Chapter 1

I never thought that my mafia Don husband, Alfonso Castagna, would return home earlier than expected.

According to my plan, I would have already left for medical school far away by the time he came home, and all I would have left for him would just be a divorce agreement.

However, his sudden appearance threw a wrench in my plans.

Still, perhaps this was for the best. Perhaps I could just settle some things ahead of time.

I slipped the divorce agreement in with my prenatal check-up letter, hoping to distract him. I then went up to him and asked, "So, did everything go smoothly for you?"

"The Soldata sent to the outpost was capable enough. They handled a lot of the trouble on my behalf."

I nodded, remaining silent afterward, but he didn't mind. He just leaned back comfortably against the armchair, a subconscious smile playing across his rugged features.

He didn't even need to say her name out loud for me to know whom he was thinking of.

Bianca Parisi—the woman who completely destroyed my life.

Ever since she appeared in my life, Alfonso's view of me had shifted completely. He now thought of me as a hysterical madwoman instead of the kind and gentle wife I had been in the past.

Bianca used to be a drifter from Westlake, running away from her enemies. While I was out, I happened to see her being hunted down, and I stepped in to save her.

When she learned that I was Alfonso's wife, she begged me to take her to see him.

Alfonso was cold to her when he first met Bianca. After she left, he said to me with a sigh, "Debora, you're too kind to everyone. But not everyone is worth saving."

Alfonso was stern and ruthless, treating everyone but me with indifference. Back then, I wasn't the Donna he knew now who constantly fought with him over another woman in our lives.

Before meeting him, I had already been accepted into medical school and was supposed to leave Newland City to complete my residency.

However, Alfonso later took over the Famiglia business. He faced a series of assassination attempts, so I gave up medical school and chose to stay by his side, tending to his wounds and managing the Famiglia affairs.

That was how I gradually transformed into the Donna everyone knew.

At that time, I never thought of it as a sacrifice. I had sincerely believed that I was choosing a life that we would share together. And as a woman, I simply couldn't bear to see anything terrible happen to Bianca.

I tiptoed and pecked him on the cheek, pleading with him. "Just for my sake, please? Won't you help her?"

Alfonso wrapped his arms around my waist and deepened the kiss, his towering frame engulfing me completely. Ultimately, he held me in his arms, feeling absolutely content, and agreed to help Bianca.

Once I confirmed that Bianca had secured a job and was living a safe, stable life, I relaxed and stopped paying attention to her.

However, I ran into her again one year later.

Alfonso was targeted in a second assassination attempt, and Bianca appeared out of the blue and took a bullet meant to kill him.

The bullet tore through her abdomen, and she was rushed to the emergency room at once, suffering from extreme blood loss.

I instinctively clutched my own stomach, remembering the time when I had also taken a bullet for him.

He had been critically injured and remained unconscious for two whole days back then.

After taking the bullet for him, I asked the doctors and Soldato to keep it a secret from him.

He had just solidified his position as the Don, and I knew that if he found out who had hurt me, he would have stopped at nothing until the enemies were all slaughtered.

So, until now, he still didn't know that I once took a bullet for him in the past.

Alfonso stood outside the emergency room, silently staring at the red light above the doors.

I held his hand in mine and comforted him, saying, "Don't worry too much. A gunshot wound in that area isn't necessarily fatal. I—"

However, my attempt to comfort him backfired. He shot me a furious look, filled with authority and disappointment.

"Debora Volpato! Bianca just saved my life, and yet, you speak of the incident with such detachment. Is this how the Donna should be acting?"

I was stunned, completely caught off guard by his sudden furious attitude that I'd never seen before. I didn't even manage to finish my sentence, "...I was shot in that exact spot and still survived without a hitch."

That was the start of the end of our relationship.

But at that time, I simply hadn't realized it. I still thought that Alfonso had only lost his composure because of the shock of the incident.