Chapter 5

Matteo didn't contact me for days after that.

Not until a week later, on what would have been our eighth anniversary if we hadn't broken up.

When the reminder chime sounded on my phone, I froze.

I looked down at the old note set years ago: Drink with Matteo today. I let out a hollow laugh. People change, promises break. I assumed I was the only fool who still remembered.

An hour later, a heavy knock echoed on the apartment door. I opened it to a familiar face.

"Thought I forgot?" Matteo said, his voice flat. "We set that reminder together."

He took me to a private room at an exclusive club. He slammed a bottle of bourbon onto the table. It was the exact bottle he had sealed in the cellar eight years ago, the night we made our private vow.

Matteo stared at me. He poured a glass to the brim and pushed it in front of me. "What's wrong, Princess? Won't do me the honor?"

Once upon a time, that wouldn't have been hard. My father had trained me to drink since I was a girl. Growing up, I loved high-end whiskey. That was why we sealed that bottle as our promise.

But things were different now. Transplant rejection had torn my stomach lining to pieces. A single drop of hard liquor could trigger a lethal internal bleed.

Camila saw my hesitation. She smiled. "Why not clear one percent of her debt for every drink? She probably wants to pay it off soon anyway."

She looked at Matteo, purring softly. "What do you think? You're not unreasonable, are you?"

I looked at Matteo. His lips pressed thin. He didn't say a word. That was his silent agreement. I wanted to drink it, but I knew finishing this bottle meant I wouldn't live to see tomorrow. I dug my pale nails into my palms and whispered, "I'm allergic to alcohol now. Give me another task. I'll do anything else."

The faint hesitation in his eyes turned into pure rage. He smashed the glass against the wall. Shards flew everywhere. "Anything else? You're really that cheap now? Right. You spread your legs for another man while you wore my ring. You even carried his bastard. What was I expecting?"

He stormed out. The heavy door slammed shut behind him.

The second he was gone, Camila locked the door and stripped off her sweet smile.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Sienna?"

Cold liquor splashed across my face.

Bourbon dripped from my eyelashes. I sat there soaked and humiliated.

"Who are you performing for?" Camila walked over in her high heels and looked down at me in my wheelchair. "You think looking like a walking corpse is going to win him back?"

I pulled a napkin from the table and wiped my cheek. "I told you. I'm just here to settle the debt."

Her palm cracked across my face.

"Then drink! If you won't, I'll have someone help you!"

With my platelets gone, the strike hit like iron. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears.

She gestured to the guard standing by the door. "Make sure our princess cooperates."

No matter how I pulled away, they forced several mouthfuls of burning whiskey down my throat.

"I should've put you in your place long ago," Camila laughed softly, her eyes venomous. "Matteo is the Boss of New York now. Your family is rotting in the dirt. I'm carrying his child. You have nothing."

I pressed a hand to my forehead to steady the room. "If beating a dying girl makes you feel secure, keep going," I said through swollen lips. "Otherwise, back off. I doubt Matteo would like to see this side of his sweet little bride."

I raised a hand to push past her. My fingertips barely grazed her silk dress.

"Help!" Camila shrieked at the top of her lungs.

She threw herself backward. It was pure theater. She slammed hard onto the polished marble.

The door flew open. Matteo rushed in. Camila was already writhing on the floor, clutching her stomach.

"Matteo, help me! Save the baby!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pointed a shaking finger at me. "She attacked me! She said she was going to tear your baby out of me! She said you don't deserve an heir!"

"I didn't touch her," I gasped, fighting for air.

"Shut the fuck up!" Matteo's roar shook the room. "Sienna! Do you really think I'll spare you for old times' sake?!"

He crossed the room in a single stride and yanked me up by my collar. "You cheated. You walked away. You treated me like dirt. I swallowed all of it! But you won't even spare a child?!"

"I didn't do it... please..." Oxygen vanished. I clawed at his iron grip with numb fingers.

His eyes darted to the bourbon on the table. A vicious sneer curled his lips. "You refused my drink. You made excuses. Did you think my patience meant I still cared about you?"

The next second, he dropped me without a glance. "If anything happens to Camila, you're dead."

"Hold on, Camila! I'm taking you to the hospital!"

He scooped her into his arms and sprinted out the door, leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints.

Cold air rushed in from the open hall.

The burn from those few sips of whiskey suddenly exploded, tearing down my esophagus and ripping through my stomach.

I collapsed against the icy marble. The internal bleeding erupted violently.I retched again and again, vomiting thick, dark clots soaked in the stench of bourbon. The dark pool spread beneath my chest.

My core turned to ice. My heartbeat slowed to a crawl. The edges of the world blurred into black.

It was fine. That bottle from eight years ago, the one that held our promises. This was how I cleared my regrets.

The cold stone pressed against my cheek. The lights above faded away.

Then, nothing.