I was the one who ran to him. I carried him to the Family doctor myself, refusing to leave his side. That was the moment I truly understood how bad things were for him. From then on, I made sure he never went hungry again. I paid for his meals, helped him get back on his feet, stood beside him when he had nothing. My father, Don Salvatore, took pity on him because I asked. Brought him in as a low-level associate. Gave him a name that meant something.
And somewhere along the way, we fell in love.
Or at least, I thought we did.
And Giada?
She had never been just a colleague or an outsider.
She was his past. His childhood sweetheart. The girl he had loved long before I ever entered his life. They had supposedly broken up years ago, their story finished and buried.
But I guess some stories never really end.
Around us, the crowd began to murmur, whispers spreading like wildfire through the ballroom of the Valente estate.
"God, poor Seraphina… She just gave everything to those kids, and now he does this to her?"
"Didn't they agree not to have children at all? And then he goes and adopts two behind her back? That's insane."