Chapter 3

After that incident, I collapsed completely. My old injuries flared up, and I fainted at home.

When Dante got the call, his face drained of color. He grabbed my hand, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Bianca… it's my fault. Please, don't leave me! As long as you're safe, I don't want anything else!"

For a while, after I recovered, he seemed like his old self. He stopped seeing Alessia. I thought our lives had returned to normal—that our little family of three could be happy again.

Until a few days ago.

I went to the sanatorium to visit Mama, the orphanage director. Passing a small amusement park on the way, I saw them.

Alessia was holding Nico, laughing as they rode the carousel. Dante filmed them, eyes full of tenderness.

Nico planted a chubby kiss on Alessia's cheek and babbled, "Mommy's so nice! I love Mommy the most!"

At that moment, they looked like a happy family.

I stood behind a tree, frozen as if plunged into an ice cave.

The son I had risked everything to bring into the world was calling that interloper "Mommy."

I returned home in a daze, numb, barely able to function. That evening, when the driver brought Nico back, I reached for him. He recoiled in disgust.

"Mommy, you smell like medicine—it's gross! Mama Alessia smells nice. I wish she were my mommy!"

I had blamed myself before, thinking I was a bad mother for not taking him out like other moms. But now I understood—it wasn't my fault. He was comparing me to Alessia. In his heart, I didn't measure up.

Realizing this, my chest felt as if it had been ripped apart. I crouched down, staring at him.

"Nico… I'm your real mother! I carried you for nine months and gave birth to you!"

He looked at me with disgust.

"I don't like you! Daddy said you only boss me around. Mama Alessia is the one who really loves me! I want Mama Alessia to be my new mommy!"

Even seeing Dante's affair with my own eyes had never crushed me like this.

This was the child I had given my life for.

I studied his small face, so much like Dante's, and forced a bitter smile.

"Fine. If you don't want me as your mommy, then I won't be your mommy anymore."

I turned and walked into the bathroom, letting cold water wash my tears away.

That night, I ran a high fever. In a haze, I heard Enzo's frantic voice calling Dante, "Don Conti, Madre's fever is severe! Please come back quickly!"

But on the other end was Alessia's coquettish voice, "Dante, hurry! I can't wait any longer…"

Then came Dante's impatient roar, "Bianca is acting again? She got a taste last time and got addicted? Fine, let her act! When she actually dies, then you can call me!"

He hung up and shut off his phone.

That night, the family doctor rushed me to the emergency room—I almost didn't make it.

At dawn, Dante returned to change clothes, fresh lipstick marks still on his neck. Noticing my gaze, he pressed his lips tight, fuming as he scolded me, "Bianca, do you think I'm a fool for repeatedly faking illness to make me come back? Playing these games only makes me despise you more! As punishment, your orphanage director's medicine… stops, for now."

Then he picked up his phone and called the sanatorium.