Anniversary Ambush: The Don and His Ex

On our wedding anniversary, I get shot by a rival family during a crossfire. When I'm brought to the hospital while drenched in my own blood, I come across Don Marco Lombardi, my husband, who's supposed to be negotiating a business deal in Asterra right now.

Apparently, he's supporting his ex-girlfriend, Lucia Santoro, as they wait for her medical check-up.

The moment we come across each other, I gaze at Marco calmly. "What a coincidence."

Even though there's panic crossing his eyes, he makes no move to approach me.

As I stumble out of the operation room while leaning against the wall for support, I hear Lucia telling Marco, "You should go check on the Donna. I think she's badly hurt."

But Marco sounds extraordinarily confident. "It's fine. I'll accompany you through your check-up first. She loves me too much to ever leave me anyway."

I let out a cold chuckle at his words. Is he that confident that I will never leave him, hmm?

When I woke up on the hospital bed five hours later, there was no one else in the ward besides me. It seemed Marco Lombardi still hadn't come by.

I struggled to sit up, wanting to reach for the glass to take a drink, when I saw the nurse walk in carrying replacement IV fluids.

"Here, let me help you, Ms. Esposito," the nurse said, bringing the glass to my lips. "The doctor said if the bullet had struck just half an inch to the side, you would've lost the entire arm. You'll need to take it easy for a while, so don't take any chances."

I swallowed the water and said, "Alright, thank you."

The nurse removed the empty IV bottle and hung up the new one she had brought in.

"Ms. Esposito, I haven't seen anyone here keeping you company. Why isn't your husband here taking care of you?"

"He's busy, and I can take care of myself," I replied with a weak smile.

When the nurse turned around, I saw Marco walk in. He sauntered over to the couch and sat down with an indifferent air.

"What have you gotten yourself into again now? As the Donna of the family, not only did you fail to protect yourself, but you went walking around covered in blood. What would the other families say about me if they saw that?"

Marco started right in with accusations and complaints. He didn't even ask where I was hurt or how serious it was.

"Don't you remember what day it is today?" I carefully studied his expression. If he showed even a hint of guilt, I'd be willing to forgive him one more time.

"No, what is it?" He glanced impatiently at his watch, then stood up and made to leave. "You seem fine enough. Get some rest. I have to go back and handle family matters. I'll come see you tonight."

Without another word, I watched him turn and stride out the door.

As expected, Marco