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بيت / Mafia / The Day I Stopped Being His Wife / Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

مؤلف: Ethereal
After Alessia sent away the final pieces of luggage, half of my dressing room stood empty. I left behind everything Damian had bought for me, including the jewels, gowns, handbags, and the white robe I wore on our wedding night. I took only what had belonged to me before our marriage.

While clearing the bedside drawer, I found the bloodstained pregnancy report. The image had blurred, but the doctor's note in the corner still read seven weeks.

I studied it for a long time before placing it inside the black box beneath the divorce agreement.

"Are you certain you want Mr. Moretti to see it?" Alessia asked quietly.

"Give it to him after I board."

I would not explain what happened, and I did not need to witness his reaction. Still, our child had existed, and Damian deserved to know what his choices had cost.

Alessia closed the box and reviewed the wedding arrangements with me.

"The ballroom is ready. The dress, rings, and vows were prepared according to the photographs Serena sent you. Shall I invite the Moretti family?"

"No."

This was not a trial, and I needed no audience. I had no interest in humiliating them before the entire family or staying to enjoy Damian's regret. I only intended to give Serena the wedding Damian refused to acknowledge and force him to see what he had lost by trying to possess two women at once.

"Invite Serena and her mother," I said. "Once Damian reaches the hotel, give him the key to the private ballroom."

That evening, Serena sent me a recording made from outside a closed door. Damian was giving his men instructions about security on my birthday.

"Serena is not permitted anywhere near the hotel during the party."

"What if she insists on seeing you?" one of his men asked.

"Keep the doctor with her."

"She's pregnant. She may not accept that."

After a brief silence, Damian's voice turned cold. "Then remind her that Elena is my wife. I can give Serena a house and support her and the child for the rest of their lives, but she will never come near Elena."

"What happens if Donna discovers the truth?"

"She will not." Damian answered without hesitation. "Elena has never investigated me. She loves me, and she trusts me."

The recording ended, followed by a message from Serena.

[You heard him. He may care about you more, but even that will never make him give up me or his child.]

I deleted the recording without replying.

Damian was right about one thing. I had never investigated him during our five years of marriage. It was not because I was foolish. I simply believed that loyalty maintained through surveillance was not loyalty at all.

That trust no longer existed.

Damian returned early that night carrying a long black gown. He held it against me in front of the mirror.

"Wear this to your birthday party."

"You chose it?"

"Of course." He embraced me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. "The day after tomorrow, I will not deal with any family business. I will spend the entire day with you. After the party, we will plan our trip to Palermo."

He had already ordered the private jet prepared and intended to stay with me in Sicily for a week. He still believed we had an endless supply of tomorrows.

"Elena," Damian asked suddenly, "what do you want for your birthday next year?"

I met his eyes in the mirror. "You do not need to prepare anything next year."

He laughed, assuming I meant that I already had everything. "That is not an option. As long as I am alive, I will be beside you for every birthday."

I did not correct him. After tomorrow, Damian would never celebrate another birthday with me.
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  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 12

    Three months later, I formally became the heir to the Russo family. The ceremony was held in the council chamber. My father placed a ring engraved with the Russo crest before me. "Once you wear this, every decision you make represents more than yourself." I put the ring on my right hand. "I understand."Over the past months, I had restructured the family's port routes, uncovered an internal auditor who had been falsifying loss records for years, and completed the first phase of our partnership with the Vitale family.No one looked at me anymore as the daughter who had fled after a failed marriage. They called me Miss Russo, not because I had taken back my maiden name, but because I had earned the right to sit where I sat.That evening, my parents threw a celebration. Lorenzo arrived with a bottle of wine.During the dinner, Alessia approached me with an envelope. It was the final divorce decree. Behind it lay a letter with only my name on the envelope, no Moretti seal.I asked about N

  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 11

    A month later, my attorney told me that Damian had requested to see me. It was the first such request since he had returned to New York. He had not written or inquired about my whereabouts. He had only asked the attorney to pass along a single sentence: [I ask for one meeting. If she refuses, I will never disturb her again.]I looked at those words for a long time. Much had happened in New York. Serena had been formally charged. Marco had been removed. The council had suspended Damian's authority. He was paying for his choices, but those payments could not close the unfinished chapter between us."Tell my attorney that I agree to see him."I chose the location, Taormina, at a hotel that belonged to neither family. On the day, I had a conference with Lorenzo in Messina, and he drove me afterward."Do you want me to come in?" he asked."No.""Then I will wait downstairs."I looked at him. "It might be a long time.""If you want me to stay, I will stay. If you want me to leave, I will not

  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 10

    Lorenzo arrived at the estate promptly the next morning, driving himself. "Three minutes early. The new Russo heir is punctual.""I am not yet the heir.""No one in the council chamber doubted it yesterday."Two hours later, we reached the Vitale family's eastern port. Lorenzo handed me a hard hat and took me through the warehouses, the loading docks, and the loss records for the past six months. The outdated report had been wrong. Actual losses were 3.7 percent higher, with most of the discrepancy occurring during night shifts.I pulled the staffing schedules and found the same man listed as the night supervisor for every affected month. "He altered the loss reports and passed the old versions to someone within the Russo family. If we had signed yesterday's deal, the missing goods would have been counted as shared losses.""So the problem is not at the port?""At least not only at the port. Someone in the Russo family does not want me to take over."Lorenzo studied me. "Do you want th

  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 9

    I spent three days in bed after returning to Palermo. My mother sat by the window every day, sometimes reading to me, sometimes just watching me sleep. My father moved all his meetings to another building to keep anyone from disturbing me.On the fourth morning, I woke early and walked alone to the small chapel behind the estate, where the Russo family had honored its dead for generations. I lit a candle before the statue of the Madonna. Seven weeks was too soon. The child had never heard my voice or his father's, but he had existed.I closed my eyes and said goodbye. My mother must have followed me, because I felt her arms wrap around me from behind, and I finally let myself weep.When I left the chapel, the sun was high. My father waited on a bench outside and handed me a cup of warm milk. "Take as much time as you need."I took the cup. "Is Damian still at the checkpoint?"My father paused. "He left yesterday afternoon. He is staying in Catania now, well away from our land. He has n

  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 8

    Damian's POVThe private jet touched down in Catania the following afternoon. Damian did not go directly to Palermo. Even without weapons or guards, crossing the Russo border without permission would be seen as provocation. He had his driver stop at a checkpoint east of Palermo, where two black cars blocked the road and a dozen Russo guards stood watch.Damian got out alone. The lead man stepped forward. "Mr. Moretti, please return to New York. Miss Russo does not wish to see you.""Let me hear that from her.""That is her message."Damian looked down the road toward the estate less than an hour away. Elena was at the other end, and he could not move one step closer. "Tell her I only need ten minutes.""You have already signed the marriage agreement. As long as Miss Russo refuses to see you, you cannot enter Russo territory.""I am not here as the head of the Moretti family." Damian raised his bare right hand. "This is between her and me."The guard studied him. "Whether you wear the r

  • The Day I Stopped Being His Wife   Chapter 7

    Damian's POVThe line went dead. Damian dialed again, but only a cold busy signal answered.The black gift box sat quietly on the table. Minutes ago, he had believed it was Elena's surprise. Now he was afraid to open it."Miss Russo said that after you see what is inside, you will understand why she left." Alessia stood several paces away, no longer addressing Elena as Mrs. Moretti.Damian's head snapped up. "What did you call her?""Miss Russo." Alessia placed a silver key on the table. "The marriage between the Russo and Moretti families was terminated two hours ago. The civil divorce petition has been filed. You signed an irrevocable consent agreement before the marriage, and you cannot stop the proceedings."Damian lifted the lid. On top lay a divorce decree, signed only with her maiden name: Elena Russo. Beneath it was a confirmation form for the ballroom at the Moretti Hotel, with his name as groom and Serena as bride.He pulled out the document crushed at the bottom, a pregnancy

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