All Chapters of He Faked Ruin, He Lost Me Forever: Chapter 31 - Chapter 38

“Remember when we passed that jewelry shop and you said this ring was pretty?”Leah looked down at it.She remembered.It had been winter during the second year of their marriage. Her fingers had been chapped red from washing dishes in cold water, and they had walked past a brightly lit shop window on her way home from work.She had paused for less than three seconds.Fooled by his fake bankruptcy, she had only sighed, tucked her hands back into her thin coat pockets, and bent down to pick up empty plastic bottles by the street.She hadn’t even dared linger at the window, afraid he would feel ashamed that he couldn’t afford it.“So you knew all along.”She glanced at him, her voice flat.“You knew what I liked, and you knew how I was living. You watched me pick up bottles in the cold while you had the money to buy the whole shop. You simply never gave me any of it.”Matteo gripped the ring box tightly, his knuckles white.“I’m giving it to you now. Only to you.”“I don’t want it anymor

“When I investigated her recently, I found out the Bellandi family had arranged that kidnapping from start to finish.”His voice shook with self-mockery.“No one was ever going to hurt her. They staged the whole thing because they wanted the Vitale family to owe them a life debt, and they wanted me to remember her forever.”Leah froze for a heartbeat, then let out a cold laugh.“So because you were lied to as a child, you took the methods they used on you and used them on Finn and me?”Her eyes were bright and merciless.“When you loved her, why didn’t you gamble with your own life? Why did you gamble with ours?”“Why was it Finn on that hospital bed? Why was it Finn bleeding in the go-kart lane? Why was it Finn crying into the phone on that cliff while you told the kidnappers to do whatever they wanted?”“I’m sorry.”Tears fell down Matteo’s face.“I was blind. I pushed away the people who truly loved me and kept the ones who were scheming against me by my side.”“I heard you begging

There were no family interests tied to this wedding, no business partners waiting in side rooms to sign agreements, and no one judging whether a former driver’s daughter was worthy of the groom.Her mother sat in the front row dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief while her father beamed and clapped harder than anyone else.Neighbors from their street, colleagues Leah had earned the respect of through her own work, and friends who genuinely cared for them filled the seats.Everyone who had come was there to give them their blessing.Adrian crouched down in front of Finn so they were at eye level and smiled.“Would you like to call me something different today?”Finn looked at him, his small hands tightening around the ribbon on the bouquet.“Dad.”Finn looked startled himself after saying the unfamiliar word out loud.For a second, the lawn seemed to go quiet around them.Then Finn’s ears turned pink, and he repeated it more firmly.“Dad.”Watching him, Leah shed tears.“Finn, that’s

Three years later, outside a hospital clinic in St. Louis, Leah stood under the shade of the walkway looking at the test results in her hand.Her fingers trembled slightly against the edge of the paper.“What did the doctor say?”Having just parked the car, Adrian rushed over from the lot, his jacket open and his breath slightly quick as he took the slip from her hand.“Sorry, sweetheart, there were too many cars today. Parking took forever, and I was worried you’d be waiting alone—”His voice cut off mid-sentence.When he saw the words printed on the page, he stopped short, stared for two full seconds, and then broke into wild joy.With tears shining in her eyes, Leah nodded at him.“I’m pregnant.”Adrian carefully folded the report into his pocket first so he wouldn’t crumple it, then pulled her excitedly into his arms, laughing like a child.“That’s wonderful! Finn is going to have a little brother or sister!”“He’ll be thrilled,” Leah said, laughing against his shoulder. “He’s been