by the dress, by

o, the head of the city's oldest Famiglia

the suddenly silent room. "I'd like you to meet

pped me of my title, my status, my very existence as his wife. T

red me near the terrace, his hand gripping my arm, his fingers digging into the bon

a?" he hissed, his smile a grotesq

xpression a placid sea over a

ond, twisted into a mask of pure, venomous fury. She saw his hand on my arm

dn't hear her words, but I saw the cold, calculated malic

She wasn't just jealous. She was retaliating. And I knew, with a su