Nothing Waits Forever, Not Even Love

I once thought I would spend my entire life in love with my husband, Vincenzo, the Don of the De Luca family.

In the end, our whirlwind romance was no match for a childhood promise.

On the day Vincenzo went through with a sham marriage to his childhood sweetheart, Chloe, to honor a blood oath, I destroyed the penthouse we had filled with memories and left his city for good.

When Vincenzo used the family's entire intelligence network and still couldn't find me, the untouchable Don was driven mad.

Later, he offered a worldwide bounty for any information on my whereabouts and even publicly begged me to come back.

Too bad for him, I already wore another man's ring.

Vincenzo, nothing waits for you forever. Especially a love you strangled with your own hands.

At two in the morning, a sharp pain in my abdomen tore me from my sleep.

I instinctively reached for the space beside me. The silk sheets were cold. Vincenzo hadn't come home again.

The pain in my lower abdomen intensified, and a cold sweat soaked through my nightgown.

My hand trembled as I grabbed the encrypted phone and dialed his private number, the one only I could call.

It rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.

Before I could even speak, a young woman's soft, sweet voice came through the phone.

"Donna? The Don is in the shower. He's exhausted."

"If you need him, try again tomorrow. I'm hanging up."

"Wait, Chloe, let me talk to him… I…"

But she hung up before I could finish.

I refused to give up. Fighting the pain that threatened to pull me into unconsciousness, I dialed again.

This time, I was met with a cold, mechanical tone.

Lying on the enormous bed, I gasped in agony. A cold fear of death washed over me as tears slid silently down my face.

I didn't want to die like this. I was only twenty-eight. I still had my parents. I still had Vincenzo.

The will to survive forced me to move.

With no other choice, I broke a Family rule and dialed 911. While still conscious, I used the last of my strength to crawl to the front door and unlock the bulletproof lock.

Soon, the wail of an ambulance siren shattered the silence of the luxury apartment building.

In the emergency room, the doctor stared at the frantic numbers on the monitor, his expression grim.

"Ectopic pregnancy, ruptured fallopian tube, and massive internal bleeding. She needs surgery immediately."

By then, I had regained a sliver of consciousness. I gripped the nurse's hand and gave her Vincenzo's number.

"Call him… please."

The nurse tried calling again and again, only to shake her head at me helplessly each time.

A younger nurse looked at my deathly pale face, her eyes full of pity. "Do you have any other family? Or a friend we can call?"

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

My parents were in