Chapter 2

That piece of bread did not keep me going for long.

Later that night, my vision went black while I was taking a shower. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the hospital, with Noah sitting beside the bed, his eyes red and swollen.

“Mom, you were throwing up blood.”

The doctors diagnosed acute gastrointestinal bleeding and said I needed immediate treatment. Some of the paperwork required a family member’s signature, so I asked Noah to call Damian.

He tried more than ten times before Damian finally answered.

The other end of the line was noisy.

“Dad, Mom’s in the hospital.”

Damian paused.

“I’m with Luca. He’s having some tests done, and I can’t leave right now. Let the doctors do whatever they need to do. Your mother can sign the paperwork herself.”

Noah held the phone tightly.

“But Dad, Mom lost a lot of blood.”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“I’ll come when I’m done here.”

By the time Damian arrived, I had already signed the forms myself and was lying in bed with an IV in my hand.

He stood at the foot of the bed and studied me for several seconds before his brows tightened.

“How did you get this thin?”

There was genuine concern in his voice, so familiar that for a moment, I almost forgot everything else.

Before I could answer, his phone rang.

Sofia told him Luca needed to remain under observation after his tests and that she was frightened to stay there alone.

The concern on Damian’s face disappeared beneath hesitation. A moment later, he picked up his coat.

“I’ll be right there.”

At the door, he looked back at me.

“Elena, you’ve always been healthy. You have doctors here with you.”

Then he added, “Luca is still a child. Sofia can’t handle everything alone.”

The door closed behind him.

Noah remained quiet for a while before resting his head near my hand.

“Mom, you’re his wife.”

I held his fingers but said nothing.

I remained in the hospital overnight and returned to the estate the following afternoon.

For the next two days, I stayed in my room and followed the doctor’s orders. Damian never asked whether I was recovering. Sofia and Luca’s belongings continued spreading through the house as if Noah and I had already left.

On the third afternoon, I finally went outside for some air.

Sofia found me near the pool.

She stopped a few feet away and smiled.

“Elena, I’ve always wondered how you manage to stay so calm.”

I didn’t answer.

“You’re his Donna. I know that. Noah is his biological son too.”

She stepped closer.

“But what does that really change?”

Her smile deepened.

“If Damian has to choose between you and me, or between Noah and Luca, you already know who he’ll go to first.”

I looked at her.

“Did you come all the way out here just to tell me that?”

“I thought you should understand where you stand.”

I had no interest in continuing the conversation, so I turned to leave.

A scream sounded behind me.

When I looked back, Sofia was already in the pool.

Water splashed around her as she struggled and screamed Damian’s name. Guards rushed over, and Damian appeared moments later. He threw off his coat, jumped into the water, and carried her out.

Sofia was trembling when he set her down. She immediately clutched his shirt.

“Don’t blame Elena.”

Damian looked at me.

Sofia’s eyes filled with tears.

“She was angry. I shouldn’t have said those things to her.”

“I didn’t push her.”

Damian’s expression hardened.

“Then how did she end up in the pool?”

“She fell.”

I glanced toward the guards.

“You can ask them.”

No one spoke. Their attention had been elsewhere, and none of them had actually seen what happened.

Sofia leaned against Damian.

“Forget it. I’m fine.”

Damian sent someone to take her inside before turning back to me.

“I know you have problems with Sofia, but what happened crossed a line.”

“I already told you. I didn’t touch her.”

He was silent for a moment.

“Then stay out here until you’re ready to tell me the truth.”

He ordered the guards not to let me back inside and followed Sofia into the house.

I stood beside the pool in my damp clothes while the winter wind cut through them. Through the windows, I could see Damian wrapping a blanket around Sofia’s shoulders.

Twenty minutes later, he finally opened the door.

“Have you calmed down?”

“I didn’t push her.”

His expression hardened, but he stepped aside.

By then, my hands were numb, and the weakness left by my illness made it difficult to climb the stairs.

That night, Damian came to my room with a thick wool blanket. Without asking, he draped it around my shoulders, then took my cold hands between his and slowly rubbed warmth back into my fingers.

“You’re still freezing.”

His touch was gentle.

“If you’re uncomfortable, say something. You don’t have to endure everything in front of me.”

For a moment, he looked exactly like the Damian I remembered from before Sofia came back into our lives. Back then, he noticed when my hands were cold, when I skipped a meal, even when I was quieter than usual.

For one reckless second, I almost believed that man was still here.

Then I noticed the black leather bracelet around his wrist.

A small Valdieri crest was set into the center.

Sofia had posted a photograph that afternoon.

Three matching bracelets lay side by side.

The largest belonged to Damian.

One was hers.

The smallest belonged to Luca.

The caption read:

Our little family.

I pulled my hands away and tightened the blanket around myself.

“You can go now.”

Damian frowned, clearly confused by the sudden distance between us.

“Elena.”

He reached for me as if he meant to pull me into his arms. “Enough. I don’t want us fighting over Sofia every time. I told you, once she and Luca are settled, we’ll go back to the way we were.”

A sharp knock interrupted him.

The butler’s urgent voice came through the door. “Don Valdieri, Ms. Bellini has developed a high fever. The doctor is asking for you.”

Damian stood immediately and reached for his coat, repeating the same choice he had made every time before.

He was already halfway to the door when I called after him.

“Damian.”

He turned.

I opened the drawer beside the bed and took out the papers I had prepared earlier.

“Sign this before you go.”

His attention was already on the hallway. “What is it?”

“Some documents my attorney needs finalized.”

Damian walked back, took the pen from my hand, and signed where I pointed without reading the pages.

“There. Happy?”

I looked at his name at the bottom of the divorce agreement.

“Yes.”

The butler called for him again. Damian handed the papers back to me and left without another glance.

I waited until his footsteps disappeared before placing the signed agreement inside the envelope.

For once, he had finally given me something without making me wait.