Chapter 1 - THE WORDS BEHIND THE HALF-OPEN DOOR
Her mother whispered, “Then tell him the truth before you lose him.”
I stopped breathing outside the sitting room.
Inside, Alina gave a broken little laugh.
“What truth, Mom? That I fell in love with a man who married me because my family needed money?”
My fingers tightened around the divorce papers.
Twenty-seven pages suddenly felt heavier than every company I'd ever bought.
Her mother, Evelyn, answered carefully.
“Dante may have agreed to an arrangement, but you've lived with him for three years. Surely you know him better than that.”
“That is exactly why I have to leave.”
Alina's voice shook.
“He is loyal. Responsible. Protective. If he discovers what happened, he'll stay because he thinks abandoning me would make him cruel.”
What happened?
My heart started pounding.
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
A silence followed.
Then Alina said something that made every muscle in my body lock.
“He wants children.”
I stared at the door.
“I've heard him talk to Luca about succession. I've watched him with his goddaughter. He deserves a family, Mom.”
Her mother sighed.
“And you think he cannot have one with you?”
Alina began crying.
Not loudly.
That made it worse.
“Dr. Brennan told me six months ago that the chances are almost nonexistent.”
The papers slipped slightly in my hand.
My wife had been dealing with this for six months.
Alone.
“She said the damage was probably permanent.”
Damage?
I took one silent step closer.
Evelyn whispered, “Alina, none of this was your fault.”
“I know.”
“Then why haven't you told Dante?”
“Because he would look at me differently.”
“No, he wouldn't.”
“You don't understand him.”
“I understand men who love their wives.”
Alina went silent.
Her mother continued.
“He watches you every time you leave a room.”
My chest tightened.
“He doesn't love me,” Alina whispered.
“He feels responsible for me.”
That sentence cut deeper than it should have.
Because I had spent three years believing the exact opposite.
That Alina was kind because she felt grateful.
That she remained beside me because I had rescued her family.
That asking for more would turn a business arrangement into a prison.
We had been standing on opposite sides of the same marriage, each believing the other deserved freedom.
I looked down at the divorce papers.
Then I slowly tore the first page in half.
The sound carried through the doorway.
Silence.
“Mom?”
I pushed open the door.
Alina was standing beside the fireplace.
Her face went white when she saw me.
Her mother froze.
Nobody spoke.
I held up the ruined divorce papers.
“Were you ever planning to tell me?”
Alina stared at them.
Her lips parted.
“You were divorcing me?”
The pain in her voice stopped me.
“Alina—”
She backed away.
“You already had the papers?”
“They weren't signed.”
“But you wanted them.”
“I thought you wanted them.”
Her eyes filled.
Neither of us seemed capable of speaking.
Then Evelyn quietly stood.
“I think I should leave.”
“No,” Alina said quickly.
But her mother touched her arm.
“You two should have had this conversation three years ago.”
She walked toward the door.
When she passed me, she paused.
Her expression wasn't angry.
It was afraid.
And before leaving, she whispered something only I could hear.
“Ask your wife why she thinks her condition was caused by an accident.”
I looked sharply at her.
But Evelyn was already gone.
I turned toward Alina.
“What accident?”
Her face drained of color.
“Dante.”
“What happened to you?”
She looked toward the floor.
May you like
Then whispered:
“The doctors don't think it was an accident.”
