The second I opened the door, I heard a noise coming from the nursery, and my anger flared up. Elias had renovated that room the moment he found out I was pregnant. He'd filled it with only the best. Every piece of furniture, every stuffed animal, every blanket. He picked them all out himself. For our Paolo.

And now he wanted to give that to Serena?

Fury surged through me. I stormed down the hallway and swung the door open, only to find Serena lying in the crib.

I yanked her up without thinking, rage burning in my chest. But before I could get a word out, Elias grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from her.

"What is wrong with you? You act like a lunatic the second you walk in," he snapped. But when he saw the tears in my eyes, he hesitated, his grip loosening just a little.

"Are you really giving her this room?" I asked, my voice raw and broken.

Elias frowned. "Serena said she likes it. It's not a big deal if she stays here for a while."

"Do you remember…"

"Enough, Bianca." He cut me off, the irritation in his voice carrying that particular quiet command he used when he expected the conversation to die. "Everything you've done these past few days has been disappointing. If you keep acting like this, I'll have to reconsider whether this marriage should even continue." He paused, eyes cold. "You don't want the Paolo inside you to be born without a father, do you?"

He was threatening me. Not with lawyers, not with paperwork. In this life, a dissolved marriage meant losing the protection of the Falcone name entirely. It meant being sent back to my father's house like damaged goods, the alliance between our families shattered, my child marked before he even drew his first breath.

Looking at his face, the side he always turned away when he was done with an argument, I felt the memories unravel. The promises, the whispered sweet nothings, all turning to ash in a matter of months.

He once said this room would always belong to our Paolo. He said he would treasure both of us for the rest of his life.

And yet here we were.

I didn't say anything else. I turned around and walked out, numb. My hand instinctively cradled my belly, feeling the faint flutter of life inside me.

"Don't worry, Paolo. We don't need that room. I'll make you a better one."

Behind me, Elias stood frozen, watching me walk away. That same flicker of guilt from the clinic flashed across his face again, sharp and quick, then buried.

But as Serena called out to him from the nursery, he turned and walked back to her.

Later, when I was back in the master bedroom, my phone buzzed. I got a string of voice messages from Serena.

I opened them one by one, and hearing Elias's doting tone in the recordings, I realized all their past affection was just practice for him.

He was practicing on me and our Paolo, all for the sake of Serena's child.

Every nourishing soup I drank, every gift I received for the Paolo, every parenting tip Elias shared with me. It was all just practice for Serena's Paolo.

Even the nursery itself was prepared by Elias for the child in Serena's womb.

I and the Paolo were just tools for Elias's rehearsal. He didn't want Serena to suffer through his learning curve, so I became the sacrifice.

I listened to the messages over and over, the pain swelling inside me until I laughed. Not because it was funny, because it hurt so much it pushed me over the edge. Everything I had been so proud of since the moment I got pregnant had been nothing but a lie.

Elias's tenderness toward my child? It didn't even come close to what he showed Serena and hers.

I clenched my phone so tightly my hand shook. My thumb found the edge of the saint medal at my throat, pressing hard enough to leave an imprint. It hurt to breathe. All I could do was whisper over and over to myself that it was okay.

It was okay. Because soon, we'd be free of him.

Just me and the Paolo. And we'd be just fine.

The Paolo kicked, like he could hear me. Like he understood.

I wrapped my arms around my belly and held it close.

The compound was quiet around me. No soldiers moving in the hall. No voices from the nursery anymore. Just the silence of a house that had already chosen its side.

I stayed that way for a long time, until I could finally breathe again.

After Serena moved in, Elias practically glued himself to her side.

And me? I stopped expecting anything from him the moment I saw the truth.

One night, as I walked downstairs to get some water, I heard her voice through the slightly open door of the guest room. Two of his soldiers stood at the far end of the hall, eyes forward, pretending they couldn't hear a thing.

"Elias," she cooed, "I heard that saint medal from your family works really well. The Paolo's been keeping me up at night... could I borrow it for a while?"

The medal wasn't just a piece of jewelry. It was a Falcone bloodline relic, passed down through generations. A symbol that whoever wore it was the rightful wife of the Boss. Elias had given it to me on our wedding day, clasped it around my neck himself in front of the entire Family. He said it would be mine forever, because there would never be another Mrs. Falcone.

His voice pulled me out of the memory.

Through the gap in the door, I saw him press a gentle kiss to her cheek and smile. "Of course. I'll ask her for it. You can wear it as long as you want, at least until the Paolo's born."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.

I couldn't even remember his exact promise anymore, but it didn't matter. Because clearly, neither could he.

I took a step back, but the floor creaked under my foot. Elias opened the door and found me standing there. He looked startled. Guilty, even. He stepped outside, pulled the door shut behind him and led me to a corner of the hallway, away from the soldiers' line of sight.

"Bianca... you heard that, didn't you?" he asked hesitantly.

I didn't say anything.

He hesitated again before speaking. "Serena's been having trouble sleeping. Do you think you could let her borrow the medal for a bit?"

I nodded slowly, but at that moment, a sharp pain twisted through my side. I winced and swallowed it down.

"I'll give it to her, but on one condition."

Elias's face lit up like I'd just handed him the moon. He stepped toward me, ready to wrap me in a hug, but I took a step back before he could touch me.

Serena's scent was all over him. It made me want to gag.

"I'm glad you're finally coming around," he said with a relieved smile. "Once Serena has the Paolo, I'll give it back. Don't worry. Your place in this Family isn't going anywhere."

So he did remember what the medal stood for.

"I don't care if she never gives it back," I said quietly. "I just need you to sign this."

I turned and walked upstairs.

A minute later, I came back down with the severance papers in hand, already flipped to the page where his signature was needed. The hallway was dim, the compound quiet except for the low murmur of a television somewhere deeper in the house.

"There's no need to be upset," he said softly, like he was trying to soothe me. "Serena's not going to keep it forever. Like I said, I'll return it once she has the Paolo."

He signed the papers without even glancing at them.

As soon as I held the signed severance papers in my hands, the storm inside me quieted. I never expected it would be this easy. The Don of the Falcone Family had just signed away his marriage without reading a single line.

Elias gave me a small smile. "I know I haven't been there for you these past few months. Go ahead and buy whatever you want. I'll take care of the bill."

So that's why he was so quick to sign. He thought this was just me angling for a shopping spree.

My thumb found the edge of the saint medal at my throat one last time. Then I unclasped it and handed it to him, expressionless.

For a moment, he hesitated. But eventually, he took it and held it tight.

"Don't worry. Once the Paolo's born, it'll be yours again," he repeated, like he needed to convince himself.

But I didn't care anymore.

"She can wear it for as long as she wants," I said flatly.

Overcome with emotion, Elias pulled me into a hug. I pushed him off immediately, but he didn't seem to mind. He turned and walked straight back into Serena's room.

A second later, I heard her squealing with joy.

I just stood there, staring out the window. Beyond the compound walls, the city lights bled into a haze above the rooftops. Somewhere past the gate, a car engine idled, one of the night-shift soldiers waiting out his watch.

Tomorrow was the day I'd leave. And this time, I wouldn't hesitate.