1

Carlos froze, disbelief written all over his face. He hadn't expected me to react like this.

Slowly, he pulled a black velvet box from the inner pocket of his coat and opened it. Inside was a delicate sapphire necklace.

His voice was unusually urgent. "Alice, I brought you a present."

He took an eager step toward me. "The moment I saw it in the store, I thought it was as beautiful as your eyes.

"Believe me, I don't have feelings like that for Nina. Sam took a bullet for me. He was family to me. I just want to protect his wife."

I sipped my champagne and tried to smile, but I couldn't.

"I understand. You don't need to be nervous."

Memories of my previous life came flooding back.

In my last life, when he brought Nina home, jealousy and rage took over, and I lost all reason.

I made a huge scene, and only then did Carlos give in and send Nina away.

But from that day on, the man who had once loved me so deeply began to change.

He grew quieter and became increasingly ruthless in handling the family's business.

For all those years, I thought he was under too much pressure, so I let everything slide and tried to calm him down.

It wasn't until he lay dying and called Nina's name with such longing that the truth hit me like a sledgehammer.

So that was it. He'd become so moody because he'd spent all those years suppressing what he felt for that woman.

In my last life, I got rid of Nina, but in doing so, I also lost my special place in his heart.

For the sake of all the years we'd shared, he stayed by my side for the rest of his life.

But long before that, the way he looked at me had lost all trace of love.

"Alice?"

Carlos's voice pulled me back to the present.

My reaction clearly unsettled him. He tried again, carefully.

"If you don't want Nina here, I can send her somewhere else right now."

He tried to hide it, but the sadness in his eyes was impossible to miss.

In my last life, I would have screamed and fought.

In this life, faced with the same situation, all I felt was bone-deep weariness and helplessness.

I set my glass down and shook my head slightly.

"I'm not that petty.

"Her husband died because of you. You should take care of her for the rest of her life. Let her stay here at the estate."

Carlos was stunned. He just stared at me.

A bitter ache welled up inside me.

But this heartache was nothing compared with the pain of spending more than ten years alone in an empty room in my last life.

When he recovered from his surprise, Carlos's eyes lit with delight.

"Alice, thank you. You're always so understanding!"

Carlos stepped behind me and fastened the sapphire necklace around my neck.

The cold stones against my skin sent a shiver through me.

Beside him, Nina looked up at me gratefully.

"Thank you, Donna. Thank you for being so gracious."

She spoke to me, but her eyes remained fixed on Carlos behind me, full of adoration.

It felt like a boulder was sitting on my chest. I could barely breathe.

"I'm a little dizzy. I'm going to lie down for a while."

It was a flimsy excuse. I left as fast as I could.

Just before I reached the front door, I couldn't help myself. I looked back at them.

Carlos couldn't contain his excitement. He pulled Nina tightly into his arms.

It felt as if a knife had been driven into my heart. The pain was so sharp I could barely breathe.

I tore my eyes away, ran back to my room, and slammed the door.

With my back against the door, I finally let the tears fall.

I'd been with Carlos since I was 17.

Back then, he was a nobody, just a small-time street punk in Sicily whose life could end at any moment.

To protect me, he'd put his life on the line more times than I could count.

Once, when one of his enemies hurt me, he chased the man for three blocks with a gun to get even, then came back to me covered in blood.

"Alice, as long as I'm around, nobody's going to push you around!"

Later, he made it. He climbed over countless bodies to become the Don.

The first thing he did was throw me a wedding so grand it had the whole city talking.

In front of everyone, he kissed me with passion and devotion, his eyes full of love. It was the same look he'd just given Nina.

The heartache seemed to spread through my entire body.

With shaking hands, I called my lawyer.

"Draw up legal separation papers for me..."