All Chapters of He Thought I’d Beg Until I Walked Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

An officer asked who could take me home.The only number I knew by heart belonged to the man who had been punishing me with silence for a week.I borrowed the officer’s phone. As expected, Alessandro answered when he saw an unfamiliar number.“Alessandro, I was attacked—”“Enough, Eva. Stop putting on this ridiculous act.” Music and laughter filled the background. “It’s Lucia’s birthday. Come apologize, and I’ll forgive you.”He hung up.By the time I emptied half of the tissue box, the tears finally stopped.The muggers had taken everything—my wallet, my ID, and the keys to my apartment.The last person I wanted to see was Alessandro, but he had the keys. If I wanted to get home tonight, I had no choice.One officer pressed forty dollars into my hand and called me a cab.Belladonna was a private club owned by the Moretti family. Music and laughter spilled from the private dining room upstairs.When I opened the door, Lucia was holding Alessandro’s phone.She sat beside him beneath the

When I returned to my apartment, I was suddenly grateful I had refused to give it up.Alessandro had wanted me at the Moretti estate from the beginning. A Don’s future wife belonged behind guarded gates, he said—not in a Manhattan apartment with a doorman and neighbors who complained about his security detail.I refused to move before we were married.So Alessandro compromised in his own way.He bought the apartment across the hall for his men and began spending most nights in mine.Over three years, his presence had spread into every room. Italian suits filled half my closet. His razor sat beside my toothbrush. A second humidor occupied my bookshelf, and six pairs of handmade shoes lined my entryway.That night, I packed every trace of him into two large garment cases and three boxes.It was almost midnight when I finished.Exhaustion settled over me as I lay down, yet for the first time in months, I could breathe.Alessandro returned the next morning.I was eating gluten-free toast a

Four days had passed since Eva’s award ceremony.Alessandro had not called her once.He had already sent the only message he intended to send. She knew what she needed to do.Yet his phone remained silent. That was unusual.Eva had resisted him before, sometimes for days. But she had always found a reason to reach out. A question about dinner. A reminder about an appointment. A photograph of something that made her think of him.This time, there was nothing.Alessandro stared at the dark screen until Lucia took the phone from his hand.“I’ve said your name three times.”They were seated in the back room of Belladonna with Nico and several members of his inner circle. Lucia wore a fitted ivory dress, but the emerald was gone.Alessandro had taken it from her before they left the hotel that night.She had worn it to make a point. It had never belonged to her.“Did Eva finally apologize?” Lucia asked.“Not yet.”Nico dropped into the chair opposite them.“I thought the emerald would have

Zurich gave me no time to mourn the life I had left behind.On my first morning at the Helvetia Institute, twelve department heads gathered around a glass conference table and waited for me to prove I deserved the title printed outside my office.Most were welcoming.Dr. Weber, the head of neural systems engineering, was not.“You want to begin human trials within six months,” he said. “That timeline is ambitious for someone who has not worked within our regulatory system.”“I’ve worked under three regulatory systems,” I replied. “And the adaptive interface has already completed two independent safety reviews.”“Neither was conducted here.”Before I could answer, the man seated to my right closed the file in front of him.“Her rejection rate is twelve percent lower than ours,” he said. “If we delay the trial simply because the protocol was developed in New York, we are protecting our pride, not our patients.”Dr. Adrian Keller was the institute’s Clinical Director.He was thirty-five,

On the drive home from the gala, Adrian glanced at me.“You stayed with him for three years?”I rested my head against the seat.“He wasn’t always like that.”“They rarely are.”I looked at him. “Is that your professional opinion?”“No. That one was free.”A laugh escaped me.Adrian smiled but did not ask anything else.That was another difference between him and Alessandro. Adrian understood that concern did not entitle him to every private part of me.After that night, Alessandro found new ways to reach me.Messages arrived from unfamiliar numbers.I know you’re angry.Lucia and I have never been together.She no longer works for the Moretti Foundation. I have ended all contact with her.I was wrong to use silence against you. If you need time, I’ll give it to you. But I will not give up on us.Flowers appeared at my office. Jewelry arrived at my apartment. One morning, I found the Moretti Emerald inside a velvet case on my desk.I sent everything back unopened.For years, Alessandro