"When can you come back?" he continued, the tone shifting, becoming more urgent, more hopeful. "I just reached out to them. They're already asking to finalize the wedding date."
Five years.
Five years with Salvatore, and I was always the one tucked away, the one who couldn't exist in the open. No introductions, no acknowledgment, no place in his world that anyone else could see. I was convenient when he needed me, invisible when he didn't. In the Bellomo Family, I had been kept off every guest list, absent from every feast night and gala, a woman who existed only behind closed doors in a Don's private rooms.
Now that he had made it so clear that I meant nothing to him, I didn't see a reason to hold on anymore. If I severed ties with the Family's front, I doubted he would even try to stop me.
"The sooner the better," I said quietly, my voice steady despite everything. "I can handle the process quickly."
I had barely finished speaking when the clinic room door opened again.
Salvatore walked back in.
Apparently, he had forgotten something.
"Severing ties?" he echoed casually, as if the words had simply caught his attention in passing. His eyes moved around the room as he searched for something, completely unconcerned. The silver lighter was turning over his knuckles in that idle, precise rhythm he carried with him everywhere. "Who's leaving our operation?"
His tone was light, almost amused, like it was nothing important.
He would have to sign off on it anyway, so there was no point hiding it. I gave a small nod, but he didn't even notice. He didn't lift his head from his phone long enough to register my response.
After a moment, he found what he was looking for.
His car keys.
Picking them up, he let out a short, half-laugh. "The doctor said you hit your head pretty hard. Might even have some memory loss." He paused briefly, glancing at me with a faint smirk. "Honestly, for a second there, I almost believed it."
My fingers tightened slightly under the blanket.
"The car…" he added, almost as an afterthought, like it wasn't worth much attention. "It was mine. The streetlights were dim, and you were staring at your phone…"
I froze.
So that was it.
That was the explanation. The reason he had said nothing, offered nothing, and treated me like I was nothing more than an ordinary associate he barely knew.