"Don Bellandi," he said cautiously, "with the Signora's current condition… she really needs rest."
Dominic paused for a brief second, as if considering it.
Then he replied, curt and dismissive.
"She won't die."
The surgeon's expression stiffened instantly. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. He lowered his head and said nothing more, not daring to argue. In this house, a medical opinion weighed nothing against a direct order.
But the next day came.
And Dominic didn't show up.
Neither did he the day after that.
Instead, the joint account we shared began lighting up with transaction notifications.
One after another.
Couple's down jackets.
Thermal winter sets.
Wool socks.
A sled.
The list went on.
Without warning, a memory surfaced.
Once, long ago, we had gone to Antarctica together.
It had been one of the rare times when things still felt… almost right.
But somehow, Celeste found out.
And she followed us there.
When she arrived, she was dressed in nothing more than a thin sweater, her entire body trembling violently from the cold. Her lips were pale, tinged blue, her breathing uneven.
Like a man possessed, Dominic had rushed to her.
He pulled off his own coat and wrapped it around her shoulders without hesitation.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, he turned to me.
And stripped the coat from my back.
Without a word.
He gave that to her too.
Celeste collapsed into his arms, sobbing softly.
"Serafina didn't want me to come…" she cried, her voice fragile, trembling. "She threw away all my clothes. But Dominic, I just wanted to see the penguins with you…"
He looked at me then.
Not with doubt.
Not with hesitation.
But with pure scorn.
"You're jealous," he said coldly. "Poisonous. Vicious."
His gaze was sharp, cutting.
"Fine. Taste for yourself what it's like to freeze to death in Antarctica."
And then they left.
Together.
Leaving me behind in the endless white.
I died there.
Alone.
Wearing nothing but a single thin layer of clothing.
The cold had crept in slowly at first, numbing my fingers, my toes. Then it spread, seeping into my bones, until even breathing felt like inhaling shards of ice.
And then…
Nothing.
The memory faded.
I returned to the present.
Silently, I picked up my phone and ordered a pair of couple's snow goggles.
For them.
After that, I canceled the joint account I shared with Dominic.
The confirmation message came through almost instantly.
A short while later, my phone vibrated.