The second I opened the door, I heard a noise coming from the nursery, and my anger flared white-hot. Dante 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 baby.

And now he wanted to give that to Nicoletta?

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

I yanked her up without thinking, rage burning in my chest. But before I could get a word out, Dante 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.

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

"Do you remember…"

"Enough, Seraphina!" he cut me off, irritated. "Everything you've done these past few days has been disappointing. If you keep acting like this, I'll have to reconsider whether this alliance should even continue." He paused, eyes cold. "You don't want the baby inside you to be born without a father, do you?"

He was threatening me. Not with lawyers, not with paperwork. With dissolution. In this world, that meant exile. It meant my child growing up outside the protection of any Family name. It meant nothing.

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

Behind me, Dante 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 Nicoletta 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 Nicoletta.

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

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

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

Even the nursery itself was prepared by Dante for the child in Nicoletta's womb.

I and the baby were just tools for Dante's rehearsal. He didn't want Nicoletta 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.

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

I clenched my phone so tightly my hand shook. 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. Free of the Morano compound, the enforcer at the gate, the locked rooms and the silence that passed for loyalty in this house. My fingers drifted to the inside of my left wrist, tracing the ridged skin there without thinking.

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

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

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

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

After Nicoletta moved into the compound, Dante 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.

"Dante," she cooed, "I heard the Morano crest medallion really works wonders. The baby's been keeping me up at night... could I borrow it for a while?"

The medallion wasn't just a piece of jewelry. It was a Morano Family heirloom, centuries old, passed down through every generation. A symbol that whoever wore it was the rightful wife of the Don. Dante had given it to me on the day our alliance was sealed, fastened the chain around my neck himself. He said it would be mine forever. Because there would never be another Donna Morano.

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 baby'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. Dante 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. The house was quiet. Down the corridor, one of the soldiers stationed at the back entrance shifted his weight, then went still again, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.

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

I didn't say anything.

He hesitated again before speaking. "Nicoletta's been having trouble sleeping. Do you think you could let her borrow the medallion 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."

Dante'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.

Nicoletta'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 Nicoletta has the baby, I'll give it back. Don't worry. Your place in this family isn't going anywhere."

So he did remember what the medallion 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 dissolution papers in hand, already flipped to the page where his signature was needed. The documents that would sever the blood-bound alliance between the Valente and Morano families. Every clause had been drawn up by my father's consigliere weeks ago. All it needed was the Don's name at the bottom.

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

He signed the papers without even glancing at them.

As soon as I held the signed dissolution in my hands, the storm inside me quieted. I never expected it would be this easy. The Don of the Morano Family had just signed away his alliance with the Valentes. And he didn't even know it.

Dante 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.

I unclasped the medallion from around my neck and handed it to him, expressionless.

For a moment, he hesitated. His thumb traced the crest, the old silver warm from where it had rested against my skin. But eventually, he took it and held it tight.

"Don't worry. Once the baby'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, Dante pulled me into a hug. I pushed him off immediately, but he didn't seem to mind. He turned and walked straight back into Nicoletta's room.

A second later, I heard her squealing with joy.

I just stood there, staring out the window. My fingers found the inside of my left wrist without thinking, pressing against the ridged skin where the burn scars began.

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