Chapter 4After Seven Years as the Don's Mistress, I'm Done

The moment Raffaele saw me lying pale in the hospital bed, his expression changed.

“Livia, what happened?”

Losing my baby had left me hollow. I stared blankly at the man in front of me, unable to tell whether I hated him or regretted ever loving him.

Domenica stepped forward before I could answer.

“It was my fault. I followed Livia because I wanted to apologize for yesterday, and I rear-ended her car.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Raffaele looked from her to me, his face hardening with concern.

“Since it was an accident, there’s no reason to take this any further. Livia, whatever compensation you want, I’ll give it to you.”

I let out a bitter, broken laugh.

“Compensate me?”

“Livia, it was an accident.” His voice lowered. “My brother is dead. I promised him I would protect her. I can’t let one mistake destroy her standing in the Family.”

“So what do you want?”

Raffaele drew a document from the inside pocket of his coat and placed it on the bedside table.

“This keeps the accident private. No police report, no formal complaint, no Family involvement. Sign it, and this ends here.”

I was so furious that I laughed. Even after Domenica had put me in a hospital bed, Raffaele was still taking her side.

“I WILL NOT SIGN IT!”

Raffaele’s expression tightened. For a long moment, he said nothing. His jaw flexed, and something conflicted passed through his eyes.

Then he reached for his phone.

“I didn’t want to do this, Livia.”

He turned the screen toward me. On it was a photo of the box containing everything my father had left behind.

My breath stopped.

“Raffaele, those are my father’s things! What are you doing?”

A flicker of pain and guilt crossed his eyes before he looked away.

“Sign the agreement, and no one touches your father’s things.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re threatening me with my father’s belongings?”

His grip tightened around the phone.

“I’m asking you to let this go.”

Something inside me cracked all over again.

“Raffaele, do you even know what I lost because of her? I lost our—”

“Livia, please!”

Domenica suddenly dropped to her knees beside my bed.

She looked up at me through tear-filled eyes.

“His parents can never know about this. If they find out I caused a scandal right after becoming Donna, I’ll lose everything I have in the Family.”

“Domenica.” Raffaele frowned. “Get up.”

She shook her head.

“Not until Livia forgives me.”

Raffaele’s jaw tightened. He looked at Domenica on her knees, then at me.

“Livia, enough. She’s already begging you. What more do you want?”

I stared at him.

He had come to my hospital room without even knowing why I was here, yet somehow, he had already decided that Domenica was the one who needed protecting.

The words I had almost spoken died in my throat.

There was no point anymore.

I looked down at the agreement, then slowly rested a hand over my now-flat stomach.

My baby was gone. Whatever had existed between Raffaele and me should end here too.

“Fine. I’ll sign.”

I took the pen and signed my name at the bottom.

Raffaele visibly relaxed, but the moment he saw the dead look in my eyes, an inexplicable fear came over him.

“Livia…”

I handed the agreement back to him.

“Take her home.”

He reached for my hand and held it tightly.

“No. I’m staying here with you.”

I gently pulled my hand from his.

“I just want to be alone for a while.”

I turned my face toward the window. There was nothing left for us to talk about.

A long silence passed between us. In the end, Raffaele let go of my hand and left.

Early the next morning, I checked myself out of the hospital and went our home one last time. Raffaele was away handling urgent business for the Family.

I began packing my things one by one, including everything my father had left me.

For years, I had believed this would be the home Raffaele and I shared for the rest of our lives. I had never bothered drawing lines between what belonged to him and what belonged to me.

Only when I finally began packing did I realize that leaving someone’s life behind could fit into two suitcases.

That afternoon, I arrived at the airport with two suitcases. The Paris firm had already confirmed my start date.

Once I was on the plane, I switched off my phone, pulled out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and dropped it into the trash bag.

Through the window, I took one last look at the city I had called home for seven years.

Raffaele, may we never see each other again.

At the same time, Raffaele had just finished a Family meeting when the hospital called.

“Mr. Moretti, we’re calling about Miss Bellandi. She insisted on leaving after the miscarriage, and we were concerned about her condition. We just wanted to make sure she was all right.”

The phone slipped from Raffaele’s hand and hit the floor. “What did you say?!”