Chapter 3My Husband Claimed He Was Allergic to Women,Until I Saw Him With His Mistress

Delphina's face went bloodless in an instant.

And I caught the surprise in Lorenzo's eyes.

Yes, I know the silent hands too. But he had never once cared to learn a single thing about me.

I pulled my gaze away, gave the guests a polite nod, and turned to leave.

I had barely stepped out of the private dining room when a figure blocked my path. Behind him, two of his enforcers went still as statues, hands loose at their sides.

"Serafina, do you have any idea what you just did?!"

Lorenzo's face was thunderous. In a room full of made men, no one raised their voice to a Falcone. He did not need to. But here, on the marble steps of the Family's front, he had forgotten himself.

"Who gave you the right to smear Delphina in front of everyone?!"

"There were people from the papers at this table tonight. If word carries to the Commission, how is she supposed to hold her head up? Who would ever take her word again?!"

I looked at the fury on his face and answered evenly.

"Smearing someone means making things up out of nothing. Did you not have your arms around her?"

"Stop pretending, Lorenzo. I know you're not allergic to her. I saw you massaging her ankle."

Caught out to his face, Lorenzo had nothing to say for a moment. The signet ring on his right hand turned once, slow, against his knuckle.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated.

"So what? Delphina is different to me."

"Whatever the case, you carry the Falcone name. You're my blood-bound wife. Isn't that enough for you? Serafina, don't be so greedy."

Five years bound to him under Omertà, and not once did I get so much as an embrace from my husband. Was that what greed looked like?

He was no longer the little boy he had once been, the one who'd shared the dark with me when we were both nothing but merchandise.

I swallowed down the bitterness in my throat.

"You're right. Greed is wrong. So I'll correct my mistake. Lorenzo, let's cast this off. I want out."

A guest came hurrying out, knocked into me without meaning to, and sent me tumbling down the steps. My knee split open, bleeding at once. The soldiers by the door did not move. A man does not lift a hand the Don has not blessed.

Lorenzo's hand shot out on instinct, hesitated a few seconds, then drew back.

"Serafina, quit making a scene."

"If you still want an heir for the Family, we can arrange it through the clinic again. As long as you don't touch me, we can go on exactly like before."

He was about to say more when his head snapped around.

Not far off, Delphina stood with a hand pressed to her mouth, watching us and crying. The tears came a fraction too quick, the trembling lip a shade too wide. Then she reeled it back into something softer.

"Serafina, go to the Family's clinic first. We'll talk when we get home. I am not casting you out."

Lorenzo left those words behind in a rush and went to Delphina without a moment's hesitation.

I watched him gather her into his arms, aching and helpless, then take her hand and leave, never once looking back at me.

I stumbled back into the car, and the tears I had held in for so long finally fell.

Lorenzo, there's nothing left for us to talk about.

That very afternoon, word went out from the Falcone Family.

"Should anyone continue to slander Miss Serpico, the Family's consigliere will see the offending party ruined, their name struck from every ledger, their business left in ashes."

When the message reached me, I was standing at the door of Lorenzo's study.

Lorenzo hated being disturbed at his work. That room, where the Family's true business was settled behind a closed door, had always been off-limits to me.

"Sign this document."

He was on the phone, his voice unbearably gentle.

"What do you want after the theater? All right, I'll send the car for you myself."

Maybe it was the good mood. He showed no displeasure at all that I'd walked in uninvited.

He didn't even glance at me, just signed without lifting his head. His hand went flat on the desk when the pen stopped. The thing was already decided in his mind, and it had nothing to do with me.

He set down the phone, stood, and went to put on his coat.

On his way out, Lorenzo turned to look at me.

"Serafina, I'm glad you've come around. I'll have Nico bring you a card with no ceiling on it. Buy whatever you want and just swipe it. No need to come find me for a signature."

"Consider it tribute for the fall off the cliff."

He had no idea that what he'd just signed was the pact that severed our blood oath.

I looked toward the single bed in the study. The corner of an exquisite case peeked out from underneath it.

The moment I opened it, a mocking laugh slipped out of me.

Inside was a life-size replica doll, made to look exactly like Delphina.

No wonder Lorenzo had never let me into his study.