“Try not to cause trouble next time,” he muttered without even looking at me.
He grabbed his keys again but paused at the doorway.
“This weekend is my parents’ anniversary,” he said. “You’re still legally my wife. People will ask questions. Bring Gabriel.”
I didn’t react.
Not anger. Not shock. Nothing.
“You heard me,” he repeated coldly. “Bring him. Clean him up. Smile. Act properly. You know how this family works.”
Then he left.
Back to Lena. Back to her hospital room. Back to her world.
**
The anniversary came.
Vincenzo didn’t sit with me in the car. He made me ride in front with the driver, like I was staff instead of anything else.
Behind us, Lena leaned comfortably against him, like she belonged there. Like she had always belonged there. Noel sat close to her, tucked under her arm.
She whispered something into Vincenzo’s ear, and he smiled—softly, almost fondly—brushing his thumb over her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I looked down at my dress.
Black. Simple. Rough against my skin. Too plain, too tight, too wrong for the world they were stepping into.
Everyone else sparkled. Diamonds, silk, perfection.