THE MAFIA LORD'S ABANDONED WIFE

Chapter 1: The Night He Abandoned Me

"Alessandro, p-pease... huwag mo akong iwan..."

I can still taste the blood in my mouth. The cold marble floor of our mansion feels like ice against my skin. Tonight should have been our third wedding anniversary. I spent the whole day preparing his favorite dish, sinuot ko pa yung black dress na gusto niya, yung off-shoulder na katulad sa picture ko. I even lit the red roses and that expensive whiskey he likes.

But there was no romantic dinner. There was only gunfire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sunod-sunod na putok ng baril mula sa labas. Inatake kami. The Rossi family, the biggest enemy of the De Luca empire, they attacked our mansion in the middle of the night. The guards were shouting in Italian, "Sotto attacco! Sotto attacco!"

And I was caught in the middle. I was in the dining room when a stray bullet hit my leg. Sobrang sakit. I fell on the floor, bleeding. I tried to crawl, to hide, pero sobrang hina ko na.

"Alessandro! Alessandro, nasaan ka!" Sigaw ko habang umiiyak.

My husband, Alessandro De Luca. The name alone makes all of Italy tremble. He is not just a billionaire, he is THE Mafia Lord. The King of the Underground. Cold, ruthless, heartless to everyone. Except... except I thought I saw a different side of him. In three years of our marriage, kahit never niya akong sinabihan ng "I love you", I thought maybe, just maybe, may konting pagmamahal siya sa akin. Kasi hinahayaan niya akong matulog sa tabi niya. Hinahayaan niya akong magluto para sa kanya. 

But..I was so stupid.

The grand doors of the dining hall opened with a loud crash. And there he was.

Alessandro. His black suit was perfect, walang gusot, kahit may giyera sa labas. His face was like a Greek god carved from stone, pero yung mga mata niya, gray and cold like a winter storm. Hawak niya ang black pistol niya, and his presence alone screamed danger and power.

For a second, I felt safe. I felt relieved.

"Alessandro..." I whispered, my hand reaching out for him. My white dress, puno na ng dugo. "Help me... please... ang s-sakit..."

He looked at me. His cold eyes met my teary ones. I saw his jaw clench. I thought he would run to me. I thought he would carry me like he always did when I had nightmares.

But he didn't.

His gaze moved past me. Lumampas sa akin.

And then I heard her. A soft, fake cry.

"Alessandro! I-i'm scared! I'm bleeding!"

Bianca Moretti. His first love. The woman who left him for a richer man in America, and now bumalik kasi iniwan din siya. For months, she has been living in our mansion as a "guest". A guest who wears my clothes, who sits on my chair, who sleeps in the room next to ours. And my husband allows it.

Bianca was sitting by the window, may maliit na scratch lang sa braso niya. Maliit lang, parang kagat lang ng pusa. Pero umiiyak siya na parang mamamatay na.

And Alessandro... my Alessandro... he ran to her.

He walked past me, his expensive leather shoes stepping inches away from my bloody hand. Hindi niya man lang ako tinapakan, pero mas masakit pa yun. Parang hindi ako exist sa kanya.

"B-Bianca," he said, his voice na never ko narinig na ganun kalambot. He quickly scooped her into his arms, bridal style. "Are you hurt? Saan masakit?"

"My arm, Alessandro, it hurts so much! I thought I would die! Akala ko hindi mo na ako ililigtas!" Bianca cried, clinging to his neck, sinasadya ipakita ang cleavage niya.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My husband, carrying another woman, while his own wife is dying on the floor.

"A-alessandro... I'm here... y-your wife... I'm bleeding too..." I choked out, my voice breaking. I tried to stand, pero natumba lang ako ulit. Mas lalong dumami ang dugo.

Finally, he looked at me. But there was no love. No worry. Only annoyance. Cold, hard annoyance.

"Elena," he said, his voice so cold it made my spine shiver more than the bullet wound. "You're a De Luca! You are the wife of a Mafia Lord..You should be strong. You can survive a small bullet wound so just stop being so dramatic."

"Dramatic? I am bleeding to death and I am dramatic?"  I whispered.

"Bianca needs me more... She's not used to this life,mahina siya," he continued, tightening his hold on Bianca.

Mahina siya? Eh ako? Ako na tatlong taon nagtiis sa buhay na to? Ako na sumalo ng lahat ng stress ng pagiging Mafia wife? Mahina ba ako kaya hindi mo ako mapili?

"Alessandro, p-please... don't leave me..." That was the last thing I said as a faithful wife. My tears were mixing with the blood on the floor.

He didn't answer. He just turned his back on me. And walked away. He carried Bianca out of the dining hall, leaving me alone in the dark, with the sound of gunfire and my own broken heart.

The moment he disappeared, a sharper pain hit me. Not in my leg. But in my stomach. In my womb.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, holding my tummy. It felt like someone was tearing my insides apart.

And then I remembered.

The pregnancy test. Two weeks ago. Two pink lines. Positive. I was two weeks pregnant. I kept it a secret because I wanted to surprise him tonight. I even bought a small baby shoes and put it in a gift box with a note that says "Happy Anniversary, Daddy".

The gift box was still on the dining table, untouched.

But now, warm blood was flowing between my legs, mas marami pa sa dugo ng paa ko.

"No... no, baby... please... don't leave mama..." I cried, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. I put my hands on my stomach, trying to stop the bleeding, trying to hold on to my child. "Please stay..."

But God was not listening that night. The pain became unbearable, and the world started to turn black.

I lost consciousness with the taste of my own tears and the image of my husband's back as he chose another woman over me and our unborn child.

I thought I would die there.

But I didn't.

When I opened my eyes, I was not in our mansion. I was in a dark, luxurious room I have never seen before. The smell of expensive cigars and old money. And a man was sitting beside me, he's watching me.

He was as dangerous as Alessandro, but his eyes were different. Not cold, but calculating.

"Finally, you're awake, Elena," he said with a small smile. "I thought the Mafia Lord's abandoned wife would die so easily....Im disappointed." He chuckled.

"W-who.. who are you?" I whispered, my throat so dry.

He leaned closer. "Someone-...who watched how Alessandro De Luca abandoned his pregnant wife to die. Someone who wants to help you... get your revenge."

I touched my stomach. Flat na, as in empty. Walang laman ganon.

My baby is gone. Totoo, wala na talaga. 

At that moment, something inside me died. The weak, loving, faithful Elena who loved Alessandro more than her own life... she died with her baby that night on the cold floor.

What was left was someone else.

Someone who will not cry anymore.

I looked at the strange man, and for the first time in three years, my eyes had no tears. Only fire.

"Tell me," I said, my voice hoarse but steady. "How do I destroy him?"

And the man smiled.

"Welcome back to hell, Mrs. De Luca. Let's make them all pay."

TO BE CONTINUED...