The Day My Husband Didn’t Answer Ended Me

Three weeks ago, the stairs gave way.

I was thirty-seven weeks pregnant, crossing the main hall of the Valente compound with two paper bags of food I'd cooked because Nico had skipped breakfast again. Garlic rice. Braised chicken in Sunday gravy. The kind of meal his grandfather used to love, the kind Nico never thanked me for.

Then the staircase buckled beneath me and I fell.

The bags flew from my hands. Hot sauce exploded against my dress. Heat. Pain. The crack of old wood splintering. My body hit the landing hard, shoulder first, and I collapsed against the stone floor at the bottom.

I screamed Nico's name.

The banister groaned above me, a loose rail swinging free, just enough motion to send dust raining down, just enough to steal the air from my lungs.

Then everything went dark.

When I woke up, pain was everywhere.

A doctor told me one of the household soldiers heard me scream. He forced through the service entrance. He carried me out to the car while I was slipping in and out of consciousness, drove me to the private clinic the family kept on its payroll three blocks from the compound.

But Nico? Nico wasn't there.

They said they needed my husband's consent to operate. There were risks. Time mattered.

They called him.

Again and again. Ninety-nine times but he didn't answer.

When he finally did, his voice was flat. Annoyed.

"Bianca, what now? I told you, I'm in a fucking sit-down."

My throat closed. "Nico! I fell I'm I'm bleeding. I'm at the clinic. Please."

Footsteps. Laughter.

"Nico, baby, hurry up," a woman said. "We'll be late! You know how I hate to be late."

Serafina.

My twin sister.

The one who came back six months ago with bruises and tears and a story too tragic to question. The one I let into my home. Into my marriage. Into my life.

"She needs help, Nico," I had said. "Please. You can't turn your back on her."

He relented, letting her move into the compound. I cooked for her, drove her to appointments, made space in my heart for her while my own life bled away. Three months ago, she said she was pregnant by her ex-husband. She made me help her. I believed her. God, I believed her.

I never saw it coming that all her softness, her tears, her whispered thanks, were just venom in disguise. The jealousy she'd carried for years, the hatred of my life, my happiness she had been waiting, planning, and manipulating from the shadows.

Tears blurred my vision. My hands went to my stomach, trying to protect the baby inside me, but it was too late.

Because of the delay, my baby didn't make it.

I slipped into a coma and woke up days later, staring at the ceiling of the clinic's recovery room, machines beeping beside me. The room smelled of disinfectant and old flowers no one had bothered to replace.

That's when I heard Nico's voice outside my door.

"Keep her sedated."

"Mr. Valente," the doctor's voice sounded nervous. "It's been days. It's dangerous to keep her under this long."

"The transplant's done, isn't it?" Nico said. "Serafina's fine now. She can rest. Bianca doesn't need to know anything."

My breath caught. My hands froze.

The doctor hesitated. "You mean she doesn't know what you"

"I paid you to keep your mouth shut!" Nico snapped. "If you talk, you lose everything."

And that was it. The sound of my life ending for real.

Days later, I saw them together in the recovery room. Nico brushing Serafina's hair. Serafina smiling, hand on her stomach.

"You did it," she said softly. "Our baby's safe."

Everything I lost. Those words didn't just hurt but they shattered me.

I stumbled to the bathroom, locked the door, and looked at my reflection. I didn't recognize her. The woman staring back was pale, hollow, done.

The door opened behind me, and Serafina stepped in, all soft smiles and venom.

"Why are you hiding, sis?" she asked sweetly. "Don't you want to see our baby?"

I turned around slowly. "Get. Out."

She tilted her head. "You're not being very nice. After everything I took from you, I thought you'd at least try to be grateful."

"You slept with him?! You killed my baby!"

She smiled wider. "Killed? No, no. He was born alive. I have pictures."

She swiped her phone, and the screen lit up a tiny baby boy with my eyes, sleeping peacefully in a clinic crib. My heart stopped.

"W-where is he?"

Serafina tilted her head. Her fingertips drifted to the hollow of her throat. "Oh, you really don't need him anymore, sis. Your baby he didn't make it."

I froze, not sure I heard her right.

"Poor little nephew," she continued, scrolling through another video. "Isn't he a pretty boy? Look at him all perfect and now?"

She paused the video, tilting her phone toward me. The frame showed the baby, lifeless, tossed into a medical waste bin like garbage. No, no, no! My stomach churned, bile rising.

"Nico said it himself Your baby was never his. You were cheating on him, weren't you? The dottore just followed orders. He said your child wasn't his, so"

She shrugged, tilting her head like it was nothing. "Now he's gone. And all I have is the stem cells they harvested for me. He's dead, sis. Completely dead. Isn't that poetic? Aw, my poor heart goes with him."

Something inside me shattered. My hands shot for her, but before I could reach her, she laughed, sharp and cold.

"You! You monster!" I gasped, but the words were hollow.

She didn't flinch. "Monster? No, I just did what had to be done. And Nico well, he's very pleased with me."

I slapped her hard and pulled her hair. She screamed for Nico. He came running, soldiers flanking the hallway behind him, and before I could move, he grabbed me by the hair and threw me into the wall.

My head cracked against the tiles and everything blurred.

"You attacked a pregnant woman!" he shouted. "You don't deserve to be a mother! That's why your son died!"

And then he carried her out, leaving me on the floor, bleeding. The soldiers looked once, looked away, and followed him. The door swung shut. The clinic corridor went quiet, the kind of quiet that only exists in places owned by men who decide what happened and what didn't.

That's when I knew.

He never loved me. He never would.

I picked up my phone with shaking hands. "Salvatore," I told my legal fixer, "get the dissolution papers ready. I want them signed in a week."

I ended the call and didn't pause.

My thumb moved on instinct and called Dominic Corsaro. My husband's step-uncle. The Don of the Corsaro family. Ten years older than me. The man Nico hated because Dominic saw things. Because Dominic never looked at me like I was disposable.

It rang once.

"Bianca?"

I closed my eyes. My thumb pressed hard against the inside of my ring finger, against the band that still sat there, and I felt nothing. No. I felt the absence of everything it was supposed to mean.

"You asked me once if I'd ever choose you instead of Nico, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm choosing now. I'll marry you."

That night, I heard my baby crying somewhere in the dark. I ran toward him, calling his name, begging him to stop, but Nico was there, looming over him.

"You think this baby's yours? You cheated on me. That child isn't even mine. From the moment he was born, his fate was to die."

I screamed, "No! Stop! He's your child! Don't say that! Don't do this!"

Before I could reach them, he tossed my baby to the fire like he was nothing. Serafina stood beside him, laughing.

"Go ahead," she jeered. "Run faster, scream louder. It won't change anything."

I ran, I begged, I tried to grab him but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor, then I woke up.

The lights of the private clinic burned my eyes. The smell of disinfectant clawed at my nose.

For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then the memory of the dream and everything else hit me, and my chest tightened again.

The doctor was standing by my bed, scribbling on a clipboard. He cleared his throat. "Mrs. Valente you really shouldn't move around yet. If this happens again, you might not be able to have children anymore."

I stared at him, numb. "Tell me something. How much did he give you?"

He blinked, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"How much did Nico pay you to take my baby's stem cells and let him die?"

His hand froze in midair. The pen stopped scratching. In the hallway beyond the door, I could hear the low murmur of one of Nico's soldiers posted outside, the dull rhythm of the compound never quite going silent. "Mrs. Valente, that's not"

"Don't." I cut him off. "Don't you dare lie to me."

He looked down, pale. He didn't answer. That silence said everything I needed to know. Tessa Enzo set the clipboard on the side table and washed his hands at the basin, slowly, mechanically, though they were already clean.

"Give me the papers," I said flatly. "I'm leaving."

He hesitated, then handed them to me. My hands shook as I signed.

"You should stay a few more days," he said quietly. "You're not strong enough"

"I don't care," I said. "I just want out of this place."

He didn't stop me again.

I pulled the blanket away and stood up. The pain hit me immediately, but it wasn't nearly as sharp as the memory of the dream. My legs trembled, my vision blurred, but I kept going.

When I finally reached the compound, the same estate I'd helped choose the furnishings for on our first anniversary, my chest felt like it was being crushed. Every corner, every curtain, every stupid little color choice. I'd imagined this as our family home, where our kids would run and laugh. Now it just felt dead.

The iron gate had opened without question when the car pulled up. The soldiers at the perimeter hadn't even looked at me twice. I was still the wife. For now.

I pushed the door open. The sound of laughter hit me like nails.

Donna Valente was in the living room, hovering over Serafina with an espresso cup in her hand. She was fussing like a mother hen, telling the household servant to bring food, insisting Serafina eat, insisting she drink. The matriarch's pearl rosary caught the lamplight as she adjusted a cushion behind Serafina's back, those beads wrapped tight around her wrist like a second skin.

I stepped forward. "Looks cozy in here."

Donna Valente's gaze snapped to me, sharp and cold. She set the cup down with a deliberate clink against the saucer. "Why are you back now? Your child is dead. All because of your clumsiness, that stupid fall down the stairs. Honestly, I don't know why you even bother showing your face."

I froze, my blood turning to ice.

"Mother, don't blame my sister." Serafina leaned back on the couch, her swollen feet sticking out, her hands resting on her belly. Her fingertips drifted up and touched the hollow of her throat, a gesture so quick you'd miss it if you weren't watching. "She's always been clumsy ever since we were kids. It's not her fault. She tried"

I wanted to speak, to scream that it wasn't true, that Nico had killed my child, but before I could get a word out, the front door opened.

Nico walked in, carrying a cake. Serafina's favorite. Two of his soldiers trailed behind him and then peeled off toward the kitchen without a word, the quiet choreography of men who knew the house's rhythms. My stomach twisted, bile rising, rage burning. He froze when he saw me.

"What why are you here? You're supposed to be at the clinic." He frowned as if I had interrupted his perfect little world.

"Why? So you could pretend I don't exist?"

He stepped closer, narrowing his eyes. "Don't start. Serafina's pregnant. You should just stay out of the way."

My voice went cold. "You you let her take my baby."

He flinched, a shadow of guilt crossing his face before he hardened it into anger. His right fist clenched at his side, then released. Clenched again. "Stop. If you weren't so fragile, maybe your child would still be alive."

The words hit me like a fist to the chest. My knees threatened to buckle, but I turned my back so he couldn't see me shaking.

"I'll be gone soon," I muttered, more to myself than to him. And I meant it.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped in front of the nursery.

My hand hovered over the door. The smell of baby powder used to linger here, soft, warm, safe. I'd painted clouds on the ceiling myself, laughing when Nico told me I was too obsessed with the details.

I pushed the door open.

And everything inside me went still.

The room wasn't mine anymore.

The crib was new. The curtains were pink. The walls that used to be baby blue were now painted white with gold stars. And above the new twin cribs were names I didn't even recognize: "Baby Jaxton" and "Baby Jasmine."

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

I stepped inside, slowly, my hands shaking. Everything I had built, every tiny dream I had stitched into this room? It was gone. Just gone.

Then I saw it. My baby's ultrasound photo lying on the floor, the glass frame cracked. I knelt and picked it up carefully, brushing the dust away.

"My sweet boy I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"

Something in me snapped.

I grabbed the pink curtains and yanked them down. The rods hit the floor. I tore the name sign off the wall, ripping it in half. The sound echoed. A scream tore out of my chest, raw and broken.

I kicked the crib until it cracked. I didn't even care that my hands were bleeding, that glass was everywhere. I just wanted all of it gone. Every piece of them out of his room.

That's when I heard it. Serafina's shrill, fake cry from the doorway.

"Oh my God! What are you doing?!" she screamed, clutching her stomach. "You're going to hurt the babies!"

Her sobs were so loud that Donna Valente came rushing in. "Serafina! Sweetheart, are you alright?" She rushed to her side before turning her glare on me. "Bianca, have you lost your mind? How could you destroy this nursery?!"

My chest heaved. "This was my baby's room! You took everything from me. Even this"

"Enough! Serafina's pregnant." Donna Valente cut me off, shouting. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Then Nico appeared in the doorway. "What the hell is going on here?"

Serafina was sobbing into his chest before I could even speak. "She she came in here screaming! She ripped everything apart, Nico. Our babies' nursery!"

"That's because you all killed my son!"

"Stop," Nico said, voice flat. "You need help, Bianca. You're acting crazy."

Something in me broke completely. I pointed at the walls, at the mess, at everything I had once loved. "This was our baby's room, Nico. Ours! And you let her take it? You let her take everything!"

Nico stormed into the room, face twisted with rage. Before I could even speak, his hand came flying. The slap cracked across my face so hard I stumbled back. Warm blood ran down my nose.

"Nico"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted. "You've completely lost it!"

Donna Valente rushed to Serafina, wrapping her arms around her like a precious doll. "My poor child. Are you alright?" she cried.

Serafina sobbed harder. "Ever since we were kids, you've hated me, Bianca. You had everything. Our parents' love, the perfect life, and I was the one always left behind! And now you're still jealous?" she screamed. "Even after losing your baby, you can't stand that I'm carrying Nico's twins. At least my children are the true Valente heirs!"

I froze, her words slicing through me. She smirked through her tears. Her fingertips drifted to the hollow of her throat, resting there, featherlight.

"You have no right to hate my babies just because your bastard child died!"

The room went silent. My blood roared in my ears.

Nico turned away from me like he couldn't even stand the sight of me. "Guards!" he barked. "Get her out of here. Now."

Two soldiers came in and grabbed my arms. I tried to fight, but they dragged me across the floor like I was nothing. My blood smeared the tiles.

Donna Valente's voice rang behind me, cold and sharp. She adjusted the pearl rosary on her left wrist, one deliberate rotation of the beads. "I don't ever want that woman stepping foot in this house again, Nico. Do you hear me? Ever."

The last thing I saw before they threw me out was Serafina clutching Nico's shirt, pretending to cry, while he held her like she was the only thing worth protecting.

Then they dumped me in the basement of the compound.

Then I heard it.

A hiss.

My eyes flew open, and I froze.

Snakes.

There were snakes all around me. Big ones, small ones, dark ones coiled in the corners, their bodies sliding over the stone floor. One of them brushed against my leg, and I bit back a scream.

The single bulb above flickered and the wire door was padlocked shut. My whole body started shaking. The compound walls were thick enough to swallow any sound I made. No soldier posted at the door. No one had been told to check.

"Nico!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "Please! Get me out! You know I can'tplease!"

The door creaked open after a few seconds, and there he was, standing with his hands in his pockets, looking down at me like I was something disgusting. His right fist clenched and unclenched at his side, slow and rhythmic.

"Maybe this will teach you to stop losing your mind," he said flatly.

"Nico, please," I begged, tears burning my eyes. "You know I'm terrified of snakes. Please, I'll do anything, just get me out!"

He didn't even blink. "You should've thought of that before you ruined Serafina's nursery."

A hiss came from behind me. I turned just as one of the snakes, thick, black, and slow, slithered closer. I kicked back, screaming, but the thing lunged and sank its fangs into my ankle.

Pain exploded through me. I screamed until my throat went raw. "Nico! It bit me! Please, please, it bit me!"

But he didn't budge. He left me down there for ten hours. And when he opened the room again, I was shaking and crying. He ordered his soldiers to drag me out by my wrist and dump me in the car. I could barely breathe, my leg was burning, my skin felt like fire. Everything blurred.

I woke up again to the sound of rain hitting the windshield. My body was shaking uncontrollably. Nico was driving, his jaw clenched tight. No driver. No enforcers in the back seat. Whatever he was doing with me, he didn't want witnesses.

"N-Nico" I whispered, barely able to speak. "It hurts. Please, the hospital"

He didn't answer. He didn't even look at me.

Then his phone rang.

Serafina's voice filled the car. "Nico! Please come home! The babies something's wrong! They're not moving inside me."

Nico's hands tightened on the wheel.

"Nico" I croaked, "please don't"

He slammed the brakes and pulled over. The rain was coming down hard now. He didn't even look at me when he spoke.

"Get out."

I stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Get out, Bianca," he said again, his voice flat. "Serafina needs me."

"You're leaving me here? I can't even stand"

He finally looked at me, and there was nothing in his eyes. Nothing. "You'll live. Those snakes are mildly venomous. You won't die," he said.

Then he pushed open my door and shoved me out. I fell to the wet pavement, the rain soaking through my clothes. The road was dark. No streetlights. The territory between the Valente compound and the nearest neutral ground, a stretch where anyone found alone at night was assumed to be a message left for someone else.

The car door slammed shut.

Then he was gone.

I tried to stand, but the pain in my leg was unbearable. The world tilted, my vision blurred, and before I could take another step, a gunshot rang on the air.

I winced from pain and dropped.

When I came back, everything was wrong.

A man in scrubs stood over me, his face careful and tired. "Mrs. Valente, you were brought in with a gunshot to the abdomen. You were in a coma for five days. We did emergency surgery. I am sorry. The damage was too bad. You won't be able to carry a child anymore."

The words hit like a door slamming. "What do you mean?" I croaked.

He looked down. "The bleeding was severe. We removed what we had to to save your life."

My hands grabbed the sheet. My thumb pressed hard against the inside of my ring finger, against the skin where my wedding band sat, pressing until the knuckle ached and the rage had somewhere to go that wasn't my voice.

Then the door opened and Serafina glided in like she was a cloud. Soft pink dress, hand over her belly.

"Oh, sister," she cooed. "I heard. How terrible about your womb. What a tragedy. But think about it this way. Now you can focus on helping me raise my babies."

I tightened my fingers until the fabric bit my skin. "Why are you here?" I said, weak and burning. "Why are you always here?"

She laughed. "I just wanted to admire my work," she said and looked around the private clinic room like she owned the air. "I told them what needed doing. You survived the shooting, unlucky for you. But at least now you can never replace what I have."

A hot, stupid rage flared and I lunged for her hair. "You shot me!" I sobbed. "You had someone shoot me. How could you?! My baby is dead because of you."

Serafina screamed then, high and sharp. "Help! Help me! Nicooo!" she called, clutching at her belly, stumbling like I'd hurt her.

The door burst open.

"You fucking attacked her again?" he barked, shoving me away roughly. I toppled off the bed. Pain exploded along my side where the stitches tore. My blood ran warm and sticky on my gown.

"Nico! She had me shot"

He cut me off with a cold laugh. "Stop. I caught the guy who shot you. He says you paid him to stage it. Do you hear me? You staged your own attack."

My hands went numb. "No, no, I would never"

"Of course you would," he snapped. "You crave attention. You always have. You would do anything for it."

He leaned close, voice low and sharp. "How far will you go, Bianca? You even hurt the woman carrying my children. You are dangerous."

I tried to tell him I did not do it. I tried to tell him the truth. But he already turned away. "Serafina has a baptism celebration tonight. Be decent and help. Try to act human."

Serafina stepped forward, all sweetness. "Don't worry," she said, patting my arm like I was a stray dog. "I'll save you a piece of cake."

They left together, shoulders brushing, the family physician closing the door behind them.

I sat there while my phone buzzed on the bedside table. Salvatore Ferrante.

I opened the message with fingers that felt foreign.

Dissolution papers have been delivered.

When I got home, the compound was full of laughter. Music, clinking glasses, people talking like life was perfect. Pink and blue ribbons hung along the iron-railed balcony, and a banner stretched across the great room:

Welcome Baby Jaxton and Jayden Valente.

It hit me then. Tonight wasn't just the baptism celebration for Serafina's twins. It was supposed to be my wedding anniversary too.

But there was no sign of it. No flowers. No card. Not even a glance from Nico that said he remembered I existed.

People turned when I walked in, voices dropping to whispers.

"There she is."

"She still lives here? Poor thing."

"I heard she can't have children anymore. No wonder Nico stays with Serafina."

I didn't say a word. Just walked past like I didn't hear them. My legs still hurt from the clinic, but I climbed the stairs anyway. I couldn't stay there another second.

When I reached the master bedroom, my hand froze on the doorknob. The door was slightly open. Inside were pink curtains, baby clothes folded on the bed, framed photos of Serafina and Nico smiling.

My room. My bed. My memories. Gone.

Serafina had taken everything.

I stood there for a long time, then turned and went down the hall. The guest room was cold and smelled of dust, but I shut the door and lay down anyway. Maybe if I closed my eyes, the noise downstairs would disappear.

A few minutes later, the door slammed open. Nico stood there, still in his dark suit, face tight with anger. He threw a folded uniform at my face.

"Wear that. One of the waitresses didn't show. You'll serve food."

I looked at him. For a moment, I almost asked why. But then I realized it didn't matter. I picked up the uniform, my hands steady even though my chest felt hollow.

"Okay," I whispered.

He hesitated. For a second, something flickered in his eyes, but he turned away before it could stay.

"Just don't cause trouble," he muttered and left.

I changed quietly. The black uniform hung loose on me. I didn't even look in the mirror before stepping out.

As I was walking toward the stairs, Serafina's voice floated up from below, all sweet and fake.

"Oh, Bianca! You're helping tonight? That's so kind of you." Then she lowered her tone. "Could you give this to Nico? I need his signature to finalize a few things you know, the villa in the old neighborhood, the fleet of cars, the five resort properties he signed over to me, and those new storefronts the family launders through. You know how generous he is."

I took the documents from her hand, glanced at them, then slid another paper beneath them: my dissolution papers.

She blinked, surprised. "What's this? You're not even angry?"

I didn't answer. I just gave her a faint, tired smile and walked away.

In Nico's study, he was talking on the phone. Two soldiers stood near the door, eyes forward, pretending not to exist. When he saw the papers, he took them without question and started signing.

"All this for Serafina?"

He didn't look up. "Yeah. She deserves it."

His pen didn't stop moving. Not once.

And just like that, without even realizing, he signed everything. Her properties. And our dissolution.

By the time the guests arrived, the whole compound looked like something out of a magazine spread for one of the family's legitimate fronts. Lights everywhere, expensive food on every table, capos and their wives laughing like their lives were clean. Serafina was in the center of it all, glowing like she owned the entire world.

I stood at the back, in my black uniform, trying to look small.

Donna Valente walked in like the compound belonged to her alone. Pearls, perfume, and judgment filling the room. She adjusted the rosary wrapped around her left wrist, a single deliberate rotation of the beads, and surveyed the space as if taking attendance.

She saw me and her face twisted.

"Why is that woman here, Nico? I told you I don't want her stepping in this house again."

Nico didn't even look up from adjusting Serafina's shawl.

"We're short on staff, Ma."

Donna Valente laughed.

"Well, she does look better in that uniform. Go, get me my drink."

I didn't argue. I just nodded and went to fetch it. My hands shook a little, but I didn't let myself feel anything.

When I came back, Serafina suddenly slid her foot out just as I walked past. I stumbled. The tray tipped. The wine splashed right onto Donna Valente.

She screamed like I stabbed her.

"You ruined everything. Again. Just like how you ruined your own child's life. No wonder the baby died. And now look at you. Barren, useless, clumsy. You can't even carry a drink."

Her words hit harder than the fall. My throat tightened.

Serafina rushed in, acting shocked, acting worried.

"Oh Ma, please don't be angry. She's been through a lot. It's not her fault. Just forgive her. My sister is trying."

The room went quiet.

My sister.

She said it like she was some saint.

Donna Valente softened immediately, her gaze melting as she turned to Serafina.

"See, this is why I adore you. You're kind, pure, patient. Why can't you be like her, Bianca?"

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe.

I wiped my face, stood up slowly, and looked straight at Serafina.

"Kind?" I said, my voice shaking. "You want me to be like her? The same woman who took my husband, my home, and my baby? The same woman who lied about being sick so Nico would take my son's stem cells? The same woman who let my child die so she could get better?"

Gasps exploded around us. A capo's wife set her glass down too hard. One of the soldiers near the doorway shifted his weight.

Serafina blinked, her smile cracking just enough for me to see the truth under it.

Donna Valente glared at me, furious.

"Stop lying. Serafina would never harm a child!"

"She already did," I said. "Mine."

Nico stepped in then, jaw tight, eyes cold.

"What the fuck are you doing? This is Serafina's day. Don't ruin it with your nonsense."

My hands shook, but I didn't look away.

"You don't even remember what today is, do you."

He frowned.

"What now."

"Our anniversary."

Laughter broke out from the guests. Donna Valente smirked proudly. Serafina hid behind Nico's arm like she was scared.

Serafina suddenly grabbed her belly and let out a piercing scream that echoed through the whole hall.

"Ah! My stomach" she cried, doubling over. "Nico! It hurts! My babies, oh my god"

People froze. Music stopped. Every head turned.

Nico rushed toward her instantly.

"Seri! What's wrong? What happened?!"

"I I just remembered earlier I saw Bianca standing near my drink. II thought she was just fixing the glasses but what if she put something in it? I don't know but oh god, what if she wanted to hurt my babies?"

The room exploded.

"Oh my god! Poison?"

"Maybe something to cause a miscarriage!"

"She hates Serafina and everyone knows that!"

"She's jealous!"

"She's sick!"

I stared at Serafina, speechless, because she looked so damn believable.

"That's not true," I said quietly. "I didn't touch her"

Before I could finish, Nico grabbed my arm and shoved me so hard I fell onto the floor, my knees slamming into the marble tiles. The sound cracked through the dining hall of the Valente compound like a gunshot, and every conversation stopped.

"You think this is fucking funny?!" he roared. "If anything happens to her or my kids, I swear your life will be the price!"

I didn't even try to stand. I just sat there on the cold marble, feeling the last piece of me crumble.

The murmurs around us were venom. Wives of capos, associates, soldiers' girlfriends in cocktail dresses. Every one of them knew whose house this was, whose word was law within these walls, and whose side to take.

"That's her? She's disgusting."

"She wants Serafina dead because she can't have kids anymore."

"Jealous women are dangerous."

"She's evil."

Donna Valente adjusted the pearl rosary on her left wrist, a single deliberate rotation of the beads, and the room stilled even further.

"Nico, take Serafina to the clinic. NOW. We don't know what this woman did."

Nico didn't hesitate. He scooped Serafina into his arms and ran toward the exit while she whimpered and held onto him like her life depended on it. The moment they disappeared through the compound's front door, soldiers falling in behind them, the guests turned on me like a pack of wolves.

Someone threw a glass. It shattered near my leg.

"That's for hurting your pregnant sister!"

A splash of wine hit my face.

"That's for being jealous!"

A plate of food slammed into my shoulder.

"You monster!"

Someone actually threw a sandal that hit my face and it bled.

"You don't deserve to breathe the same air as her!"

I didn't shield myself. I didn't scream. I didn't defend anything.

I just sat there, letting them hit me, throw things at me, spit their words like poison. Because for the first time

I finally accepted it.

The night finally died down, the compound dark and silent, but my ears were still ringing with every insult, every broken plate, every splash of wine against my skin.

I locked myself inside the upstairs bathroom and leaned over the sink. The mirror showed a woman I barely recognized hair tangled, cheeks streaked with dried tears, and a thin line of blood dripping from where the sandal hit my forehead.

I pressed a towel to it, but the bleeding didn't stop right away.

"Happy anniversary, Nico," I whispered at my broken reflection. "You finally destroyed everything and somehow, you set me free."

My phone buzzed on the counter.

I didn't want to answer it but when I saw the name, my heart stopped.

Dominic.

I picked up with a trembling thumb. "Hello?"

"I'll be there tomorrow night. You're leaving that house. And tell me Is the dissolution done?"

My throat tightened. I stared at myself in the mirror at the bruises forming, at the dead look in my eyes.

"Yes," I whispered. "It's done."

"Good. I want our union settled the moment I arrive. I don't wait, Bianca."

The line went dead. His voice had been low, controlled, carrying the weight of a man who gave orders that moved entire families. Not a question in it. Not a single syllable that left room for negotiation.

I stared at my reflection again. At the bruises.

The cut The emptiness.

The next morning.

I woke up to heavy footsteps pounding outside my room. Before I could even sit up, the door slammed open. Nico stormed in, flanked by two enforcers, his face cold as ice. His right fist clenched and unclenched at his side.

"Grab her," he barked.

"Wait Nico, what are you doing?!" My voice cracked, panic clawing at me.

He didn't answer. The soldiers were on me in seconds, yanking me off the bed. I screamed, tried to fight, begged him, but he just stood there, unmoved.

"Stop! She's faking!" I yelled.

"Silence," he said flatly. "You've put my babies in danger. That's enough."

I realized in a sickening moment what he meant Serafina, his precious twins, were somehow "at risk," and I was the villain. I didn't even touch them, didn't even step near Serafina's drinks last night but it didn't matter. In Nico's eyes, I was the threat.

The soldiers threw me into the back of a black SUV, my limbs banging against the cold leather seats. Rain streaked the windows as the car roared through streets that cut across Valente territory.

"Serafina it's all fake!" I screamed, my voice raw. "She's faking! She's fine! You're being cruel!"

Nico didn't even glance at me. He sat rigid, hands clenched on the wheel. "Shut up. You're coming with me. Now."

At the private clinic, the scene was already set. Nurses stepped back, eyes wide, as Nico's voice boomed through the sterile corridor. Even here, on the family's payroll, his authority was absolute.

"Draw her blood. NOW. Serafina's twins are in danger. She's the reason."

"Mr. Valente! She's barely stable"

"I don't care! Do it!" Nico snapped.

"I can't! If we take more, she could collapse"

"DO IT!" he shouted, deaf to reason.

My body shook violently as the nurse restrained me, straps digging into my wrists and arms. I clawed at them, thrashing, screaming, every word guttural.

"No! Stop! Serafina, you're faking this! It's all lies! She's fine!"

But Nico didn't listen. He stood back, arms crossed, watching me as if I were nothing. His jaw was tight, his eyes hard, his voice sharp when he barked at the doctors.

"Take her blood. She's the reason my babies might be hurt."

I screamed louder, struggling against the straps, my lungs burning.

"Silence, monster," Donna Valente's voice cut through behind me, mocking. "Look at you. The woman who killed her own child. Do you think your jealousy will ever end? My Nico is smart to keep you tied down. You'll never touch my grandchildren."

I froze, my chest tightening as the nurses forced the needle into my arm. Cold metal, sharp pain, the red creeping into the transparent bag it was stealing pieces of me. Every gasp, every twitch, every drop of blood was another part of my life leaving.

Serafina, or at least the twins she carried, were safe but only because I suffered. And Nico he held her hand, stroked her hair, murmuring soft comforts that should have been mine once.

"I'm sorry, Nico this is all my fault," Serafina cried. "It's not your fault, Bianca is just being dramatic as always," Nico said coldly.

I shook violently, whispering through the tears and the pain: "Nico please make it stop"

He didn't turn. He didn't care. The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was Donna Valente smirking from the corner, the pearl rosary motionless on her wrist, nodding toward Nico, as if she had orchestrated my torment all along.

And then I let go.

When I woke up, everything looked too bright, too clean. For a second I honestly thought maybe I'd died.

Then I saw him.

Nico sat in the chair beside my bed, elbows on his knees, rubbing his face like he was the victim here. Like he was exhausted from my suffering.

"You're finally up. You've been out for two days."

I just stared at him, feeling nothing.

He let out a sigh like he was the one carrying the weight. "Look things got out of hand. I didn't think the blood thing would hit you that hard. I just panicked. Serafina needed help, and I couldn't let anything happen to her."

I kept my face empty.

"I know I haven't been the best husband lately. I've had a lot on my plate, and I guess I forgot about us. I even missed our anniversary." He made a small, self-pitying laugh. "But I want to fix that."

He reached down and placed a paper bag on my lap like it was some grand gesture.

"There's a dress inside. Something nice. When you're discharged, my driver will bring you to dinner. Your favorite place."

I just stared at the bag. It felt like looking at trash.

He forced a smile.

"Come on, Bianca. Try to look good again, okay? I'm giving you another chance to fix things with me."

He leaned down, kissed my forehead like he owned me, and walked out.

The second the door closed, the room went silent again. The hum of the private clinic's ventilation was the only sound. Somewhere down the corridor, one of the soldiers posted outside my door shifted his weight, the leather of his holster creaking faintly.

I grabbed my phone with shaky fingers. A new message lit the screen.

Dominic: Boarding my jet now. I'll be there tonight. Be ready.

My heart lurched. My hands almost dropped the phone.

Before I could lock it, Nico suddenly walked back in.

"Who texted you?" he asked sharply. "Let me see."

I hid the phone behind my back. "No."

His face darkened instantly, that ugly narcissistic anger twisting his features. His right fist clenched at his side, then unclenched, then clenched again. "Bianca. Don't get stupid with me. Let me see."

I didn't answer.

Before he could grab it, his phone rang. Serafina's name flashing on the screen.

He froze. Then everything about him softened in an instant.

"Tsk. Stay here," he muttered, already rushing out the door.

The moment he was gone, I let out a shaky breath I didn't realize I was holding.

The doctor came in after a while, not meeting my eyes. He washed his hands at the small sink even though he hadn't touched anything, rubbing them slowly under the water. "You're being discharged today," he said quietly. "Mr. Valente already settled everything."

Of course he did. Money was the only thing he used to feel like a good man. Tribute and laundered cash flowing through the family's treasury, and he thought a paid hospital bill made him generous.

A pair of nurses came in carrying a box and a bouquet of white roses.

"Mr. Valente said these are for you," one said gently.

I stared at the roses.

White. Pure. Innocent.

Exactly what I wasn't anymore.

I didn't even touch them.

I changed into the dress. Red satin, fitted perfectly, like he still remembered my measurements but had forgotten my entire existence.

The driver came to the door. One of the family's men, not a bodyguard but not nobody either. "Ma'am, the boss asked me to bring you straight to the restaurant."

I just nodded.

When I reached the table, I froze.

The restaurant was one of the family's front establishments, a place where the Valentes dined in a private back room with heavy curtains and no windows facing the street. The ma?tre d' had cleared the surrounding tables. Two of Nico's soldiers stood near the kitchen entrance, jackets unbuttoned.

Nico was already there, smiling like nothing was wrong and sitting right beside him was Serafina.

She looked perfect, of course she did. Ivory dress, glowing skin, both hands resting on her belly like she was posing for some magazine cover. Her fingertips drifted briefly to the hollow of her throat, then settled back on the curve of her stomach.

Nico looked a little nervous but still gave me that fake gentle smile.

"Bianca," he said, standing up. "Serafina didn't want to eat alone tonight. She's been stressed. I couldn't just leave her."

"Yeah," I said, sinking into my seat. "You never leave her."

He flinched but pretended not to notice.

"Let's just have a calm night, okay?"

Then he pulled out two things from a small bag.

The first bracelet he pushed toward me was cheap. Hand-made. Ugly uneven beads, childish colors.

"Serafina made this," he said, like it was supposed to mean something. "She said it's her way of saying thank you and sorry."

Serafina gave me a shy little smile, the kind that wasn't shy at all.

"I made it myself," she said sweetly. "I know you don't have many nice things, so I thought you'd appreciate something heartfelt."

The insult was so obvious it almost made me laugh.

Then Nico turned to her and clasped a diamond bracelet around her wrist with glittering stones, dripping money, the kind of thing only Serafina ever got.

"It looks perfect on you," he murmured to her.

Serafina lifted her wrist, admiring how the diamonds caught the light.

"It's beautiful, Nico. Really. You always know exactly what I like."

I set the cheap bracelet back on the table.

"I don't want this."

Nico's smile twitched. "Bianca"

"I said I don't want it."

He sighed, annoyed, then tried to act like everything was normal.

Asked about my health.

Asked if the compound was fine.

Small, empty questions.

I answered with one-word replies.

Meanwhile, Serafina kept talking about their childhood, how Nico used to sneak into her family's garden, how they used to play piano together, how close they used to be. Every story was just another knife she shoved into my ribs, and she knew it.

I stayed quiet.

Nico watched me every now and then, waiting for a reaction, hoping I'd look hurt so he could feel important. I didn't give him anything.

My thumb pressed hard against the inside of my ring finger, against the pale groove where the wedding band used to sit. I held it there until the pressure turned to pain, and I kept my hand beneath the tablecloth where neither of them could see.

Then I smelled it.

Gas.

Before I could say a word

BOOM.

The whole restaurant exploded.

Glass shattered. The floor shook. Flames roared up the walls. The heavy curtains of the private room caught fire instantly, and somewhere behind me one of the soldiers was screaming into a phone that would never connect.

I was thrown across the room, hitting the ground so hard everything spun.

"Nico!" I screamed. "Pleasehelp me!"

Through the smoke, he stood frozen for a second.

Then Serafina grabbed him, screaming dramatically,

"Nico! I can't move! The babies! Please, help me!"

She wasn't hurt. Not even a scratch.

Her acting was so perfect it made me sick.

I reached out for him, coughing, barely able to breathe.

"Nico please"

He looked between us. Between me half-buried under debris and Serafina pretending to sob.

Then something cold settled over his face.

"I'll come back for you!" he shouted at me.

But he didn't run toward me.

He ran straight out the door carrying Serafina.

The fire crackled louder. Heat wrapped around me like a burning cage. My legs were pinned and I couldn't move. My lungs fought for air. The remains of the private room collapsed inward, and through the gap where the door had been I could see nothing but flame and empty hallway.

So this is it?

This is how he leaves me.

This is how he finally kills me without touching me.