When I'm Not the Madre

I followed Vincenzo's gaze to their intertwined hands.

His fingers were tightly clasped around Sofia's, as if fearing she might suffer even the slightest harm. As for me, I was merely an unwanted intruder.

"That won't be necessary," I said in a voice devoid of any emotion and calmly shifted my gaze away. "I cannot accept your birthday wishes."

Vincenzo was taken aback, probably not expecting such a reaction from me. In the past, no matter how much he hurt me, I would always come crawling back. But this time, I was truly exhausted and done with him.

Sofia shifted slightly in his arms. "Vincenzo, don't blame Isabella. She's just confused right now. Isabella, please don't be angry with Vincenzo. He does care for you deep down. It's just that I haven't been doing well, so he's had to look after me."

I couldn't be bothered to exchange fake pleasantries with her, so I crouched down by the rubble and helped bandage a Soldato's wound.

"Oh, spare me the righteous act." Ettore strode over and looked down at me condescendingly. "Now you suddenly care about others? Why didn't you think about how pathetic you were before?

"Do you really think that clinging to Don Rizzo for 12 years, getting pregnant, and still playing hard to get will ever make him change his mind?"

Unable to muster the energy to engage with him, I continued to wrap bandages around the Soldato's wound without so much as looking up.

"Say something!" Ettore grew even angrier when I was ignoring him. "Do you think you're the victim here? Well, I'm telling you—you're not! Sofia is a thousand times better than you.

"She's gentle, kind, and seriously ill, so it's only natural Don Rizzi chose her! Even if you're carrying his baby, you still can't compare to Sofia in the slightest. You're not even worthy of tying her shoelaces!"

Vincenzo furrowed his brows tightly. "Isabella, what exactly do you want? Why did you follow me here and make a scene like this? Can't you just behave?"

Sofia leaned weakly against Vincenzo's chest and let out a few soft coughs before saying weakly, "Vincenzo, don't be mad. Isabella is just heartbroken. Why don't I talk to her properly and have her go back to rest?"

As soon as her words fell, a deafening explosion erupted, shaking the entire dock violently.

The searchlights overhead swayed precariously. From the nearby containers that hadn't yet fully collapsed came the piercing screech of twisting metal, and a massive sheet of metal hurled straight toward the three of them.

Without a moment's hesitation, Vincenzo shoved me toward the falling metal, while he himself, holding Sofia tightly, quickly took several steps back to avoid the danger.

With a thunderous crash, the sheet metal slammed into me. Excruciating pain instantly engulfed my entire body, especially my left leg. It felt as though it had been snapped in two.

My vision went black, and I collapsed to the ground, consciousness beginning to fade.

Through the haze, I saw Vincenzo lower his head to comfort Sofia, asking if she was hurt. His eyes were filled with nothing but anxiety and worry, yet he didn't even glance my way.

Ettore also hurried over, asking Sofia anxiously if she was alright. However, he paid no attention to me lying on the ground, bleeding heavily.

So, I truly meant nothing to them at all.

When I woke up again, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. My left leg was in a thick cast, the pain searing through me. I was the only person in the room, as no one had come to visit.

A nurse walked in and removed the IV needle from my hand. "You're incredibly lucky," she said with relief. "You only suffered a fracture in your left leg and some superficial injuries. If that sheet metal had landed a little closer to your stomach, you would've lost the baby."

I stared at the ceiling. "I never intended to keep this baby anyway. Please help me arrange for an abortion as soon as possible."

The nurse paused, then nodded and left the room without another word.

Right at that moment, Vincenzo's call came through.

"Isabella, what exactly are you trying to do?" he roared angrily. "Did you deliberately cause a second explosion at the dock because you can't stand seeing me be good to Sofia?"

Instead of saying anything, I just quietly listened to his tirade.

"You've been spreading rumors all along about Sofia and Elena being involved in Caterina's death!" His tone grew increasingly mocking. "But Mr. Giordano clearly said Caterina took her own life because she was insane!

"Yet, you still refused to let it go, claiming Elena lured you and Ettore into the basement to abuse you. I already had it investigated long ago, and nothing like that ever happened.

"Ettore told me everything—how you were the one who caused him to hit his head and lose his memory, and how Sofia rescued and cared for him after he was injured. I never once intended to marry you," he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "That baby was nothing but an accident!"

He kept reprimanding and pinning all the blame on me. As I listened, I felt no ripple of emotion apart from a deep weariness.

Just then, the nurse's voice came from the doorway, "Miss Giordano, we're ready to perform the abortion now. Please come to the operating room now."

Vincenzo fell completely silent on the other end of the line. After a few seconds, he asked with disbelief, "You're going to terminate the pregnancy?"

I let out a soft sigh and replied calmly, "Yes. Once the procedure is done, we'll dissolve the engagement."