Semua Bab My Don Husband Chose His Sister-in-Law, So I Took His Heir: Bab 1 - Bab 9

I looked at the untouched Christmas dinner spread across the table and suddenly laughed.I picked up my phone and called my mother."You should have left him a long time ago."Her voice was calm, but it was exactly what I needed to finally make up my mind."Your mother-in-law Adeline has always put Roxy first, and Damian can't get his priorities straight. I've already found you a lawyer. We can file the moment the holidays are over."I laid a hand on my round belly and answered with a quiet "Mm."Three days ago, at my prenatal checkup, the doctor had said:"The baby is developing very well, and he's in the right position. You should be able to deliver naturally. Did your husband come with you? There are a few things you should both hear."Damian hadn't come.He was at Roxy's, hanging her Christmas lights and hauling in her Christmas tree.Our text thread was still stuck on yesterday.I'd written: "I'll be thirty-eight weeks next week. The baby could come any day. Can you please stop ru

The contractions continued all morning, finally easing in the afternoon.Damian came home at three."How are you? Still in pain?"He reached for my belly as soon as he walked in, but I turned away.A flicker of guilt crossed his face."I'm sorry, Camilla. Roxy's cut was too deep. She needed five stitches. She's alone with a child, and she panicked when she saw how badly she'd cut herself. I couldn't leave her...""And our child?""What?"I stared into his eyes."Our child.""If I'd gone into labor today, would you have waited at Roxy's until she'd been stitched up before coming back?"His expression shifted, and his voice softened."Don't say that, Camilla. I came back, didn't I? You and the baby are both fine.""Damian," I said evenly, "this morning my contractions were seven minutes apart, and I was in so much pain I couldn't get out of bed. I called you, and your phone was off. If I'd gone into labor, I'd be lying in a delivery room alone right now.""I told you to call an ambulance

Damian's expression stiffened.It took him a few seconds to speak, and when he did, his voice was full of disbelief."Camilla, what did you say?""You want a divorce? Just because I wasn't there when you gave birth?""I know I should have been with you, but Roxy suddenly collapsed. The moment I got the news, I rushed over. I couldn't just ignore something like that."He looked so sure he was in the right. It was almost funny.Before I'd gone into the delivery room, I had already thought it through.This latest absence, on top of the choices he'd made the previous two times, was enough to make his "I'm sorry" worthless.I glanced at the paper bag in his other hand.Inside was a box of Christmas pastries bearing the logo of Roxy's favorite bakery.Calmly, I asked, "What, pastries for Roxy again?"He instinctively moved the bag behind him."Roxy just... had some tests done. I wanted to get her something to eat and help her feel better. I bought it before I knew you'd gone into labor."I d

I found out later that after leaving the hospital, Damian had meant to go to Roxy's and settle things with her.At the door, he heard voices inside.Adeline's voice was full of laughter."Roxy, your little fainting spell was perfectly timed. Damian's wife had barely gone into the delivery room when you called him away. Women never forgive being abandoned while they're giving birth. She's going to make a scene."Roxy's voice had lost its frailty and gained a note of triumph."I did it for Dami's sake. Camilla thinks that because her family has money and power, she doesn't have to answer to anyone in the Caruso family. Her father lent three million dollars and handed Dami the dock contracts, and she thinks that means everyone owes her gratitude?"Roxy gave a cold snort."Let her suffer a little. Then she'll learn that not everyone will go along with her forever."Adeline sighed."It's Leo I feel sorry for. His fever hasn't even broken, and he's had to play along with your act.""He doesn

Two months later, Damian's family fell into chaos.The allies he'd worked with for years withdrew their backing one after another. The Commission began reviewing his hold on the docks and casinos, and the middlemen who moved his money began cutting ties with him, one by one.Word around the circle was that the De Luca family no longer supported him. The scandal of his abandoning his wife during labor had destroyed what little confidence the other families still had in him, especially those who had partnered with him only because of his father-in-law.His fiercest rival, the Bellini family, seized the opportunity and swallowed his territory piece by piece.His capos abandoned him or went their separate ways.No one was willing to take risks for him anymore.My father didn't kick him while he was down, but he wouldn't lend a hand, either.I received his last message:[Camilla, I may not be able to save the Family. But I will pay back the three million dollars I owe your father.]I didn