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

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Chapter 4

ผู้เขียน: Arya
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 table.

“This keeps the accident private. No police report, no formal complaint, no Family involvement. Sign it, and this ends here.”

I was so furious that I laughed. Even after Domenica had put me in a hospital bed, Raffaele was still taking her side.

“I WILL NOT SIGN IT!”

Raffaele’s expression tightened. For a long moment, he said nothing. His jaw flexed, and something conflicted passed through his eyes.

Then he reached for his phone.

“I didn’t want to do this, Livia.”

He turned the screen toward me. On it was a photo of the box containing everything my father had left behind.

My breath stopped.

“Raffaele, those are my father’s things! What are you doing?”

A flicker of pain and guilt crossed his eyes before he looked away.

“Sign the agreement, and no one touches your father’s things.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re threatening me with my father’s belongings?”

His grip tightened around the phone.

“I’m asking you to let this go.”

Something inside me cracked all over again.

“Raffaele, do you even know what I lost because of her? I lost our—”

“Livia, please!”

Domenica suddenly dropped to her knees beside my bed.

She looked up at me through tear-filled eyes.

“His parents can never know about this. If they find out I caused a scandal right after becoming Donna, I’ll lose everything I have in the Family.”

“Domenica.” Raffaele frowned. “Get up.”

She shook her head.

“Not until Livia forgives me.”

Raffaele’s jaw tightened. He looked at Domenica on her knees, then at me.

“Livia, enough. She’s already begging you. What more do you want?”

I stared at him.

He had come to my hospital room without even knowing why I was here, yet somehow, he had already decided that Domenica was the one who needed protecting.

The words I had almost spoken died in my throat.

There was no point anymore.

I looked down at the agreement, then slowly rested a hand over my now-flat stomach.

My baby was gone. Whatever had existed between Raffaele and me should end here too.

“Fine. I’ll sign.”

I took the pen and signed my name at the bottom.

Raffaele visibly relaxed, but the moment he saw the dead look in my eyes, an inexplicable fear came over him.

“Livia…”

I handed the agreement back to him.

“Take her home.”

He reached for my hand and held it tightly.

“No. I’m staying here with you.”

I gently pulled my hand from his.

“I just want to be alone for a while.”

I turned my face toward the window. There was nothing left for us to talk about.

A long silence passed between us. In the end, Raffaele let go of my hand and left.

Early the next morning, I checked myself out of the hospital and went our home one last time. Raffaele was away handling urgent business for the Family.

I began packing my things one by one, including everything my father had left me.

For years, I had believed this would be the home Raffaele and I shared for the rest of our lives. I had never bothered drawing lines between what belonged to him and what belonged to me.

Only when I finally began packing did I realize that leaving someone’s life behind could fit into two suitcases.

That afternoon, I arrived at the airport with two suitcases. The Paris firm had already confirmed my start date.

Once I was on the plane, I switched off my phone, pulled out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and dropped it into the trash bag.

Through the window, I took one last look at the city I had called home for seven years.

Raffaele, may we never see each other again.

At the same time, Raffaele had just finished a Family meeting when the hospital called.

“Mr. Moretti, we’re calling about Miss Bellandi. She insisted on leaving after the miscarriage, and we were concerned about her condition. We just wanted to make sure she was all right.”

The phone slipped from Raffaele’s hand and hit the floor. “What did you say?!”
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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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