Chapter 2

Chris started breathing harder, and I could hear the worry in his voice. "Really? I'll come right—"

He didn't finish. Ivy was sniffling in the background.

"Chris, Meoli is the best private hospital in the city. How could its heating possibly break down?

"Aurelia, I know you're angry with me, but whatever's going on, you shouldn't use the baby to threaten Chris."

I rushed to explain, "I'm not. I'm telling the truth. Chris, you—"

He cut me off sharply. "Enough, Aurelia. I never realized you were like this. You're jealous, so you'll say anything.

"After all these years together, you don't even trust me?

"If you're unhappy that I'm not coming home, just say so. Dragging the baby into it only makes me think less of you."

He didn't give me a chance to answer. He hung up.

I laughed bitterly.

I had said so. Plenty of times.

Ivy had returned from overseas two years earlier, and Angelo had introduced her to everyone.

At first, Chris couldn't stand her. She'd shown up out of nowhere, and he thought she was spoiled and stubborn, throwing a tantrum whenever she didn't get her way.

But before long, Ivy was all he talked about.

At dinner, he'd say things like, "Ivy doesn't like mushroom soup. Nobody order that."

Whenever we went out, he even remembered the health problems she didn't tell other people about.

"Ivy has a sensitive stomach. She can't eat anything cold. Aurelia, you're not a child. Can't you stop eating cold food in front of her and upsetting her?"

Even when we made plans for just the two of us, one word from Ivy could change them.

It happened more times than I could count.

Even someone as oblivious as me couldn't help feeling hurt.

I told Chris how much it bothered me.

He was my husband. He shouldn't be that focused on another woman.

But he just smiled.

"Baby, I love it when you get jealous.

"But Ivy's young, and she's the Don's daughter. I think of her as a little sister. She's just childish, that's all. Get to know her and you'll like her."

I couldn't. Ivy was three years younger than me.

I couldn't treat a 26-year-old woman like a child.

The temperature kept dropping.

I curled up on the floor and wrapped my arms around myself.

But the cold seeped into my bones, and I shook all over.

No. I couldn't stay like this.

I got up with a hand on my belly and forced myself to pace the hallway.

I didn't know how long it took before some warmth came back.

Walking, resting, then walking again, I made it through the night.

The blizzard stopped and the sun came out.

I took a cab home, dropped onto the couch the second I got in the door, and fell asleep.

Not long after, the sound of the door woke me.

Chris came in, saw me, and frowned.

"You're fine, then. Ivy was right. You were trying to scare me on purpose."

I said nothing.

I watched him change his shoes, take off his coat, and go into the bedroom.

He was the one who couldn't take the silence.

He came over, looking a little lost.

"All right. I said some harsh things yesterday. But you were wrong too. Whatever the situation, you shouldn't have used the baby to trick me.

"I'm not angry anymore. Stop making a fuss, all right? I worried about you all night and didn't sleep well. Make some breakfast. I want apple crepes."

Chris never ate sweets.

Ivy was the one who liked sweets.

But I didn't have the energy to point that out.

I shook my head.

"I'm tired. I don't want to."

He seemed about to say more, but when he saw how pale and frail I looked, he held his tongue.

He smiled.

"Okay. Get some rest.

"One thing, though. I can't go with you to visit your parents' graves next weekend. Don't worry, I'll have everything you need ready."

I looked up, dazed.

"Why?"

He sighed.

"You know Ivy insisted on studying abroad and only came back two years ago. The Don has held it against her ever since.

"He finally agreed to have dinner with her this weekend. With me there to smooth things over, they'll both feel more at ease.

"You fell out with your parents once too. Nobody understands how she feels better than you do, right?"

He watched me expectantly.

I dug my nails into my palms.

"Have you forgotten why my parents and I fell out? Or what they died for?"

I'd always been close to my parents, Thomas and Helen Bennett.

We fell out because I wanted to marry Chris.

Marrying someone in the mafia meant joining his family. My parents thought it was far too dangerous.

But I didn't listen. I married him anyway.

They didn't speak to me for two years over it.

Eventually, they came around and decided to visit. Chris went to pick them up, but the rival Cavalli family ambushed them on the way.

My parents took several bullets shielding Chris, and they died before anyone could get them to a hospital.

Chris knelt before their bodies and swore to God that he'd never let anyone hurt me or treat me badly.

But now his face darkened.

"So what if I remember?

"They've been dead a long time. What's the point of bringing it up over and over?"

He stood up and tugged impatiently at his tie.

"I've treated you well all these years. I've done right by your parents.

"Ivy is part of our family. What's wrong with helping her patch things up with her father? Why do you have to be so petty?!"

But you're my husband first.

I never said it. I swallowed the words along with the bitterness in my throat.

"Fine. I understand. Go to dinner with the Don and Ivy this weekend."

He turned back to me, a smile lighting his eyes.

"Baby, I knew you'd be reasonable about it."

He picked up his coat as he spoke and headed out.

"I'm off. Ivy always forgets to eat breakfast. I'll go check on her and tell her the good news while I'm there.

"Ivy and the Don will both be grateful to you."

Maybe he didn't even realize whose side he was on when he said that.

I looked down, took out my phone, and messaged a childhood friend who'd recently come home.

"I'm getting divorced. You said you wanted to marry me when we were kids. Does the offer still stand?"