I wear his name like a scar.
Alessandro Rossi stole everything from me; my freedom, my future, the lie I told my father to keep him alive. He thinks I'm a tool to be used, a bride to be displayed, a Fraga to be broken. He thinks the ring on my finge...
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Sleep refused to come. My mind spun in endless circles, my pulse humming with a restless energy I couldn't shake. I needed something to settle me.
Tea. Tea was a start.
I slipped out of bed and made my way downstairs in the dark, my bare feet silent against the cold floor.
As I passed the office, a voice stopped me.
Giada.
She was shouting, her words sharp and furious in a way I'd never heard from her before. I froze, my hand braced against the wall.
"You can't fucking tell me what to do." Diego's voice thundered through the door, raw and ugly. "He's not your son. He's mine."
"No." Giada's voice came back stronger, fiercer than I'd ever imagined she could be. "Alessandro is my son. I cared for him. I loved him. I stayed when you were gone. And I won't let you hurt him anymore. I've stayed silent too long, Diego. I've watched you break him piece by piece, and I won't do it again. If you ever lay a hand on my boys again, you will deal with me."
A door slammed. Heavy footsteps followed, fading down the hall.
I stayed frozen for a moment, trying to process what I'd just heard. Then I moved toward the kitchen.
Giada was already there, her face streaked with tears, her hands trembling as she gripped the edge of the counter. She looked up when I entered, and the surprise in her eyes flickered into something like shame. She wiped at her cheeks quickly, but the tears kept coming.
"Stai bene? (Are you okay?)" I asked softly.
She nodded, but it was a lie. I could see it in the way her shoulders shook and her breath hitched every time she tried to steady it.
I quickly made some tea, then I pulled out a chair and slid the mug across to her. She sat, her hands curling around the warmth like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the room.
"Grazie (Thanks)," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the steam rising from the cup.
"Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head at first, but then the silence stretched and something just snapped.
"Diego has hurt Alessandro his whole life." Her voice trembled. "In his body. In his spirit. And I hate myself for not stopping it. For staying silent when I should have fought back." She paused, her fingers tightening around the mug. "He always threatened to send Alessandro away if I interfered. And Alessandro would push me away too. Refuse my help. I didn't know what to do. I was scared."
She looked up at me then, and the fire in her eyes was startling.
"But no more. I won't let him hurt my boys again. I love them more than anything, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Even if I have to stand against Diego. Even if I lose everything."
