"I'm sorry, Bianca," he said, his voice low and full of regret. "I shouldn't have put you in this position."

For one brief second, his warmth felt familiar. Almost painful.

Then he continued.

"It's just that Adriana has a child. I brought her here, so I felt responsible for making sure she got home safely."

The warmth vanished.

So even his apology had to include her. Even when he came back to me, he still had to explain why she mattered more.

Then his tone shifted slightly.

"Why didn't you just wait at my Thorne's house?" he asked. "It's raining so hard. You're carrying our child. What if something happened?"

There it was again. The complaint hidden beneath concern.

I turned in his arms and looked at him.

"Are you the only person who can take her home?"

Mira froze.

"What?"

"You and Vincent both drove here tonight," I said calmly. "Are you really the only one who can see Adriana home?"

His expression changed. First confusion. Then embarrassment. Then annoyance. His lips pressed together, and for once, he seemed unable to find the right excuse.

"I…"

I didn't let him finish.

"You wanted to take her home."

The words were simple. Quiet. But they landed heavily between us, heavier than the rain hammering the stone beneath our feet.

A shadow crossed Mira's face. He sighed, sounding tired, as if I had forced him into another unreasonable conversation.

"Bianca, are you jealous again?"

Again. That word almost made me laugh.

"I only see Adriana as a sister," he said. "You know that."

I said nothing.

He continued, his voice softening into the familiar tone he always used when trying to make me feel guilty.

"She's alone. Her husband is dead. She has a child to raise by herself. Life isn't easy for her. We grew up together in this world. I'm just helping her."

Helping her. He always made it sound so noble. As if every time he abandoned me, it was an act of kindness. As if my pain was proof of my selfishness.

I pushed him away.

His body warmth disappeared, leaving only the cold rain against my skin.

"Helping her so much that you left the Family's waterfront operations and started a new crew with her?"

Mira's face changed. For a second, he looked genuinely caught off guard. His hand drifted to his wrist, smoothing the strap of his watch flat against the skin, the way he always did when he was about to make a betrayal sound reasonable.

But he recovered quickly.

"You misunderstood," he said. "The operation isn't just me and Adriana. It's a joint effort. All of us saw an opportunity, and we're trying to build something together."

He adjusted the watch again, forcing himself back into that composed, affectionate version of a husband. The version that used to fool me.

"Don't overthink it," he said gently. "You're going to be a Thorne soon. Why are you still so jealous?"

Then he smiled faintly, as if he were saying something reasonable.

"You wouldn't want to raise a jealous child, would you?"

My fingers curled at my sides. My wedding band pressed into my palm, the stone biting hard against the flesh.

Our child is gone.

The words rose to my throat. For one second, I almost told him. I almost wanted to see his face collapse, wanted him to know that while he was busy playing savior to Adriana and father to her child, he had already lost his own.

But before I could speak, his phone rang.

The moment he answered, a small, cheerful voice came through the speaker.

"Dad, why don't you come see me? I miss you!"

Dad.

The word cut through the rain sharper than thunder.

Panic flashed across Mira's eyes. He immediately covered the receiver with his hand and turned away from me, walking quickly toward the house as if distance could hide what I had already heard.

A few minutes later, he came out changed into fresh clothes. Ready to leave. Again.

"I'm sorry, Bianca," he said, guilt written all over his face. "Adriana said Nico is sick and wants to see me."

I looked at him. The rain was still dripping from my hair. My ankle still ached. My body was still weak. And he was leaving. Again.

I shook my head and smiled faintly.

"I'm fine. You should go."

He seemed relieved. That relief was more painful than any argument could have been.

He leaned down and kissed my cheek gently.

"Once I finish dealing with this, I promise I won't contact her alone again," he said. "I'll make more time for you and the baby."

The baby.

I almost laughed. But I didn't. I only watched him leave, watched the taillights flare red through the rain and swing past the open gate where the night guard didn't even bother to check. The Underboss came and went as he pleased. Everyone moved for him. Everyone except the woman who bore his name.

As soon the gate closed behind him, my phone buzzed. Then again. And again.

Messages from Vincent and a few of Mira's crew appeared one after another.

[Sister-in-law, something happened to Adriana. Can you ask Mira to go over?]

[Sister-in-law, Adriana's kid is crying for Mira. Help us out.]

[Sister-in-law, don't be angry. This is urgent.]

I stared at the messages, feeling nothing.

They had never respected me as Mira's wife. But whenever they needed me to make things easier for Adriana, suddenly I became "sister-in-law." How convenient.

I ignored every message.

Then I opened my chat with my supervisor and began discussing the Marseille transfer in detail. Work location. Transfer timeline. Documents needed. Possible start date.

For the first time in a long while, I felt the fog in front of me begin to clear.

Later that night, I opened one of the private social feeds that circulated through Family-adjacent circles.

Adriana had posted a new update.

The two most important men in my life.

Attached was a photo. In it, Mira and Nico were sleeping side by side. The child was curled against him, two small fingers hooked into the fabric of Mira's shirt, gripping tight, refusing to let go even in sleep.

Mira's face was peaceful. Soft. At ease. Like he had finally returned to where he truly belonged.

I stared at the photo for a long time.

Then I quietly turned off my phone.

Some truths didn't need to be questioned anymore. They only needed to be accepted.

Mira's so-called venture into running his own front went more smoothly than I had expected.

Not long after the operation was set up, he secured his first arrangement.

That day, he was almost glowing with excitement. The moment he came home, he pulled me into his arms and told me he wanted me to attend the celebration dinner with him.

"Bianca," he said, his voice unusually sincere, "from now on, I'll be there for you and the baby."

He held my hand tightly, as if afraid I would pull away.

"If you ever feel that something is wrong, just tell me. I'll change. I'll make it right."

His words sounded so earnest.

So familiar.

Once, I would have believed him without hesitation.

Now, I only listened quietly.

Some promises were like cheap glass. They looked clear and beautiful under the light, but the moment you touched them, they cut your hand.

Still, I went with him.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Mira seemed to be in a good mood. He led me inside, his hand resting lightly on my back, acting every bit like a considerate husband. The kind of man the Family expected him to be in public. The kind of man who kept his wife close enough that no one at a neighboring table would think twice.

But the moment the waitress saw us, her smile froze.

It was only for a second, but I caught it.

She looked at Mira, then at me.

Her expression became strange.

As she guided us toward the private room, she leaned slightly closer and whispered in a voice just loud enough for me to hear.

"Why did you change partners?"

My steps stopped.

The words fell into the air like a stone sinking into deep water.

Change partners?

So he had been here before.

With someone else.

No.

Not someone else.

Adriana.

A chill spread through my chest, slow and heavy.

Before I could react, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from my supervisor at Ledger Cell Three.

Something urgent had come up with the accounts, and she needed me to return immediately.

I read the message and quietly put my phone away.

Mira noticed.

His expression darkened almost at once.

"What is it?"

"Work," I said. "There's an urgent matter with the books. I need to go back."

His brows furrowed.

"Can't you put your work aside for me, just this once?"

The disappointment came so suddenly that it almost made me laugh.

For him?

How many times had I needed him, only for him to brush me off with the same excuse?

Work.

Too busy.

Too tired.

Too important.

I had once gone out of my way to bring him meals at the social club, afraid his stomach would act up if he skipped dinner again. But when one of his crewmates complimented my outfit and casually asked for my contact information, Mira turned cold on the spot.

That night, he accused me of using concern as an excuse to monitor him.

He said I made him feel suffocated.

He said I didn't trust him.

He said I should stop interrupting his work.

From then on, I learned not to disturb him.

But now, when it was my work on the line, he expected me to abandon everything for a celebration dinner that had nothing to do with me.

How ridiculous.

I looked at him and shook my head.

"I really have to go."

Mira began pacing in place, irritation written all over his face.

"Bianca, you're the one who keeps saying you don't trust me and Adriana," he said, his tone growing sharper. "That's why I brought you here today. I wanted you to see for yourself that there's nothing between us."

He stopped and looked at me, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

"But now that you want to leave, don't turn around and blame me later. Don't let jealousy take over again."

Jealousy.

That word had followed me for so long that it had almost lost its meaning.

In their eyes, every question I asked was jealousy.

Every wound I exposed was jealousy.

Every boundary I tried to defend was jealousy.

But the truth was, I no longer had the energy to be jealous.

Jealousy required hope.

It required the belief that the person in front of you still belonged to you in some way.

And I had already stopped believing that.

So I only nodded.

"Fine."

My calmness seemed to unsettle him.

But I didn't stay to explain.

After finalizing the details of my transfer to the Marseille operation, my supervisor confirmed the departure date.

Next Sunday.

Only a few days left.

She looked at me for a long moment, concern softening her voice.

"Bianca, you've lost a lot of weight recently. Are you still in a cold war with your husband?"

I lowered my eyes and didn't answer.

A cold war?

Maybe.

Or maybe I was simply waiting.

Waiting for the final page of this marriage to turn.

Waiting for the verdict that had already been written long ago.

My wedding band pressed into my palm where I'd turned it inward without thinking, the stone biting into the skin.

Just then, a friend request appeared on my phone.

The profile picture looked familiar.

It was the waitress from the restaurant.

I stared at it for a few seconds, then accepted.

Almost immediately, she sent me a video.

I clicked on it.

The private room appeared on the screen.

Laughter filled the background. The low, loose laughter of men who thought no one outside that room would ever matter.

Adriana was sitting beside Mira, holding a glass of wine in her hand. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her smile was soft and sweet. One finger rested lightly on the tiny gold crucifix at her throat, as though every ounce of her innocence lived in that single gesture.

Then, under the loud cheering of Mira's so-called brothers, she lifted the glass to his lips.

"Drink it," someone shouted. "Come on, Mira, don't disappoint Adriana!"

The room erupted in teasing laughter.

Mira did not refuse.

He lowered his head and drank from the glass in Adriana's hand.

Their faces were close.

Too close.

The people around them whistled and jeered, as if they were watching a couple flirt openly. Made men, associates, soldiers on the Family payroll, all of them raising their glasses to something they had already decided was real.

No one thought it was inappropriate.

No one remembered that Mira had a wife.

No one remembered that I had just been standing beside him not long ago.

The video ended.

For a while, I simply stared at the black screen.

Then another message came from the waitress.

[You are the most disgusting mistress. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be seen in the light.]

I read the sentence once.

Then again.

A strange numbness spread through me.

So that was how it looked from the outside.

Adriana sat beside my husband, fed him wine in front of everyone, accepted their cheers, enjoyed their teasing, and somehow I was the mistress.

I was the one who could not be seen.

I was the shameful one.

I was the woman who had stolen someone else's place.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

For a moment, anger burned through the numbness, sharp and bright.

Not because the waitress had insulted me.

But because I finally understood how thoroughly Mira and his crew had rewritten the story.

In their version, Adriana was the lost love.

Mira was the devoted man who had never truly let go.

And I was nothing more than an obstacle.

A mistake.

A woman who had occupied a position that should have belonged to someone else.

I looked at the video again.

At Adriana's smile.

At Mira's lowered head.

At the people around them laughing as if they were blessing something beautiful.

Then I slowly closed the chat.

There was no need to explain myself to strangers.

No need to argue with people who had already chosen what they wanted to believe.

The truth did not need to shout.

It only needed to wait.

And soon, I would be gone.