Once They Chose Her, I Chose Myself

The wind sweeping through New Catella in early March still carried the biting cold from the Alantico Ocean.

My surgery had just ended. My phone started ringing when I stepped out of the hospital.

Antonio Corleone's voice echoed from the receiver. He didn't ask about my condition. Instead, he immediately started interrogating me.

"Where the hell are you, Elena Zanelli? Do you think that you can shirk your responsibilities by pulling a disappearing act? Come back right now and apologize to Sophia."

I could hear Matteo Corleone's voice in the background.

"You made Sophia cry for the whole night by pretending to be sick. She grew up in the slums, and she has a weak constitution. She couldn't stomach any food for the last few days because of you."

I stood on the steps outside the hospital. I lowered my head and looked at my reflection on the glass door.

I was currently 91 pounds, having lost eight pounds after being hospitalized. My complexion was pallid, and I was extremely thin, reminiscent of a walking skeleton.

The scar from my stomach surgery a decade ago throbbed slightly.

For the past few years, Antonio and Matteo had made my meals their top priority. I had to eat on time every day, and the ingredients had to be fresh. I was also not allowed to consume any alcohol.

I remembered being ambushed during a discussion at Vosaro's pier on a winter day.

Antonio had run three blocks while carrying me because my old stomach injury started acting up. He had then personally rushed me to the emergency room.

Meanwhile, Matteo led his men to abduct all the underground doctors in Vosaro to the hospital, forcing them to treat me.

"Elena's life is worth more than the lives of everyone here," he had said.

At the time, I truly believed that no one else in the world cared for me more than the Corleone brothers.

However, everything changed when Sophia Volpe showed up.

Sophia was the daughter of the man who killed Papa. She had big, innocent eyes that suggested she could do no wrong. In the span of six months, she managed to snatch the things that supposedly belonged to me because I wasn't brave enough to voice out my desires for the past two decades.

I hung up and called Mamma.

"I've made up my mind, Mamma. I'll marry into the Rossi family."

It was silent on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"This is a big decision to make, Elena," Mamma said softly. "Are you sure?"

Papa was murdered two decades ago, leading to the annihilation of the Zanelli family.

Mamma had hidden me in her best friend, as well as Antonio and Matteo's mother, Maria Fortino's car. She sent me out of the city while she stayed behind to deal with the assassins. She then spent the last two decades building a small empire in Las Mirabella.

Last year, she finally established a relationship with the Rossi family, a family that was older and more powerful than the Corleones.

However, compared to restoring the Zanelli family's glory, Mamma was more concerned about my happiness.

Although the lady of the Rossi family, Gloria Trentini, immediately decided she wanted me to be her daughter-in-law, Mamma had left the decision to me.

In the past, the thing I cherished the most was the relationships that I shared with Antonio and Matteo. It was why I had hesitated to make my choice between them for so long.

However, at that moment, I finally understood that I had been just a toy for them to pass the time with over the last two decades.

Just then, Sophia uploaded a new post to her Instagram.

She was sitting on my couch in the photo, showing off two different diamond rings that sparkled brilliantly on her fingers. She was wearing a tailored suit and glass heels.

I recognized her outfit to be the same one that Antonio and Matteo had specially ordered for my birthday half a year ago.

The caption that she attached to the photo read, "This is true love. Only an old hag would scheme to seduce men."

I blocked her before saying, "I'm being serious, Mamma. I want a child. The doctor said that my injuries are quite severe this time. If I don't have a child soon, I might lose my chance for the rest of my life."

I wasn't young anymore. I didn't have much time left.

"Va bene," Mamma said, her voice turning firm. "Mrs. Rossi has already set a date. She wants to meet you next Wednesday. I'll handle the rest if you return."

She paused before continuing, "Remember to give Mrs. Corleone a proper goodbye, Elena."

"Va bene."

I looked up at the cloudy Mellino sky.

The doctor had said that I needed to rest for a week after the surgery.

I would use these seven days to bid a proper farewell to the last two decades.