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Chapter 3
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He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 45
I rested for another two weeks.Mara and her team kept the exhibition running. I answered only the emails that genuinely needed me.When I felt stronger, I went downstairs or sat in the garden while Mom moved new plants from one spot to another.She always declared the first arrangement wrong.Then, after half an hour, she usually put them back.Dad pretended to read nearby and occasionally offered advice no one followed.I laughed more than I expected.The accident didn’t stop frightening me simply because I was home.Sudden brakes still made my body stiffen.Sometimes, I woke with my chest tight and had to sit in the dark until the room became familiar again.But I stopped calling all of it nothing.I told the doctor.I told my family.I accepted that recovery wasn’t one magnificent moment of courage.Sometimes, it meant admitting I needed to rest.Sometimes, it meant asking someone to stay until I fell asleep.The day I returned to the gallery was an ordinary Wednesday.No opening r
He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 44
The morning I left the hospital was bright.I changed carefully.My shoulder still hurt, so Leah helped me into my coat.“I’m not made of glass,” I told her.“I know.”She took my bag anyway.In the corridor, Matteo answered a call.When he returned, he said Luca was being transferred that day too.“Back to a hospital near the Vito estate for the rest of his recovery.”“Antonio sent people?”“Yes.”We didn’t say more.As we passed the covered walkway beside the main building, I saw a car waiting outside.Nico stood by the open door.Another man was helping Luca forward in a wheelchair.His leg was supported.He looked pale.I stopped for half a second.He lifted his head.Through the glass, we looked at one another.Neither of us spoke.I didn’t know how clearly he could see my face.I didn’t know what expression was right for the end of something that had once seemed like my whole life.Finally, I gave a small nod.An acknowledgment.Of what he had done.Of what had existed.Not an in
He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 43
The day before my discharge, Matteo told me Luca wanted an answer in my own voice.I looked at him.“The birthday recording?”“I gave it to Nico. Luca never listened.”For a moment, I said nothing.Then a tired laugh escaped me.So the answer had existed.He had simply left it unopened.Sometimes, clarity wasn’t the missing thing.Sometimes, a person kept hope alive by refusing to hear what would end it.“He wants to listen now?”Matteo nodded.“He asked whether saving you could mean another chance. I told him no. He wanted to know whether that came from you.”I looked toward the window.A strip of afternoon light crossed the floor.I remembered recording those words in the study.I hadn’t spoken in anger.I hadn’t been trying to frighten him into changing.Nothing about the accident had made them less true.“Take the letter and the recording,” I said.“Anything you want me to tell him?”“No. Don’t add to it.”Matteo stood.Then I stopped him.“Every sentence still stands. Don’t soften
He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 42
Luca didn’t respond immediately.Near evening, Nico knocked on the door.He held the proposed arrangement for treatment expenses, untouched.He stayed in the hallway.“He won’t accept the money,” he said. “He kept the letter.”I nodded.“Thank you for bringing that back.”Nico hesitated.His gaze moved between me and Matteo before settling on me.“He wants to know whether you were frightened.”I held the blanket.For a moment, I considered giving the easy answer.Fine.Recovering.Nothing to worry about.Instead, I told the truth.“Yes. Very. But I’ll get better.”He nodded.His eyes looked wet.I remembered how long he had worked for Luca.He had seen us when I believed the marriage was safe. He had also watched things I wished someone had interrupted.His sadness was real.It still didn’t become mine to soothe.Before leaving, he said Luca had asked about me as soon as he woke.Only after hearing I wasn’t badly hurt had he allowed the doctors to settle him.“I understand,” I said.I
He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 41
Matteo sat beside the bed for a long time before speaking.I waited.Finally, he asked, “What if it was Luca?”I didn’t feel the shock I had imagined.Mostly, I felt tired that we had needed to get here so carefully.“It was him?”He nodded.I looked down and drew my hand out from under the blanket.A scrape crossed my knuckles. The dressing caught slightly against my sleeve.“Where is he hurt?”“A fracture in his leg. Some other injuries. He’ll need time, but he should recover.”I took that in.Matteo watched me as though he were waiting for the decision he feared most.“You think knowing will make me go back.”He said nothing.“I can thank him without marrying him again.”His shoulders eased a little.“I know. It’s just—”“I know what you’re afraid of.”I paused.“But you can’t change the facts because you’re afraid I’ll be hurt. We said we weren’t doing that anymore.”He lowered his head.After a while, he apologized.I touched his hand.“I’m not angry.”I knew what being managed in
He Claimed Her Baby. I Ended Our Marriage. Chapter 40
The smell of disinfectant reached me first.My hand closed on the sheet before I opened my eyes.Then Mom spoke.“Elena. I’m here.”I turned toward her.She sat beside the bed, holding my hand.My throat was painfully dry.Dad raised the head of the bed and brought a cup to my mouth.After a few sips, I remembered the gallery lights.The car.The child.“Is the little girl all right?”“She’s fine,” Mom said immediately. “So is her mother.”I closed my eyes.Something in my chest loosened.A doctor came in and asked whether I felt dizzy, whether I remembered my name, whether I knew what had happened.After examining me, he explained that my shoulder and arm were bruised and that I needed observation following the blow to my head.I listened.Then I asked, “The person who pushed me—where are they?”The room became still.Dad answered first.“Being treated.”“How badly?”“No life-threatening injuries.”I nodded.But their answers were too quick, too carefully aligned.Matteo stood by the
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