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Chapter 3

ผู้เขียน: Arya
Pain shot through the bones of my wrist, and I instinctively tried to pull away.

Hearing the commotion, Domenica came over. The moment she saw the ring on my finger, her eyes widened and she pointed at me in shock.

“First you refuse to leave him alone, and now you steal my ring? Do you have any self-respect left, Livia?”

She held out her hand.

“Give it back.”

I turned to Raffaele, still holding on to one last foolish hope.

Raffaele’s lips parted, the words already on the tip of his tongue. Then he caught Domenica’s helpless, pleading gaze.

Raffaele held my gaze for several seconds, then finally looked away, unable to face me.

“Livia, do you really need to take things that don’t belong to you?”

I pressed a hand against my cramping stomach and forced myself upright.

I no longer had the strength to explain, and I had no desire to fight for a love that had already been tainted beyond recognition.

I pulled the ring from my finger and handed it to her.

The ring sat loose on Domenica’s finger. She looked at me coldly.

“If something was never yours, taking it won’t make it belong to you.”

For one instant, it felt as though someone had poured scalding oil over my heart.

I turned and walked away.

Footsteps rushed after me.

“Livia.”

I lowered my eyes, struggling to keep my composure.

Raffaele stopped in front of me. His eyes were red as he looked at the mark on my face.?

He lifted a hand toward my cheek.

“Does it hurt?”

I turned my face away from his touch.

His fingertips stopped inches from my skin, then slowly dropped.

After a few seconds, he spoke quietly.

“I can’t abandon Domenica now. Just give me a little more time, all right?”

“And the ring…” His throat worked. “It’s yours. Once this is over, I’ll get it back.”

I studied him for a moment, then nodded.

“All right.”

None of it mattered anymore. I was leaving anyway.

Surprise crossed his face. He was about to say something when his phone rang. Domenica’s name flashed across the screen.

“I’ll come find you later, and we’ll talk this through.”

I had nothing more to say, so I turned and left.

The next day morning, before leaving the city tomorrow, I decided to drive to the hospital for one last prenatal checkup.

I was halfway to the clinic when a black car slammed into mine from behind.

The impact threw my stomach hard against the steering wheel. Blood ran down my legs.

I clutched my abdomen, my face drained white from the pain.

The driver’s door of the black car behind me flew open.

Domenica ran toward me, pale with panic.

“Livia, I’m sorry. I came out to apologize for what happened yesterday.”

She grabbed my hand, tears spilling down her face.

“I was scared you wouldn’t forgive me. I wasn’t paying attention and I hit you. I’m so sorry…”

My vision blurred. With the last of my strength, I tore my hand from hers.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the hospital.

The doctor stood beside my bed and was quiet for a long time before speaking.

“Miss Bellandi, I’m very sorry. We couldn’t save the baby.”

I stared at the ceiling for a long time. Then, without warning, the tears came.

I pressed both hands over my abdomen. It was empty now.

Only hours earlier, my baby had still been safe inside me.

I hadn’t even gotten the chance to meet my child before losing them forever.

Nearly two hours later, Raffaele finally walked in with Domenica behind him.
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  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 9

    Livia's POVSix months later, the restoration of the Saint-Clair Theatre was complete.At the opening ceremony, the project director handed me my new appointment letter. I would no longer serve as a deputy lead. Beginning with the firm's next commission, I would direct a restoration team of my own.I looked down at my name on the page and remembered the internship offer I had abandoned seven years earlier.After everything, I had finally found my way back to the life I was meant to build.When the ceremony ended, the receptionist told me two visitors from Italy were waiting in the conference room.I opened the door and found Raffaele's parents inside.Mr. Moretti, once too proud to bow his head to anyone, leaned heavily on a cane, his back noticeably stooped. Mrs. Moretti wore black. In six months, her hair had turned almost entirely white, and the severity I remembered had vanished from her face.When she saw me, she rose. Her lips moved several times before she managed my name."Liv

  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 8

    Livia's POVThe night I landed in Paris, the bleeding started again.The project director who came to meet me at the airport took one look at my face and drove me straight to the emergency room. When the doctor learned I had boarded a long-haul flight the day after a miscarriage, he was furious. He ordered me to rest for at least two weeks.I was terrified the firm would withdraw its offer.Instead, the project director brought a laptop and a stack of files to my hospital room."Your position will be here when you're ready. A building that has stood for three hundred years can wait a few more days."I remained under observation for two days.After I was discharged, the director urged me to take more time. I refused and asked to begin with the interior survey work. That was how I officially joined the restoration of the Saint-Clair Theatre.A fire had cracked the main dome and buried the original colors of the frescoes beneath years of smoke damage. At the first project meeting, most of

  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 7

    Raffaele's POVAfter Alessandro's death, my mother went to the family chapel every week to pray for him.Domenica had known exactly when to strike. My mother had brought only a driver with her when Domenica slipped into the chapel through the old tunnels.I ordered my underboss to seal the grounds, then entered alone.Candlelight flickered along the dark nave. The air was heavy with gasoline. My mother was bound beside Alessandro's memorial, with Domenica standing behind her. A gun pressed against my mother's temple. In Domenica's other hand, a lighter burned."Move your men back." She smiled at me, and there was madness in her eyes. "Or all three of us die here today."I signaled my underboss to withdraw, then lowered my gun to the floor."Let my mother go. Whatever you want to say, I'll stay and listen."Domenica's eyes flooded with tears. "I knew you could never really bring yourself to kill me. Raffaele, everything I did was for you."She told me Alessandro had discovered her secre

  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 6

    Raffaele's POVI returned to the estate that night.My underboss had laid out the traffic footage, vehicle data, and a month of Domenica's movements across my desk.On the video, Livia's car cleared the intersection while Domenica followed at a careful distance. The light ahead turned red. Domenica pressed down on the accelerator and drove straight into her.There was no loss of control. No delayed reaction. No attempt to brake.She had planned it from the beginning.My underboss handed me a bank record. "The day before the crash, Domenica used a private account to wire twenty thousand dollars to an employee at an obstetrics clinic. The employee confessed. Domenica paid her for Miss Bellandi's medical records."I stared at Domenica's authorization on the transfer, and the pain in my chest tore open all over again.She had not merely known Livia was pregnant.She had known how far along she was. She had known the dates of her appointments. She had known everything.I closed my eyes. "Br

  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 5

    Raffaele's POVI stared at the phone where it had fallen, all the blood draining from my face.My underboss went pale. He snatched it up and thrust it into my hand.I took it from him. "Which hospital?"By the time I reached the hospital, Livia's room was empty.The nurse recognized me and hurried over. "Mr. Moretti, have you managed to reach Miss Bellandi? She left without giving us a new number, and none of our calls have gone through."My throat tightened until it hurt. "How far along was she?"The nurse stared at me in shock. "You didn't know she was pregnant?"The question went straight through my chest.A doctor arrived a few minutes later and placed Livia's chart in front of me, along with a bloodstained ultrasound report."She was twelve weeks pregnant. There was no fetal heartbeat when she arrived. From the point of impact and the extent of the bleeding, there is no question that the collision caused the miscarriage."I looked down at the page. Beneath Livia's name, the words

  • After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done   Chapter 4

    The moment Raffaele saw me lying pale in the hospital bed, his expression changed.“Livia, what happened?”Losing my baby had left me hollow. I stared blankly at the man in front of me, unable to tell whether I hated him or regretted ever loving him.Domenica stepped forward before I could answer.“It was my fault. I followed Livia because I wanted to apologize for yesterday, and I rear-ended her car.”Her eyes filled with tears.“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her.”Raffaele looked from her to me, his face hardening with concern.“Since it was an accident, there’s no reason to take this any further. Livia, whatever compensation you want, I’ll give it to you.”I let out a bitter, broken laugh.“Compensate me?”“Livia, it was an accident.” His voice lowered. “My brother is dead. I promised him I would protect her. I can’t let one mistake destroy her standing in the Family.”“So what do you want?”Raffaele drew a document from the inside pocket of his coat and placed it on the bedside tab

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