The Anniversary That Ended My Marriage

The first thing I noticed was that the candles were melting.

I had lit thirty of them around the dining room, hoping the soft golden glow would make the mansion feel less empty. Three years ago, Adrian Vescari had promised that our anniversary would always be special.

Tonight, I had prepared his favourite dinner, worn the black shirt he once said made my eyes look brighter, and waited.

The food was cold.

The wine was untouched.

And my husband was late.

Again.

I glanced at the clock. Eleven forty-five.

My phone vibrated.

Adrian: Don’t wait for me. We need to talk.

I stared at the message until the words blurred.

We needed to talk?

On our third wedding anniversary?

The sound of the front door opening made me straighten immediately. I stood, smoothing my shirt as footsteps approached.

Adrian entered the dining room wearing his usual black suit. His white-grey hair was perfectly styled, and his expression was as cold as ever.

But he wasn’t alone.

A handsome man in an expensive white suit walked beside him. His fingers rested casually on Adrian’s arm.

I recognized him immediately.

Damian Ross.

Adrian’s former lover.

The man whose name I had learned to avoid mentioning during the first year of my marriage.

“Happy anniversary,” I whispered.

Adrian barely glanced at the table.

“Sit down, Luca.”

My smile disappeared.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re getting divorced.”

For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him.

“What?”

Adrian removed his watch and placed it on the table. “I’ve had the papers prepared. You only need to sign.”

I looked at Damian, who was watching me with a small, almost sympathetic smile.

“Is this because he’s back?”

“Don’t make this dramatic,” Adrian replied.

I laughed quietly, although nothing about the situation was funny.

“Three years, Adrian. I waited three years for you to look at me the way you look at him.”

His jaw tightened.

“You knew what this marriage was from the beginning. It was an arrangement between our families.”

“I know what it was supposed to be. I just thought you might eventually care.”

Silence.

That silence hurt more than any insult he could have given me.

Damian stepped closer to Adrian, gently adjusting his tie.

“Adrian, perhaps we should give Luca some time.”

The tenderness in his voice made my stomach twist.

Adrian didn’t move away from him.

“There’s nothing to discuss.”

He pushed a folder across the table.

I opened it with trembling fingers. The first pages contained the divorce agreement. The remaining documents were something else entirely.

My eyes moved across the printed words.

Transfer of Custody and Protection Rights.

I read the paragraph twice before looking up.

“You are surrendering me to the Moretti family?”

Adrian’s expression remained unchanged.

“It’s a temporary political arrangement. Enzo Moretti needs leverage during the negotiations. This will secure peace between our organizations.”

“Enzo Moretti?” I repeated.

The head of the Moretti family was Adrian’s greatest enemy. Their organizations had spent years fighting over territory, money, and influence.

And Adrian was offering me to him.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’ve already made the agreement.”

I looked at the man I had loved for three years.

“Do you even understand what you’re doing?”

“Sign the papers, Luca.”

My hands went cold.

For the first time, I understood something I had spent three years refusing to accept.

Adrian had never considered me his husband.

I was simply another asset he could exchange when necessary.

I picked up the pen.

“Fine.”

His eyes briefly narrowed, perhaps surprised that I hadn’t begged.

I signed every page.

Then I removed the wedding ring from my finger and placed it beside his untouched dinner.

“Happy anniversary, husband.”

I walked away before either man could see my tears.

The Moretti estate stood behind enormous iron gates, surrounded by armed guards and towering trees.

I stepped out of the car with a small suitcase in my hand.

The guards exchanged glances.

“Mr. Moretti is expecting you,” one said.

I followed him through the mansion’s entrance and into a spacious office.

A man stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black trousers.

Enzo Moretti.

He turned when I entered.

His black hair was neatly styled, and his icy blue eyes studied me with unsettling attention.

“So,” he said, “Adrian finally sent me his husband.”

I lifted my chin.

“His former husband.”

A faint smile touched Enzo’s lips.

“Interesting.”

I looked around the unfamiliar room.

“Am I your prisoner?”

Enzo walked closer, stopping a few feet away.

“That’s entirely up to you.”

I frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“It means no one in this house will force you to do anything you don’t wish to do.”

I almost laughed.

“That’s a generous promise from a mafia boss.”

“Don’t mistake kindness for weakness, Luca.”

His gaze suddenly dropped to the silver ring hanging around my neck. It was the only thing I had kept from my mother.

His expression changed.

“Where did you get that?”

I instinctively touched the ring.

“It belonged to my mother.”

“What’s her name?”

I hesitated.

“Isabella. Isabella Valenti.”

For several seconds, Enzo didn’t move.

Then his face hardened.

“Isabella Valenti was your mother?”

I nodded slowly.

He turned towards the guards.

“Everyone out.”

They immediately obeyed.

Enzo waited until the door closed before looking at me again.

“From this moment forward, nobody touches him, questions him, or approaches him without my permission.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he reached for his phone.

“Cancel every meeting. And make sure Adrian Vescari doesn’t hear about this.”

My heart began to pound.

“What are you hiding from me?”

Enzo’s icy eyes returned to mine.

“Something your husband should have discovered before signing those papers.”

He stepped closer, his voice dropping.

“Because, Luca, your husband has just made the biggest mistake of his life.”

He glanced at the silver ring again.

“And I don’t think he has the slightest idea who he just gave away.”