Chapter 1

"Bring me the divorce agreement from the safe."

After the doctor told me there was nothing more they could do for the baby, I lay in the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyes burned.

For five years, I had imagined the moment Damian learned we were finally having a child. I had planned to slip the test results into his anniversary gift that evening and watch his face when he opened it.

Now our baby was gone, and Damian would never know how close he had come to becoming a father.

When the tears finally stopped, I called the family attorney.

The agreement had been locked in the safe inside Damian's study since the day before our wedding. It still bore the Moretti crest pressed into dark red wax.

Damian had signed it in front of both families. If he ever broke his marriage vows, I would have the right to end the alliance between the Russos and the Morettis. He had also signed a waiver promising not to contest the divorce if the infidelity clause was ever invoked.

At the time, he had held my hand and sworn that those papers would remain in the safe forever.

The attorney placed them on the table beside my bed.

"Mrs. Moretti, once you sign, the alliance between the Russo and Moretti families will be dissolved. We will file the civil petition today, and Mr. Moretti has already waived his right to contest it."

I accepted the pen and signed the name I had not used in five years.

Elena Russo.

For the first time since my wedding, I did not add Moretti after it.

The attorney gathered the papers but did not leave immediately. "Would you like us to notify Mr. Moretti before the documents are filed?"

"No."

Damian was probably still with Serena.

Earlier, while the nurse changed my IV, I had seen the photograph Serena posted to her story. She was lying in a private room at a Moretti hospital with a small bandage above her eyebrow. Damian sat beside her, peeling an apple as though she had narrowly escaped death.

Her caption read, [No matter what happens, he will always be the first one to come for me.]

She was right.

When Serena needed him, Damian always came.

I turned off my phone and looked at Alessia. "Book me a flight to Palermo seven days from now."

Her eyes filled with tears. She had been my assistant for all five years of my marriage, and she understood what that request meant without asking.

Under the agreement between our families, once I ended the marriage and returned to Sicily alone, my protection would pass back to the Russo family. Damian would no longer be allowed to enter Sicily without my family's permission.

My father had insisted on that condition because he never wanted his daughter to find herself trapped in a cruel marriage with nowhere to go.

I had once thought his concern was unnecessary.

During my five years in New York, I had rarely returned to Sicily without Damian. Whenever my mother asked me to come home for a few weeks, I always told her that my husband needed me.

The truth was that I had been the one who could not bear to leave him.

"There is one more thing," I said.

Alessia opened her tablet. "What do you need?"

"Reserve the private ballroom on the third floor of the Moretti Hotel for the same night."

She paused. "What kind of event are you planning?"

"A wedding."

Her fingers went still above the screen. "Who is getting married?"

Outside the window, the rain had stopped, leaving trails of water across the glass. Beyond them, the lights of New York blurred into streaks of gold and white.

"Damian Moretti and Serena Rossi."

Alessia stared at me. "Does Mr. Moretti know?"

"He will."

Damian wanted to keep his wife, but he could not bring himself to give up Serena. Since he lacked the courage to choose between us, I would make the choice for him.

Alessia did not try to change my mind. She reserved the ballroom, confirmed my flight, and sent the itinerary to my phone.

Palermo. Seven days from now. Departure at 6:20 p.m.

I studied the ticket for a moment before calling my mother. It was already morning in Sicily, and she answered almost immediately.

"Elena?"

At the sound of her voice, my grip tightened around the phone. I tried to keep my voice steady, but it came out hoarse.

"Mama, I'm coming home in seven days."

She fell silent. When she spoke again, her voice was gentler. "Is Damian coming with you?"

"No. It will only be me this time. I want to stay with you and Papa, and I'm not leaving again."

I looked down at my bare ring finger. After signing the agreement, I had given my wedding ring to Alessia and asked her to return it to the Moretti estate.

My mother did not ask why. "All right," she said. "I'll have someone waiting for you at the airport."

After the call ended, I added the flight to my calendar.