Semua Bab From Ex-wife to his Uncle's Obsession : Bab 171 - Bab 180

(Author's POV) It was a deeply undignified plan. Calling Vincenzo as backup, creating a situation that would force Celeste to come and get him, and taking two hits to the head in one evening were not things a man could be proud of. None of it reflected particularly well on him. Still, when Celeste pressed her fingers against his forehead with a worried frown, then carefully helped him into his jacket, he decided it had all been worth it. She was trying to hide how worried she was, but he could see it clearly in her face. He would gladly take the embarrassment if it meant having her fuss over him like this. (Celeste's POV) Vincenzo came home before ten, which surprised me. I had expected him to stay out much longer because Sebastian had looked like a man who still had a lot to say. I was sitting in the bedroom chair with a book in my hands, although I had not actually read a single page for the past twenty minutes. The warm light from the lamp fell across the pages as I listened

(Author's POV)Something in Bianca's face became quiet. It was not the usual silence of a child who had simply been told no. There was something older and harder to understand in her expression. She did not cry or argue. She only stood there for a moment before lowering her eyes to Tiziana's stomach.Something changed in her eyes. She did not fully understand what was happening, and she could not explain the sadness she suddenly felt, but somewhere inside her was the small, wordless thought that perhaps things would have remained the same if this baby had never existed.Tiziana had already turned her attention away from Bianca. Her thoughts were on the baby growing inside her, and she was certain that she was carrying a boy.Bianca slowly turned around and walked back down the hallway alone.Across the city, Stefano sat in his office at Aetheris Biotech, staring at the stock prices on his computer screen as they continued their slow and painful fall. He was already in a terrible mood,

(Author's POV)For half a second, no one in the room moved.Tiziana stood in the front hallway with her coat hanging over one arm and a shopping bag dangling from two fingers. She looked at the three men as if they were the strange ones. Her hair was still slightly messy from the wind, and from the way she looked, it seemed she had spent the afternoon having lunch somewhere expensive, stopping at the salon, and taking her time walking back to the car so the right people would notice her. There was still lipstick on the rim of the takeaway cup in her hand. Her eyes were bright, and the loose coat she wore hid the small, soft curve around her waist that had started to show over the past few weeks.She had no idea what was waiting for her.That was the part Stefan would remember later. Tiziana had no idea."What is this, a funeral?" she asked again when nobody laughed at her first question. One corner of her mouth lifted. "You all look like someone died."Marco's hand tightened around th

(Author's POV)“Stefan…”“You’re not my sister, Tiziana. You never were.” Stefan stood up from the table and looked at her with a coldness she had never seen in his eyes before. “I don’t know what you are, and honestly, I’m not sure it matters anymore.”He picked up the DNA report and the envelope before walking towards the doorway. Just before he left, he stopped without turning around.“Don’t leave the house tonight. We have things to discuss with Dad, and the lawyers will be here in the morning.”Then he walked out.Tiziana remained alone at the kitchen table. Her hands were still folded over her stomach, while the pistachio macarons sat untouched in a neat green row on the plate in front of her. The kettle had gone cold, and for the first time, the kitchen felt strangely unfamiliar.She tried Stefano first.The moment Stefan left the room, she picked up her phone. Her hands were steady, the way they sometimes were when the body had not yet accepted what was happening. She called S

(Author’s POV) “Yeah.” “Stefan…” “I know.” “I’m her brother.” “Yeah.” Marco’s voice broke. He covered his eyes with one hand and stood there in the cold, breathing heavily as he tried to hold himself together. Stefan did not reach for him. He had never been good at comforting people with physical affection. Instead, he stood a short distance away and looked towards the dark swimming pool, giving his brother the space he needed to deal with everything on his own. “I don’t know how to fix this,” Marco finally said when he was able to speak again. “You can’t.” “Stefan…” “You can’t fix it, Marco. That is what I need you to understand before you do anything else. You cannot give back what was taken from her. You cannot go back in time and become a different person, and there are no perfect words you can say now that will erase everything you did. Nothing you do will suddenly make all of this disappear. Do you understand?” “Yes.” “Then you have to ask yourself a different ques