Chapter 1

The next morning, I returned to the Moretti Estate with the papers my attorney had prepared.

I walked straight to Luca’s study.

When I opened the door, I stopped.

Luca sat behind his desk, with Viviana beside him.

She held a forkful of chocolate cake to his lips.

“Try it. It’s still your favorite.”

Luca leaned forward and took a bite.

The ease between them made it clear that this was not the first time she had fed him.

Watching them, I remembered the chocolate cake I had made for his birthday three years ago.

I had spent the entire day in the kitchen. It was my first attempt at baking, and by the time I finished, flour covered my hands and clothes.

Sophia had been three then. She stood in the kitchen doorway, hugging her rabbit plush toy.

“Mommy, will Daddy like it?”

“Of course.” I smiled. “Mommy made it especially for him.”

That night, I waited until the frosting began to melt.

When Luca finally came home, I carried the cake to him.

“Happy birthday.”

He glanced at it and frowned.

“I don’t like chocolate.”

Then he walked past me and went upstairs.

The cake slipped from my hands and hit the floor.

I crouched down and gathered the ruined pieces into a trash bag, wiping away my tears before Sophia could see them.

For years, I had believed him.

But now Luca was eating chocolate cake from Viviana’s fork.

He did like chocolate.

Just not when it came from me.

Luca finally noticed me. The faint warmth in his expression disappeared.

“What do you want?”

I walked to his desk and placed the folder in front of him.

“Sophia’s school needs your signature. My attorney also sent over a few documents.”

Luca didn’t ask what they were.

He didn’t read a single page.

He simply picked up his pen and signed every place I had marked.

“Thank you.”

I closed the folder and took it back.

The divorce agreement now carried both our signatures.

In seven days, it would take effect.

Viviana laughed softly.

“How interesting.”

I looked at her.

“You’re husband and wife, but you speak to each other like strangers.”

She caught Luca’s chin between her fingers and turned his face toward her.

“Did you really marry her because you loved her?”

Then she smiled.

“Why did you marry her, Luca?”

The room fell silent.

Once, I had believed Luca married me because my love had finally reached him.

Later, I learned the truth.

Before our wedding, he and Viviana had fought. She married another man to hurt him, and Luca married me soon afterward.

I had been pregnant and available at exactly the right time.

Now Viviana was divorced and back in Sicily.

Luca finally had the woman he had always wanted.

He didn’t answer her question.

Instead, he looked at me.

“If you’re finished, leave.”

I lowered my eyes and smiled.

“Of course.”

My fingers tightened around the folder as I turned away.

Seven more days.

Then I would no longer be Mrs. Moretti.

After ten years of trying to make Luca love me, I was finally walking away.

I left the study and quietly closed the door.

“Mommy?”

I turned around.

Sophia stood in the hallway, holding her rabbit against her chest.

I crouched in front of her.

She glanced at the closed study door.

“Is Daddy happy with that lady?”

I didn’t know how to answer.

Sophia took my hand.

“Mommy, can it just be you and me from now on?”

I looked at her.

“Daddy never smiles at us,” she whispered.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

Sophia reached up and wiped it away.

“Don’t cry, Mommy. We can stop waiting for him.”

I pulled her into my arms.

“Okay.”

This time, I meant it.