LOGINIt had taken me seven whole years to help Leonardo Caruso become Don. The night he took the title, he held my hand tightly and announced to everyone, "From now on, no matter what happens, forget about me if you have to. The Donna stays safe." That night, everyone envied what we had. Then his childhood friend, Isabella Greco, returned from Sorrenza. He still escorted me to dinners and galas on his arm, but he handed the family business to Isabella and told me to focus on resting and caring for our baby. Isabella's father had died for him. Whenever she needed him, I had to come second. I believed that after surviving so many brushes with death together, he would never truly abandon me. That belief lasted until the night of our wedding anniversary, when our convoy was ambushed on the way back to the estate. I was trapped inside the overturned car, cradling my stomach as I begged him for help. The guard who had already reached my car was about to pull me out. Yet Leonardo called him away and ordered him to save Isabella first, even though she had only a few scratches. When I woke up, the baby was gone, and so was my chance of ever becoming pregnant again. Leonardo sat beside my bed with bloodshot eyes and ordered his men to hunt down every attacker and make them pay. Yet the order that had called the guard away from me had come from his own mouth. Years earlier, he had given up his chance to seize power just to turn back and save me. Now that he was Don, the baby and I had to wait while he saved someone else first. I faked my death and left him for good. From that moment on, I was going to live a life that belonged only to me.
View MoreThree years later, I bought a house of my own.It was not large, but it was close to the inn, and the kitchen window overlooked the ocean.Mara came to help on moving day and noticed that I still had the old travel bag."You can't even bring yourself to replace this?""It still works fine."I placed it in the closet beside a photo of the guest room where I had stayed when I first arrived.By then, business at the inn had stabilized, and Mara and I had started taking on trainees.All the women who applied were adults.Some had recently left home, while others wanted a fresh start somewhere new.We included their wages, work hours, and housing arrangements in their contracts.Then we started teaching them how to work with guests.The first time one of the trainees mixed up a booking, she was so upset that her eyes turned red.She kept asking how much would be deducted from her pay.I worked with her to sort out the rooms and told her to write down what had gone wrong so it w
A year later, the ground floor of the small building next door became available.Mara and I discussed it and decided to rent it.I used the money I had saved during the past year to renovate a few guest rooms first.Mara helped attract guests, and I handled the day-to-day operations.After we signed the lease, she pressed the keys into my hand."We're going to be busy from now on."She was right.Things became busier with each passing day.Little by little, the inn gained regular guests, and some even brought their friends with them."Elena, I'm bringing my sister next month. We're staying here again."I wrote down the date, walked her to the door, and told her I would see her next month.When I returned to the front desk, I flipped through the booking ledger.Several familiar names caught my eye, and I could not help smiling.During that time, Leonardo asked through the lawyer several more times whether he could see me again.I never agreed.Eventually, he stopped askin
Leonardo remained in town for several more days.He asked the lawyer multiple times whether I would meet with him again.I refused every time.Later, the lawyer brought over a property deed and explained that Leonardo had prepared a house for me. If I wanted, he would even arrange security to protect me.I never opened the envelope.Instead, I pushed it back across the table."Please return this to him for me."The lawyer hesitated before taking it back."He said that since the two of you aren't divorced yet, he can't just leave you on your own.""Then please ask him to sign as soon as possible. After that, he won't have to worry about me anymore."I continued going to work as usual.I kept up with my medical checkups and went over next month's schedule with Mara.Vittorio called to tell me that Leonardo had asked about me again."If he asks again, just tell him I don't want him to know."A few days later, the lawyer returned with the signed agreement.Attached was a lis
A few months later, I began handling the inn's daytime operations on my own.Mara wrote my name on the small sign at the front desk.[Elena.]Whenever guests needed something, they called me by name.Here, I was simply Elena.There were cancelled bookings, late-night arrivals, leaking bathrooms, and endless little problems that needed attention.The pay was modest, but it covered my rent and medical checkups.Business at the inn gradually improved.When I received my third month's pay, I asked Vittorio to put me in contact with a lawyer."I want a divorce."Faking my death had helped me leave the estate, but I did not want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.The lawyer asked what I wanted before contacting Leonardo through Vittorio.Leonardo requested a meeting immediately.I agreed.The lawyer arranged the meeting in a conference room, and I made the conditions clear beforehand.He had to come alone.He could not ask where I was living.He could not












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