LOGINI stared at Dante’s handwriting.For a moment, I considered throwing the letter away. But then I continued reading.“Elena,“I used to believe time was something I controlled.“I decided when meetings began, when my men could speak, and when people were allowed to leave.“And somewhere along the way, I began treating you the same way.“I thought that because you loved me, you would always be there.“I thought I could keep asking you to wait, because you always did.“The night you called from the hospital, I saw your messages. I knew you were frightened.“And I still chose not to come.“I told myself I would make it up to you later.“I never imagined there would be no later.“I’ve spent every day since then thinking about the child we lost.“And about the woman who begged me to save our family while I was celebrating with someone else.“I don’t deserve your forgiveness.“I know that now.“So I signed the divorce papers.“The money isn’t payment for your pain. Nothing could ever be enoug
Dante didn’t leave Savannah immediately.Instead, he bought an apartment across the street from my guesthouse.He began appearing outside the workshop every evening.Sometimes he waited for hours. Sometimes all night.He sent flowers.I returned them.He sent jewelry.I refused the deliveries.He asked Adrian when I would finish work.Adrian told him to stop disturbing his business.He offered to buy the store from Adrian. Adrian refused.For the first time, Dante Vitalino was experiencing what it meant to wait for someone who had no intention of coming.One evening, I found him sitting outside my building.“Elena.”I stopped.He rose slowly.“Are you really happy here? I watched you working. You… You smile a lot.”“Yes.”He looked toward the workshop.“Do you love Adrian?”I didn’t answer.Not because I did.But because Dante had no right to ask.He was no longer the center of my world. He hadn’t been for a long time.“Elena, I can give you a better life.”I shook my head.“You still
I stared at the velvet box in Dante’s hand.For years, I’d imagined what I would feel if he ever looked at me with regret.Satisfaction. Anger. Maybe even love.But standing in front of him, I felt nothing.“Open it,” he whispered.I didn’t move.Finally, Dante opened the box himself.Inside was a golden pendant. A replica of my mother’s gift.“I had it remade,” he said. “The best jeweler in New York worked on it. Every detail is almost identical.”I looked at the pendant. Then at the one resting in my own palm.“You can’t remake what my mother gave me.”Dante swallowed.“I know. Elena.”“No, you don’t.”He took out several black bank cards.“Everything is yours. No limits. No restrictions. I’ve restored your family accounts. I’ve removed Sofia from the organization.”He continued desperately.“I’ve cleared the messages about you from our private network. Anyone who insulted you has been dismissed. Is that enough? Everything you’ve asked for. Come home to me.”I watched him.He genuine
Savannah was nothing like New York.There were no armored cars waiting outside my door.No guards watching every street corner.No whispered conversations that stopped whenever the Don’s wife entered a room.Here, nobody knew Elena Vitalino.I had registered under my maiden name.Elena Marino.I really liked this name. For the first time in years, I belonged only to myself.I rented a small room above a guesthouse.The owner, Adrian Moretti, was a quiet man with warm brown eyes. He also owned a jewelry workshop around the corner.When I learned what he did, I asked whether he needed an apprentice.Adrian studied me.“Have you ever worked with metal?”“No.”“Then why do you want to learn?”I thought of my mother. I lost her pendant.The tiny green stone. The gold Sofia had taken from me.“Because there’s something I want to make.”He considered my answer and smiled.“Come tomorrow morning. We’ll see how you do.”The work was harder than I expected.The torches were hot. The tools were h
Dante drove home himself. He had a bad feeling about this.The mansion looked exactly as it always had. Elena was not there.Elena’s favorite Mocha was sitting on the coffee table. Her baking gloves were beside the kitchen door.A design magazine lay open on the sofa.For one irrational moment, he imagined Elena was upstairs taking a nap.She couldn’t have left him.She loved him. She always had.And the baby. She wouldn’t have left like this.Dante walked into his study. And stopped.Three documents rested on his desk.A signed divorce agreement.The medical record.The final arrangements for their baby.On top lay Elena’s wedding ring. She finally give up on this so-called family.Dante reached for it.His hands were shaking.He remembered putting that ring on her finger.Remembered promising to protect her. Remembered the way she’d cried when he told her she would never have to be afraid again.Now she had left it behind.Dante’s phone rang.A report from his security team confirmed
“The Don has also canceled your outstanding waiting penalties as compensation,” Marco said.I couldn’t speak.“He’s expecting you at the hospital for your scheduled prenatal appointment this afternoon. Please be punctual. The Don especially said so.”The line went dead.I stood alone in the mansion. Dante had turned my mother’s final gift into jewelry for another woman.And in exchange, he had generously decided not to make me wait anymore.I opened the drawer of my desk. Inside were the divorce papers I had prepared.I signed them.Then I placed three documents on Dante’s desk.Our divorce agreement.The medical report confirming our child’s death.The paperwork recording the final arrangements for our baby.I took off my wedding ring and placed it on top.For a long time, I stared at the ring.Three years ago, Dante had slipped it onto my finger inside the Vitalino family chapel.He had promised that nobody would ever hurt me while I carried his name.Now I knew the truth.The person







