Chapter 2

After I was discharged from the hospital, Alessia drove me back to the Moretti estate. At my request, she placed the divorce agreement and the wedding confirmation inside a black gift box.

I had barely hidden it in the bedroom when the sound of an engine rose from the courtyard. Damian was home.

The moment he saw me, he crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. "Why didn't you answer my calls yesterday?"

His arm pressed against my abdomen, and pain made my body stiffen. Damian noticed at once and lowered his gaze to my face.

"You look pale. What's wrong?"

"My stomach was bothering me, so I went to the hospital for tests."

His brow tightened. "Why didn't you tell me?"

As I studied the exhaustion beneath his eyes, I wondered what he would have done if I had told him that I was the woman on the operating table. Would he have left Serena and come to me?

The answer no longer mattered.

"You were taking care of Serena. I didn't want to disturb you."

"She was shaken up after the accident. That's all." Damian bent and kissed my forehead. "Next time, you call me first. I don't care what else is happening."

His voice held the same warmth that had made me trust him for five years. If I had not lain bleeding in the street while he carried Serena away, I might have believed him.

Damian took my hand. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

He led me downstairs and into the garage, where a pearl-white armored Bentley stood beneath the lights. The doors had been reinforced, and my initials were set discreetly into the metal.

Several months earlier, I had mentioned that my old car made my back ache during long drives. Damian had remembered. He had commissioned this one in England without telling me.

"Happy fifth anniversary." He placed the key in my palm and smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I do."

I did not refuse the gift. It belonged to Mrs. Moretti, and that woman would cease to exist in six days. The car could remain on the estate with everything else that came with her title.

When we returned to the bedroom, Damian noticed the black box. He reached for it, but I covered the lid with my hand.

"That one is for you. You can't open it yet."

His eyebrows rose. "You bought me another gift?"

"There are two surprises inside. You can have them in six days."

He thought for a moment, clearly unable to remember what would happen in six days. Only after he left the room did I hear him quietly ask one of his men, "Elena's birthday is in six days, isn't it? Arrange a party immediately, and do not let her know I forgot."

That evening, Damian took me to our usual Italian restaurant to make up for the anniversary dinner he had canceled.

The owner knew us well. He personally delivered an anniversary cake and asked when we planned to have children.

Damian covered my hand with his. "Soon. Elena has always wanted a girl. If we have a daughter, I will make her the happiest little girl in New York."

I looked at the sugar figurines holding hands on top of the cake and said nothing. Only yesterday, we had almost had that child.

Halfway through dinner, Damian's phone lit up. After reading the message, he rose at once.

"There is a problem at the docks. I need to handle it, but I will be back soon."

He kissed my hair and walked out quickly.

Through the restaurant window, I watched him enter a black SUV parked at the corner. The rear window was lowered halfway. Serena sat inside, and the bandage had already disappeared from her forehead. The instant Damian joined her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

The window rose again.

I turned back to the table, picked up the knife, and cut straight through the two sugar figures that were still clinging to each other.

Six days remained until I left New York.