A Promise Drowned in Silence

Then she added, "I'll pray the child comes, Signora Leone. But I'll need your heart's blood to prove you mean it."

Before I could even process that, she drove a thick needle straight into my chest.

The pain wiped me out. Everything went black.

This whole torture session? Caterina's idea. Apparently, I'd "failed" at keeping her precious son around.

When I came to, sunlight was slicing through the window.

A doctor rushed over, his face tight with concern.

I managed a weak smile. "Who brought me here?"

"The Leone Family's car dropped you off. The strega left some meds for the surface wounds."

I gave a bitter smile. Her "remedies" always worked. Not a single bruise left.

"Help me up. I need to go home."

But the doctor's face shifted—serious now. "Mrs. Leone... while you were out, we ran some tests. It's stomach cancer. Late stage."

Late stage?

My brain froze.

So the nausea, the vomiting, that night in the cistern when I coughed up blood—it wasn't the strega's potions. It wasn't pregnancy.

It was cancer.

But I didn't feel fear. Not even despair. "How long?"

"With treatment... maybe six weeks. The Don will—"

Even braced for it, my heart still cracked.

Six weeks.

Orlando and I used to dream about a future—kids, laughter, a life that felt whole.

Now, I wouldn't even make it to spring. Wouldn't see the roses bloom in the manor's garden.

Would he care? Mourn me? Try to fix it?

I gave a faint smile and shook my head.

Maybe we really did love each other once. But he's sitting on top of the world now, and this broken body's got nothing left to offer.

Time to let go. I'll be the one to walk away first.

He'll have kids with someone else. The great Leone legacy will live on.

I begged the doctor to keep it quiet.

When I got back, laughter spilled through the manor halls.

I pushed open the door—there they were. Orlando and Bianca, cozy on the couch.

And of course, Caterina was there too.

Orlando looked up, saw my pale face. "Aria, you okay? You look sick."

His arm was still around Bianca's waist.

Caterina gave me one of her signature coughs—judgy and smug.

Yeah, she wasn't saying a word about what happened last night.

"I'm fine," I muttered.

"Good." Orlando let out a breath, then held up a medical report. "Bianca's pregnant."

My mind just... blanked.

That's when I noticed—the mystic candle scent was gone.

The Leone empire ran on mafia deals, but lately, Caterina had gone full witch mode, burning rare Sicilian candles in every corner of the house.

I was allergic—so bad I'd puke for hours. Orlando never cared.

But now? Poof. Gone. All for Bianca.

I should've known. He'd already slept with her.

Then I saw it—a faint red mark on his neck. And before I could stop myself, the words slipped out.

"Orlando... is it really your child?"