Chapter 4
A week later, the family bodyguards brought Leo and Sofia back to the estate from the equestrian club.
The two children burst into the hall and ran straight for the study, eager to stir up drama.
"Mother!" Sofia gasped, out of breath. "Auntie Jessy hurt her wrist while she was riding with us, and Papa was so worried!"
Leo chimed in, "Papa immediately called the entire family's private medical team. He bandaged Auntie Jessy's wound himself and fired her top-tier instructor on the spot."
"He even postponed an urgent meeting with the Commission and stayed by her side to comfort her!"
I sat at my desk, silently listening to my children's grating boasts, calmly working on a drawing.
Seeing no reaction from me, Sofia grew impatient and kicked the leg of the desk. "Mother, are you even listening to us?"
"Papa is so much nicer to Auntie Jessy than he is to you—"
My paintbrush paused, interrupting her endless complaints.
A rich, sweet scent of paint and paper filled the study.
The children's attention was immediately drawn to it.
They craned their necks, peering at the desk.
"It's our custom storybook!" Leo stood on his tiptoes, trying to see the images on the paper. "It's the exclusive gift for the Genovese heirs! I want to see!"
I picked up the stack of drawings.
They were a series of exquisite watercolor paintings documenting their childhood, but the ink on one of the pages had smeared, and the edges were blurred.
I frowned, tore out the imperfect page, and tossed it into the nearby trash can.
"Ah!" Sofia lunged forward. "Why did you throw that away! That's our story!"
"The ink smudged, and the lines blurred. It isn't fit to be a gift from this family, so it can't be kept," I explained calmly, my usual practice when I painted.
"You did it on purpose!" Leo shouted angrily, reaching for the trash can.
The sharp edge of the paper cut his hand, and he snatched it back, glaring at me with even more venom.
"You're jealous that we like Auntie Jessy more, so you won't give us the book! Your drawings are ugly, and we don't want them anyway! You're a bad mother!"
Sofia's face was flushed crimson. "I don't have a mother like you! You can't even do your job right, let alone have any artistic talent!"
I put down my paintbrush.
Though I had tried to prepare myself, I still couldn't accept what was happening.
The two children I had carried for ten months, who had my blood running through their veins, now seemed so strange and cruel.
"Fine," I said softly. "Then I don't have children like you."
"From now on, go find your perfect Auntie Jessy. Let her draw you a storybook you'll be happy with."
Without another glance at them, I turned and walked toward the study door.
Behind me, I heard their childish shouts. "You're so mean! We're going to tell Papa you went crazy and ruined our gift!"
My steps faltered for a moment, but I didn't stop.
Just as I was about to leave the study, Leo charged at me from behind in a fit of rage. "You're not allowed to leave! You have to replace our storybook!"
He tried to stop me, grabbing the hem of my skirt with both hands and yanking it backward with all his might.
Caught off guard, I twisted instinctively, but his reckless pull threw me off balance. I stumbled sideways, slamming hard into the enormous, floor-to-ceiling mirror beside me.
The deafening crash brought Santino rushing in.
A sharp shard of glass sliced deeply into my arm, and blood gushed out, instantly staining my sleeve.
Blood gushed from the wound, covering me before I could even react.
The excruciating pain sent me collapsing into the pile of broken glass, warm blood dripping from my fingertips onto the cold, expensive wood floor.
Leo clearly hadn't expected such a serious accident. He was terrified, standing frozen as he stared at the gruesome gash on my arm. His face went pale, and he stumbled backward.
Behind him, Sofia bit her lip, still defiant. "Serves you right! You ruined our things first! This is your punishment!"
The deafening crash brought Santino rushing in.
"What's going on? What's all the shouting?"
He wasn't alone. Jessy was with him, a perfect smile on her face.
They both froze when they saw the scene before them.
"Papa!" The children, as if they'd found their savior, immediately dropped their panic and put on expressions of pure innocence, running to Santino in tears.
"Mother... Mother went crazy! She tore up our storybook, then broke the mirror on purpose to scare us! And she said... she said she doesn't want us anymore, boohoo!"
Santino's gaze fell first on the smeared drawing in the trash can, then shifted to me, covered in blood and looking utterly wretched.
"Alessia, have you no decency? They're just children!"
"To say that to your own children, then resort to this... this pathetic act to frighten them? Are you even fit to be a mother?"
Leaning against the cold wall, I slowly, painfully, pulled myself to my feet.
The blood had completely soaked through my white dress, and he hadn't even asked if I was alright.
I looked at Santino, at the face that had once so thoroughly captivated me, and suddenly, I wanted to laugh.
"In your eyes, I've never been fit for anything."
My voice trembled with pain, but I enunciated every single word.
"I see it all clearly now. I understand my place in this family."
Santino's dark eyes narrowed, surprised that his normally submissive wife was talking back to him.
"Since Jessy is the only Donna in your heart," I said, wiping away the blood that trickled down my arm.
With every word, the knife in my heart twisted deeper.
"And the children only want her as their mother. Then I will give her everything. I will grant you your perfect family of four."
"The divorce papers have already been finalized. Let's get a divorce."
The air in the study went cold.
Santino's face grew darker and darker.
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