When the Fog Clears

I struggled to open my eyes. The voices around me sounded distant and unclear.

“Signorina, we cannot reach the emergency contact in your phone. You are losing too much blood. You need surgery.”

“I… I will do it.” I gritted my teeth and signed the forms myself.

When I woke again, the nurses’ gossip pulled me fully awake.

“Oh my God, Don Vitelli is so obsessed with Amelia. She only had a minor issue, and he stayed awake for twenty‑four hours straight. I heard there was trouble at Pier Nine last night, but he refused to leave the hospital.”

"And don't you think the forbidden romance between a novice nun and a mafia Don is so thrilling? I'm obsessed!"

"The patient I'm assigned to is in such a tragic situation. Poor girl got into a car accident and bled out, but her emergency contact wouldn't pick up. She had to sign the consent forms herself.

“Yesterday the Don pulled every surgeon for a consultation for his girlfriend, so this girl missed the critical window. She was five weeks along, and the baby is gone now. Her uterus is badly damaged. She will probably never get pregnant again.”

My whole body went cold. My trembling fingers moved to my lower abdomen.

I... I was pregnant?

Every single time after we slept together, I had swallowed the pill he gave me. How could this happen?

No, wait. There was one time.

The night he said he was going to settle down for Amelia.

That was our last time together. He was so upset that day that he forgot about the pill.

My hand rested on my flat stomach. A tiny life once grew here.

Meanwhile, he stayed by Amelia's side, guarding another child, basking in everyone's blessings.

My child just... disappeared without a trace. It was like me, always the one left behind.

From this moment on, my love for Caino died. It would never come back.

I could not bear to hear strangers gush about Caino's sweetness toward Amelia anymore. I pressed the pillow against my head with both hands, curled up, and cried.

Everything hit me like delayed, dull pain. It suffocated me.

My injuries were severe. I stayed in the hospital for a week before they discharged me.

During that entire week, aside from a few work messages, there was nothing else.

This city held nothing worth staying for anymore. I carefully wrote a resignation email and bought a plane ticket for the next day.

Thinking of the belongings I left at the villa, I took a cab there one last time. But the moment I pushed open the door, the scene before me left me stunned.

Amelia's beloved novice habit, which she usually cherished so carefully, lay scattered across the living room. Clear fluid stained the fabric.

The bedroom door stood wide open. Caino knelt on the carpet. Amelia's legs rested on his shoulders. Caino bent his head, gently pleasuring her with his mouth while his fingers moved rapidly inside her.

She arched her back, moaning continuously. "Ah... Caino, right there..."

Amelia shuddered through her climax, her release spilling over him. He kissed her stomach tenderly, then pressed himself against her entrance, grinding slowly.

A pang of sadness hit me. In all the time I spent with Caino, he never wanted to do this for me.

He said it was too much trouble, so every time I was the one who went down on him.

It turned out he could be this gentle after all.

My phone buzzed with an approval notification for my resignation. I forgot to silence it. The sound came from the phone clutched in my hand.

"Ah!"

Before I could react, Amelia, who had been half-reclined, spotted me first and screamed. She hastily wrapped a blanket around herself and lunged at me.

"Sancia! You're so vicious! Did you take pictures of me in bed to get revenge on me?"

I frowned and dodged her. "Don't assume everyone's as rotten as you."

My refusal only deepened her suspicion. She lunged at me again.

"Then show me your phone!"

I refused, naturally, so Amelia and I fought over the phone. But because of my abdominal wound, I could barely hold my ground against her.

Just then, Caino suddenly pulled Amelia and me apart from behind.

His strength was too much. It tugged at my wound. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

"Caino, Sancia took pictures of me in bed! Delete them quick, or if Mamma finds out, she'll beat me to death!"

"Sancia, hand over the phone."

I turned my head away, but Caino grabbed my jaw. To break free, I threw my phone hard at him.

Caino dodged. A flash of viciousness crossed his eyes, but he did not lash out. He just scoffed coldly.

He went through my phone, confirmed there were no photos, and tossed it back carelessly into my arms.

While Amelia went to change clothes, he grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me roughly into the bedroom.

"Mmph..."

He shoved me onto the bed that still carried Amelia's scent. He leaned over me. The smell of smoke mixed with his controlling presence bore down on me, his tone dripping with that ingrained superiority.

“Sancia, my patience has limits.

“Or is it that you keep targeting Amelia because… you cannot let me go?”

His interrupted session with Amelia had left him visibly aroused, and his frustration radiated off him.

His hand slid under my skirt—