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Chapter 5

Author: Eternity
The door had barely closed behind Santino when Sofia’s smile disappeared.

She looked at me across the table.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t understand. You know he still cares about what happened seven years ago, and you keep bringing Matteo up in front of him.”

“I wasn’t trying to upset him.”

“But you did.”

I met her eyes. “I’m not here to interfere with your wedding.”

Sofia gave a quiet laugh, then picked up her coffee and threw it at me.

The liquid hit my face and coat. I shut my eyes for a second.

“Elena, you can stop acting innocent.”

I wiped my cheek with a napkin.

“If I made you misunderstand something, I’m sorry.”

That only seemed to make her angrier.

She stood and walked around the table.

“You think sitting in that wheelchair makes him feel sorry for you? You think if you look weak enough, he’ll remember what you used to be to him?”

Before I could answer, she slapped me.

My head turned with the force of it, and for a moment all I could hear was a dull ringing.

I slowly looked back at her.

“Sofia, that’s enough. If you touch me again, I’ll call Moretti security.”

She reached for me again.

I lifted my arm and pushed her hand away. I barely used any strength, but Sofia suddenly stumbled backward and dropped to the floor.

Her face changed at once.

“My baby.”

I froze as she curled an arm around her stomach.

“My stomach hurts.”

The door opened behind us.

Santino walked back into the room, and the second he saw Sofia on the floor, his expression changed.

“Sofia.”

He crossed the room and crouched beside her.

She grabbed the front of his coat.

“Santino, it hurts.”

Then she looked at me through tears.

“She pushed me.”

“What?”

“You left, and she started saying you never really loved me. She said if she wanted you back, you would come running.”

“That’s not true.”

Sofia began crying harder.

“I admit I got angry. I threw coffee at her, and I slapped her. But then she pushed me.”

She pressed a hand to her stomach.

“She knows I’m pregnant.”

I looked at Santino.

“I didn’t know.”

His eyes lifted to mine. There was anger there now, but also fear.

“Enough, Elena.”

My chest tightened.

“Santino, listen to me. I didn’t push her down.”

“She’s carrying my child.”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant.”

He stood, keeping one hand on Sofia.

“Seven years ago is over. Whatever happened between us is over. But you do not touch her.”

“I didn’t.”

I moved the wheelchair forward slightly.

Santino caught the handle and pushed me back.

“Stay away from her.”

He did not shove hard, but the wheelchair struck the corner of the table behind me and tipped.

I fell sideways, and my forehead hit the edge of the table before I reached the floor.

For several seconds, I could not hear anything clearly. Then the room came back in pieces as someone called for the manager and a chair scraped across the floor.

Warm blood slid down the side of my face.

Santino saw it, and his expression changed instantly. He took one step toward me, but Sofia doubled over and clutched his arm.

“Santino, please. Something’s wrong.”

He stopped and looked between us for a second before bending down and lifting Sofia into his arms.

“I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Before he left, he looked back at me once, then carried her out.

I stayed on the floor, staring after him, and suddenly I remembered being eighteen.

At a Moretti family dinner, one of the older men had grabbed my wrist when I tried to leave. Santino saw him, crossed the room, pulled the man away from me, and hit him before anyone could stop him.

Three people tried to drag Santino back. He only stopped when I wrapped both hands around his arm and begged him to.

That night, he told everyone in the room that if anyone touched me again, they would answer to him.

Back then, I was the person he protected. Now it was someone else.

Moretti security entered a few minutes later.

One of the men crouched beside me while another called for an ambulance.

“Miss Russo, can you hear me?”

I tried to answer, but my voice would not come. The room blurred, and my body suddenly felt strangely light.

I had fought for seven years because I wanted one thing. I wanted to see Santino again, and now I had.

Maybe this was enough.My eyes closed.

“Miss Russo?”

Someone pressed two fingers against my neck.

Then his voice cut through the room.

“I can’t find a pulse.”

“Call her family. Start CPR. Now!”
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