Chapter 1

Theodore froze when he heard her call him that.

He patted Lucia's head. "Be good. Daddy will make it up to you next time."

Our daughter said nothing. She just gripped my hand.

Lucia had always been sweet and mature for her age, which made seeing her like this hurt even more.

I looked at Theodore and asked, "Couldn't you send one of your men to check on her? Today's birthday party means so much to—"

Theodore frowned and cut me off. "Delia, when did you get so cold? Amy's hurt. She's my niece. Are you telling me not to care?"

I wanted to say more, but Lucia stepped forward, putting herself between us.

She looked at Theodore and spoke slowly. "Go ahead, Don Ricci. Aunt Brynn and Amy need you more."

Then she waved at him, took my hand, and said she wanted to cut me a slice of her birthday cake.

This time, Lucia didn't cry when he let her down. She held herself together like a little grown-up.

But I knew how much she'd looked forward to the party Theodore had promised her.

As I watched her small figure walk away, a dull ache settled in my chest.

Theodore had once been a good husband and father.

I was weak for a long time after Lucia was born.

Theodore set aside the family business to stay by my bedside and take care of me. He cooked me healthy meals, working his way through a cookbook page by page.

So I could rest, he slept in the guest room with our daughter. Sometimes, at three or four in the morning, I'd hear him singing lullabies to her, badly but lovingly.

Then Theodore's brother, Luca Ricci, died in a plane crash, and everything changed.

Theodore moved Brynn and Amy into the house and gave them the room he'd once set up just for me.

He promised he was only looking after his sister-in-law and niece for his brother's sake. Once Amy grew up, he said, he'd send them away.

I believed him.

But slowly, I realized there was more to it.

To cheer Brynn up, he set off fireworks over the harbor all night, forgetting it was our wedding anniversary.

He put the lilies Brynn had given him in the vase we'd bought together, forgetting I was allergic to them.

Again and again, he chose another child over our daughter.

When our daughter's school held a parent-child event, Theodore said he was too busy with Ricci family business to attend.

Then he turned around and played dad to Amy, posing for pictures with her and joining in the games.

The other kids laughed at Lucia. They said her dad didn't love her enough to show up.

Just then, I saw a post from Brynn on social media.

In the photo, Theodore had Amy on his shoulders, and Brynn was smiling happily with her arm linked through his.

They looked more like a family than we did.

Seeing how disappointed our daughter was, I went to Theodore with my phone in hand. "Since you've found yourself a new family, let's get a divorce."

Theodore's face darkened. He gripped my shoulders. "Lucia is my only heir. Delia, we're never getting divorced. Don't bring it up again."

After the way he'd been acting lately, his words sounded like a bad joke.

He said he loved Lucia and me, but he kept leaving us for someone else.