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Chapter 8
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Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 10
Months later, Sloane was convicted of reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and obstruction of emergency care. Without Vescari protection, the Russo family left the city.Rafael did not resign or lose his family. He remained a feared Don. But no one within the Vescari organization ever again treated marriage, protection, or affection as an obedience test.Maya collected these updates from the news and studio gossip."Everyone says Don Vescari is a different man."I adjusted a student's palette. "Less blue.""You truly don't care?""No."She nodded toward the windowsill. "What about Julian?"White daisies stood beside an invitation to the museum's next exhibition. There was no intimate note, only documents requiring my approval.Julian offered opportunities, defended my record, and took over installations when I needed rest. He never demanded an answer in exchange. He was not trying to become my next love before I was ready.His quiet respect taught me that care did not have to feel like c
Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 9
I had no intention of attending the Vescari Foundation's anniversary gala, but the foundation sponsored the museum's next exhibition, and Julian needed me there as a featured artist."You may ignore anyone you do not want to see," he said.The ballroom glittered beneath crystal lights. As I entered, I heard guests whispering."The Don hardly leaves headquarters now.""The Russo family lost every Vescari contract.""He used Sloane to provoke his wife and lost his heir. He deserves this."Rafael stood at the center of the room, still unmistakably the Don. Yet he had grown thin. His eyes brightened when he saw me, but his mother reached me first."Elodie.""Mrs. Vescari."The formal address made her stiffen."Congratulations on the museum acquisition," she said. "I was wrong before. I thought only of the family's stability, not what the marriage was doing to you."She glanced at Rafael."He ended every connection with the Russos. No one has entered your apartment or the nursery. You loved
Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 8
After the exhibition, a private museum acquired Empty Chair. Julian introduced me to several commercial partners, and the organizers publicly cleared my name. I no longer had to close the studio.Maya nearly knocked over a tray of paint when she hugged me."We survived.""Yes," I said. "We did."Rafael no longer ordered me home or sent men into my studio. Instead, he messaged every day.It will be colder tonight. Bring a coat.Your follow-up appointment is arranged. If you do not want the family hospital, the doctor can come to you.Nothing at the estate has been moved. Your supplies are where you left them. No one has entered the nursery.I answered none of them.Eventually, he began waiting across from the studio alone. He brought no guards and parked far enough away not to frighten my students.One evening, he stood beneath the streetlamp holding a restaurant container."Pumpkin soup. You used to like it. There is no alcohol or anything you were not allowed during the pregnancy."He
Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 7
Julian personally called to confirm that my exhibition place had been restored."Empty Chair will hang on the first wall to the left of the main gallery.""That is the best position in the emerging artists section.""It belongs there."His certainty almost made me cry. Not from gratitude, but because it had been so long since anyone affirmed my work without attaching a condition.Six weeks after surgery, I could finally stand for longer periods. Maya came to opening night and photographed the wall label repeatedly."Artist: Elodie Quinn," she read with satisfaction. "No Vescari. No Sloane. Only you."Rafael arrived half an hour later, alone, carrying white lisianthus, once my favorite flowers. Guests recognized him and opened a path.He stopped before Empty Chair and studied the lonely chair beneath the yellow streetlamp.Julian approached me. "Congratulations, Elodie.""Thank you."Rafael glanced at him but did not make a cutting remark. He looked back at the painting."Why did you ca
Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 6
Rafael began appearing at the hospital every day.The first time, he brought an entire medical team and demanded my transfer. I refused in front of them all.The second time, he brought the soup I had drunk throughout my pregnancy. The familiar smell turned my stomach."Take it away."His hand paused over the container. "You used to tolerate this.""It was for the pregnancy."Silence fell. He looked at the container as if only then realizing that some habits had died with our child."You need proper nutrition.""I have doctors here.""The family team knows your medical history better.""If that was true, why did the surgeons have to wait for your authorization to access my records?"His face paled, then hardened again."I told you. I thought you were manipulating me.""So why are you here now?"He frowned."To decide where I recover, what I eat, and whom I may see? You are not caring for me. You are trying to control me again.""Then tell me what you want."He asked as if every problem
Jealous Games, Broken Hearts Chapter 5
"The crash was real?"Marco looked at him without answering.Rafael pulled away from Sloane and ran from the room.At the hospital, Rafael pushed through the emergency entrance without waiting for his guards."Where is the pregnant woman brought in from the Westbridge crash?"The nurse checked the case number on her screen. Her expression changed."I'm sorry. One of them didn't survive. The body is being transferred to the morgue."She pointed toward the corridor on the right.Rafael went still.For years, men had lowered their heads when he entered a room. A single command from him could close a business, destroy a family, or decide whether someone lived through the night.Now he stood outside the morgue with one hand on the door and could not make himself open it."Elodie…"Behind him, the operating-room doors opened.Rafael turned.The nurses were wheeling me into the corridor. My face was pale beneath the oxygen mask, but my eyes were open.Relief broke across his face so suddenly
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