His eyes are sharp, panicked, and I sense a hidden emotion beneath the green-brown orbs. His long hair looks wild from running his fingers through them in frustration. He looks.. broken and devastated, and his usual hard, mafia-like mask is gone. Not like a man who just threatened—no, promised—to kill a man just a few minutes ago. That makes my blood boil even hotter.
“The only mistake I made was marrying you in the first place,” I spit through clenched teeth, holding back the tears that threaten to spill from my eyes.
“Let’s talk about this…”
His voice is desperate now. But I can’t listen anymore. His words blur into nothing, drowned out by the pounding of my heart, the suffocating pressure in my chest.
I can’t stand this. I can’t stand him.
I turn and break into a run, my footsteps loud against the marble floor, the sound echoing down the hall. A tear slips down my cheek. Then another. And another. Until I’m sobbing, unable to stop it. I don’t care anymore. I just need to get out. I need to escape this cage.
“Mirabella!” His voice cracks with panic, his steps growing closer, faster. “Stop! Please, just listen…”
I don’t stop. I push open the heavy door and step out into the cool night air, hoping the chill will somehow cool the fire inside me. It doesn’t. My breath comes in shallow, frantic gasps, and I move faster, desperate to get away.
I hear him behind me, his footsteps closing in. He’s not letting me go—not without a fight. His heavy, desperate footfalls are chasing me, echoing through the night.
I have to get to the estate gate. This thought is the only thing that matters now, the only thing driving me forward as I push through the compound. My mind is consumed with the need to escape, to break free from this nightmare. I don’t hear thescreeching sound, don’t see the movement to my left until it’s too late.
“Mirabella, watch out!” Ettore’s voice rips through the air, panic-laced and urgent.
I spin around, but everything happens in an instant. A motorcycle rounds the corner, headlights blinding, too fast, too close. I freeze—caught between shock and terror, unable to move. Before I can react, the world erupts in pain. The sharp, brutal impact of thick metal slamming into my body sends a wave of searing agony through me. I’m thrown back, my body weightless for a moment before crashing to the ground.
The world tilts, spins, and the blinding pain in my head makes everything go hazy. My body crumples against the cold, unforgiving pavement. My skull aches with a sharp, pulsing throb that feels as if it’s going to split me in two. I try to move, to get up, but the pain locks me in place, leaving me helpless.
My baby...
The thought pierces through the fog of pain, sharper than anything else. The fear clutches my chest.
Somewhere, distantly, I hear Ettore shouting, his voice breaking, frantic. His footsteps are heavy, pounding against the ground as he rushes toward me. When his hands finally reach me, they tremble as they cup my face, warm but shaking.
“Bella,” he breathes, his voice raw with desperation. “Fuck! Stay with me. Please, stay with me.”
I try to speak. I try to say something, anything, but the words get stuck in my throat. All I can think of is the dull, gnawing fear spreading through my body like a cold weight.
My baby. Our baby.
My hand moves on its own to cradle my stomach, the small, reassuring gesture almost too much for me to manage. Through the haze, I hear his voice again—panicked, wild—giving orders,yelling for help. The commotion around me is a blur, but his voice cuts through it all, unsteady, frantic.
I hear his heartbeat, rapid and unrelenting, pounding against my ear as he lifts me, cradling me against his chest.
My head is a blur of pain, my body heavy, and my eyes, oh God, my eyes—so tired.
“Bella!” Ettore’s voice hisses, fierce and broken. His grip tightens on my face, his hands almost too firm, but I can’t feel anything except the agony, of everything slipping away. “Don’t you fucking leave me. Stay with me...please!”
I try. I force my eyes to stay open, to stay with him, but it’s too much. The pain pulls me under. The seconds stretch into eternity, each one heavier than the last. I can barely keep my eyes open now.
“Our baby,”I manage to whisper, the last of my strength draining out of me.
And then, without warning, everything fades—my vision goes dark, my body still—and I let go.
Everything goes black.
38
ETTORE
Don’t leave me, Mirabella. Don’t you fucking leave me.