All Chapters of The Day I Stopped Being His Wife: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Bring me the divorce agreement from the safe."After the doctor told me there was nothing more they could do for the baby, I lay in the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyes burned.For five years, I had imagined the moment Damian learned we were finally having a child. I had planned to slip the test results into his anniversary gift that evening and watch his face when he opened it.Now our baby was gone, and Damian would never know how close he had come to becoming a father.When the tears finally stopped, I called the family attorney.The agreement had been locked in the safe inside Damian's study since the day before our wedding. It still bore the Moretti crest pressed into dark red wax.Damian had signed it in front of both families. If he ever broke his marriage vows, I would have the right to end the alliance between the Russos and the Morettis. He had also signed a waiver promising not to contest the divorce if the infidelity clause was ever invoked.At the time

The next day.Damian did not return to the estate until two in the morning. The opening door woke me, and before I could sit up, he had removed his coat and wrapped his arms around me. He had been drinking, and the rose perfume Serena always wore still clung to his clothes."Why didn't you wait for me?" He leaned down to kiss me, but I turned my face away."I was tired."Damian went still, then held me more tightly. "You haven't been yourself for the past two days. You can be angry with me, and you can yell at me, but don't shut me out."His palm moved slowly over my back as if he were comforting me, just as he had done countless times before. Serena's perfume remained on his collar, yet he spoke with such unmistakable devotion."You are my wife," he murmured against my ear. "Whatever happens, you do not leave me."He fell asleep soon afterward. I remained awake until dawn.In the morning, Damian poured warm water for me and instructed the kitchen to replace my coffee with hot milk."Y

After Alessia sent away the final pieces of luggage, half of my dressing room stood empty. I left behind everything Damian had bought for me, including the jewels, gowns, handbags, and the white robe I wore on our wedding night. I took only what had belonged to me before our marriage.While clearing the bedside drawer, I found the bloodstained pregnancy report. The image had blurred, but the doctor's note in the corner still read seven weeks.I studied it for a long time before placing it inside the black box beneath the divorce agreement."Are you certain you want Mr. Moretti to see it?" Alessia asked quietly."Give it to him after I board."I would not explain what happened, and I did not need to witness his reaction. Still, our child had existed, and Damian deserved to know what his choices had cost.Alessia closed the box and reviewed the wedding arrangements with me."The ballroom is ready. The dress, rings, and vows were prepared according to the photographs Serena sent you. Shal

Damian's POVThe line went dead. Damian dialed again, but only a cold busy signal answered.The black gift box sat quietly on the table. Minutes ago, he had believed it was Elena's surprise. Now he was afraid to open it."Miss Russo said that after you see what is inside, you will understand why she left." Alessia stood several paces away, no longer addressing Elena as Mrs. Moretti.Damian's head snapped up. "What did you call her?""Miss Russo." Alessia placed a silver key on the table. "The marriage between the Russo and Moretti families was terminated two hours ago. The civil divorce petition has been filed. You signed an irrevocable consent agreement before the marriage, and you cannot stop the proceedings."Damian lifted the lid. On top lay a divorce decree, signed only with her maiden name: Elena Russo. Beneath it was a confirmation form for the ballroom at the Moretti Hotel, with his name as groom and Serena as bride.He pulled out the document crushed at the bottom, a pregnancy

I spent three days in bed after returning to Palermo. My mother sat by the window every day, sometimes reading to me, sometimes just watching me sleep. My father moved all his meetings to another building to keep anyone from disturbing me.On the fourth morning, I woke early and walked alone to the small chapel behind the estate, where the Russo family had honored its dead for generations. I lit a candle before the statue of the Madonna. Seven weeks was too soon. The child had never heard my voice or his father's, but he had existed.I closed my eyes and said goodbye. My mother must have followed me, because I felt her arms wrap around me from behind, and I finally let myself weep.When I left the chapel, the sun was high. My father waited on a bench outside and handed me a cup of warm milk. "Take as much time as you need."I took the cup. "Is Damian still at the checkpoint?"My father paused. "He left yesterday afternoon. He is staying in Catania now, well away from our land. He has n