Chapter 5
Aurora’s POV
The first thing I noticed was the sound.
A slow, rhythmic beep pierced my unconsciousness.
I slowly opened my eyes, but the blinding light stung my eyes, making me wince and immediately turn my head to the side.
A chemical odor filled my nostrils, pulling me back up from the depths of unconsciousness.
When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I saw white walls, a tiled ceiling, and a buzzing fluorescent light overhead.
My gaze fell on a transparent plastic tube winding down my arm.
I was in the hospital, but I couldn’t remember how I got here.
Memories flooded back: thunder, torrential rain pounding on the roof, and the sudden fear that struck me before I collapsed onto the cold floor.
“Enzo?” I whispered.
Before losing consciousness, I had called him, praying he would come pick me up.
A glimmer of hope lingered.
He must have brought me here. He wouldn’t abandon me; it was all a misunderstanding.
We’ll talk it out, clear up the misunderstanding, and everything will be back to normal.
He loves me.
A slight smile played on my lips.
I tried to sit up, supporting myself with my palms, but a sharp pain shot through my wrist.
“Ah!” I cried out.
The door flung open, and a woman in surgical scrubs entered. She checked the monitor beside my bed and said softly, “You’re in the intensive care unit. You collapsed from stress and exhaustion.”
I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself.
Intensive Care Unit.
I couldn’t believe it; things were serious enough to require intensive care.
“And… there’s something else,” the doctor continued, her voice almost gentle. “You’re pregnant.”
My breath caught, the air in my lungs instantly vanishing.
Pregnant?
My thoughts instantly returned to the last time he touched me.
My heart was pounding as I tried to recall if we had taken any safety precautions, but my memory wouldn’t cooperate and was a jumbled mess.
My throat tightened. “Did you… tell anyone else?”
“No,” the doctor replied immediately. “It’s the patient’s private information; no one else knows.”
A feeling of relief washed over me.
I stroked my belly. The sudden arrival of this little life had left my mind blank. My first thought was of Enzo. Would he be happy?
Just then, the doorknob clicked open. Someone entered the room. I held my breath, my heart pounding.
A hope burned within me, both wild and desperate.
Enzo. He brought me here. He cared about me.
A smile returned to my face, but my lips trembled slightly.
Until the figure appeared before me.
It wasn’t Enzo.
It was Jenna, Enzo’s sister.
“My God,” she whispered, sitting on the edge of my bed and taking my hand. “How are you feeling? I was terrified.”
My fragile hope shattered instantly.
I had thought he would come to save me. I had even decided that if he showed up, I would forget everything that had happened and try to forgive him.
But he disappointed me again.
His absence was so suffocating.
“Enzo isn’t home,” Jenna said softly, her gaze falling on our clasped hands.
“I went to his house last night because he hadn’t answered the phone. The power went out, and I found you lying on the floor.”
I slowly lowered my head.
I realized I’d been abandoned on the cold floor like an insignificant object.
A dull ache shot through my chest; Enzo’s indifference felt like a dagger, twisting within me.
I could barely breathe.
“How long have I been unconscious?” I forced myself to speak, my gaze shifting between the doctor and Jenna.
“We don’t know,” the doctor replied. “You’re lucky you were brought here in time.”
Lucky?
How could this be considered lucky?
Waking up to find my husband had chosen someone else, while I lay dying in the darkness—was that lucky?
“I think I should go,” the doctor said, turning and leaving.
“I called him,” I whispered, my voice trembling, “but his phone was off.”
Jenna muttered a curse, pressing her forehead against my hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Whatever it was—her apology, or the bond between us—I could no longer control my emotions. For five years, I had been justifying his actions, accepting every ounce of kindness he offered. Finally, I broke down.
My shoulders trembled, tears streamed down my face, but I couldn’t feel their warmth; my whole body was ice-cold.
As my sobs subsided, Jenna softly asked, “Aurora, what exactly happened between you and my brother?”
I took a deep breath and made a decision. “I’m divorcing him.”
Until that moment, I had still been hesitant.
But now I understood that a true husband wouldn’t easily abandon his wife.
Even if he was a mob boss, ruthless and incredibly wealthy.
His concealment and his departure had caused me irreversible harm.
My family needed his protection, but I was not a pet to be bullied.
Jenna suddenly looked up. “What? You can’t make a decision right now. You’re hurt and emotional.”
“This is when I’m most clear-headed,” I replied.
“I know my brother has ruined your marriage.” She sounded agitated, running her fingers through her hair. “I know Sophie’s return has complicated things, but…”
“You know?” I turned to her, my eyes wide.
She froze, pursed her lips, and slowly nodded. “I wanted to go to his house last night to tell you. I felt it was best to tell you myself.”
“So you know he still loves her.” My voice was unusually calm. “He chose her again and again. And when I collapsed on the floor, he never came back.”
We were silent for a moment. Jenna looked away first.
“I can’t take it anymore,” I continued. “I can’t continue loving someone who treated me like this.”
She slowly stood up, her hands trembling as she smoothed the blanket. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Behind her apology lay more: regret, guilt, helplessness.
I felt her pain, but that didn’t change what I had to do.
“I’ve decided to divorce him,” I finally said. The words tightened in my chest, but I didn’t take them back.
Jenna’s eyes widened. “You’re serious.”
I nodded.
She slumped back into her chair, staring at me as if trying to read my mind.
“I just… I don’t know if ending it all is the best way. I think…” she hesitated, lowering her voice, “…I think he still loves you.”
Oh, how I wished I could believe that. More than anyone else, I wanted to believe his heart truly belonged to me.
But action after action proved otherwise.
I pressed my hand to my stomach. A life was growing there.
His child. Our child. Just because we have a child, does that mean I have to stay and endure his abuse? Just because I love him?
“But love alone isn’t enough,” I whispered.
Jenna leaned forward. “I’m not saying he did nothing wrong. I’m not asking you to forgive him today or tomorrow. I just…” Her voice choked. “I just think you should talk to him first. Maybe you shouldn’t be making this decision while you’re lying in this hospital bed.”
My breath caught in my throat.
Like her, I wanted to believe I could salvage this relationship. But I couldn’t.
“Jenna,” I whispered, “he didn’t choose me.”
“He might,” she whispered back. “He might surprise you. He’s always loved you, even if he didn’t know how to express it. Sophie’s return… it hit him hard. It hit us all hard. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you now.”
Silence fell over the room. My heart pounded, a mix of fear, hope, and the lingering longing for him.
I turned my face away. “I don’t know what to do.”
Jenna slowly rose, pacing by the bedside, as if waiting for me to stop her, waiting for me to beg her to stay, waiting for me to confess that I didn’t have the courage to leave.
But I sighed and said, “Let me think. I just… need time. Can you go now?”
She frowned worriedly, but nodded nonetheless. “Call me if anything happens.”
The door closed behind her, a heavy silence enveloping the room.
I lowered one hand, touching my abdomen, my palm pressed against the thin hospital gown.
There was our child, my and Enzo’s child.
Enzo’s POV
The meeting room was packed with the Family’s capos and senior members, arguing fiercely over the allocation of territory and goods.
I just wanted to get out of the room when the door was flung open.
Jenna stood there, her brow furrowed.
“You’re utterly unreasonable,” she snapped. “You’ve betrayed your wife.”
My men stared at me in silence.
I stood up, gesturing for them to leave, and turned to her only after the door closed.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“You knocked her out,” Jenna retorted. “She’s in intensive care now because I found her collapsed on the floor.”
I scoffed, slumping into my chair. “Don’t exaggerate. Aurora always exaggerates when she’s upset. She’s just trying to get your attention.”
Jenna’s face turned deathly pale. “She almost died.”
“That was an act,” I replied coldly, picking up a stack of files.
“She’s filing for divorce,” Jenna said.
I froze, then couldn’t help but chuckle softly, not even glancing up at her. “She wouldn’t do something like that. She cares about me too much; she won’t leave. I’m the center of her world.”
My Underboss, Mark, walked in, sensing the tension, his smile vanishing. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t listen to Jenna,” I said. “She’s fallen for Aurora’s trap.”
“Enzo, listen to what she has to say,” Mark interjected. “I saw Aurora a few days ago. I checked, and confirmed she really has filed for divorce.”
I scoffed, unwilling to believe it. “You’ve fallen for her trap too? It’s just a sympathy tactic.”
Mark ran his hand through his hair, his tone turning serious. “She’s your Donna. If you continue to treat her like this, you’ll regret it.”
I suppressed my anger, leaning back in my chair. “Impossible.”
“I can’t take it anymore.” Jenna walked out.
Mark’s gaze followed her. The room fell silent. Mark had been my Underboss for years. He was shrewd, loyal, and stubborn, but he knew his place. He never argued with me unless he was certain it required my attention.
Even so, a sense of unease crept up my spine.
Divorce.
The word was foreign and unusual.
Aurora could be dramatic, stubborn, and emotional when pushed to her limits, but to sever all ties? She would never go that far.
Mark spoke again, cautiously. “I’m saying this because it will affect you, and it will affect the whole family.”
He always attributed his worries to duty. This was his way of reminding me he wasn’t invading my privacy, just doing his job. I didn’t respond, so he continued:
“You pretend nothing’s happened. But she looks like she’s completely broken down.”
I scoffed, but the look in her eyes when we stood side by side last time flashed through my mind. Was it a resigned acceptance of her fate?
But she loved me. She would stay up all night waiting for me to come home. She would hug me and kiss me.
I especially remember one day. I came home from a meeting, furious, but she stayed by my side, trying everything to calm me down.
A woman like her wouldn’t leave easily.
“She loves me,” I said firmly, more firmly than I expected. “She can’t leave.”
Mark’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t interrupt me. He just lowered his eyes.
“Love has limits,” he finally said.
He didn’t understand. Aurora’s love was so persistent, so dazzling, so foolishly loyal.
A woman who loved like that wouldn’t sign divorce papers. She would argue. She would cling tightly. She would stay.
I met Mark’s gaze. “Aurora would never give up everything. She’s just emotional, not irrational.”
Mark nodded slightly, a nod of acknowledgment.
“Enzo,” he said softly, “love dies if it’s left unfed.”
I sighed heavily, angered by the implication in his words.
“She won’t leave,” I said firmly, my voice as resolute as if I were wearing armor. “She’s just angry. She’ll calm down and come home. These documents are just a means to an end.”
