Chapter 2

I wiped my tears and pulled out my suitcase to start packing. My fingers had barely touched the zipper when the heavy front door slammed open.

Lorenzo stumbled in, reeking of booze and someone else's perfume. He staggered up behind me, hugged me from the back, and kissed my neck.

"Babe, take Luna to the downtown apartment tomorrow and stay there with her for the day."

I took a deep breath and made myself relax. "Perché?"

His hand slipped under the hem of my nightgown, inching higher toward places he shouldn't have been touching.

"Sofia came out on top in the heir assessment, and she's planning a celebration at Sabella Manor. I know you're not big on parties, so why don't you take Luna and go stay out for the day?"

Everything I'd been holding in all day finally blew.

I shoved his hand aside and took a step away. "Lorenzo, do you even remember who your real daughter is?"

He blinked, irritation flashing across his face.

I spoke before he had the chance. "The other heirs called Luna a bastard today. She came home crying and asked why you didn't stand up for her. She placed second, and you didn't even congratulate her.

"And now you want to throw a party for someone else's kid?"

Lorenzo let out a tired sigh, like he was already done with me. "Alessia, calmati. I'm sorry about what happened at the assessment. Sofia grew up without a father. Eliana raised her alone.

"They've had a hard life. Can't you try to be the bigger person? And remember, you're Donna now. You should be thinking about more than just the three of us."

When he finished, he shrugged off his coat and headed for the bathroom.

I stood there, listening to the water run, like I could hear my heart breaking right along with it.

He could go on about how hard it was for Eliana to raise a child alone, but he never once counted the nights I held Luna in the dark while she sobbed. Everything I did, every sacrifice I made, went unseen.

Compared to Eliana, the woman Lorenzo had grown up with, my love barely even existed to him.

I went to the study, opened my laptop, and unlocked a hidden folder. There was only one file inside—my divorce agreement.

If it weren't for Luna, my pride would've made me send it ages ago. But she deserved a whole family, and I wanted to try one last time to keep it together for her.

…

At 10:00 am, the man in charge of the heir assessment called me. He kept stumbling over his words, like every sentence hurt to say.

"Donna Sabella, I've gone back and forth about telling you this, but you deserve to know. The judges unanimously picked Luna as first, but someone powerful leaned on us. He forced us to give first place to Sofia instead."

My chest tightened. Only the Sabellas had the power to interfere with the assessment.

Lorenzo knew exactly what that ranking meant, and he still traded Luna's honor for Sofia.

But when Luna found out, her eyes lit up like she couldn't have been happier. "Mommy, so I was really first place! I'm going to go tell Daddy!"

Before I could stop her, she bolted for the backyard, where Sofia's party was already in full swing.

Luna stopped in her tracks when she almost reached them.

Lorenzo sat at the main table, gently feeding Sofia cake. Eliana stood beside them, snapping pictures as if she were documenting a perfect family moment.

"Daddy, why are they here?" Luna asked quietly.

And somehow, the whole yard went silent.

Lorenzo frowned the second he spotted Luna. "Aren't you supposed to be at the downtown apartment? Where's your mother?"

Luna swallowed and held up her medal. "Daddy, I won this at the heir assessment. I was supposed to come in first—"

Before she could finish, Sofia knocked the medal from her hand.

"That's a lie! I'm the one who came in first! Where did you come from, you bastard? You really think you're good enough to compete with me? Dream on!"

Sofia huffed and, right in front of everyone, flung the medal to the ground and stomped it under her heel. Then she tipped her chin up and gave Luna a hard shove.

"And who told you that you could call him 'Daddy'? He's my father. Are you blind? Get your eyes checked and stop clinging to my dad!"

Luna hit the ground hard and burst into tears.

My heart lurched. I rushed over, scooped her into my arms, and glared at Sofia. "Apologize to Luna!"

Lorenzo got up right away, putting himself between Sofia and us. "Alessia, that's enough! Today is Sofia's celebration. Don't make a scene. She's wanted a father and a family her whole life. She didn't mean to push Luna. Let it go, just this once."

Just this once? How many times had he used "just this once" to excuse betraying Luna and me?

I stared straight at Lorenzo, trembling. "Can you honestly not tell if she meant it? She just told Luna she isn't allowed to call you Dad, right here in front of everyone. So tell me, whose father are you?"

Hesitation flashed across his eyes. In the end, he chose silence and turned back to comfort Sofia instead.

That was when Eliana stepped in with her gentle, perfect smile. "Ms. Sabella, I'm truly sorry. Sofia just got back from overseas, and she's still getting used to the language.

"If anything she said sounded blunt, please don't take it to heart."

The more she went on, the more smug Sofia got. "I'm not wrong! On the day of the heir assessment, everyone said the Don of the Sabellas is my dad. That means I'm the future heir of the Sabellas!

"This bastard is trying to steal my father!"

My fingers trembled, but I forced myself to stay calm and met Lorenzo's eyes.

For years, he'd skipped out on Luna in the name of family business, and I let that go. But I was not about to stand here and watch someone steal her place as heir right in front of me!

I ground my teeth and forced the words out, slow and clear. "Lorenzo, I'm asking you one last time. Whose father are you?"

His gaze flickered, then he looked away from me. "No one knows better than you how wrong it was for this father-daughter relationship to even happen. That's enough. Today is Sofia's celebration.

"Can't you just let her have it? Luna, be good. Go back and rest with your mom."

Luna stiffened against me, and then her tears spilled over.

"Adesso capisco… Don," she said quietly.

Lorenzo jolted and turned to us, disbelief written all over his face.

Seeing how empty Luna looked, I felt the last bit of warmth drain out of me.

"Lorenzo, we're getting a divorce."