Chapter 25
Hospital lights buzzed overhead as Alessio burned with fever, trapped in dreams.
There she was–Noemi, curled against his chest like old times, whispering his name. But when he leaned down to kiss her, her face twisted into something cold and cruel. She shoved him away, running straight into another man’s arms,
“You betrayed me first, Alessio. Now I don’t want you anymore.”
She walked away without a backward glance, deaf to his desperate pleas.
“No! Don’t go! Please!”
He jerked awake, gasping, hands searching blindly. His fingers found warm skin, soft curves, Still half delirious, he thought….
“Please,” he breathed, pulling the figure close, pressing frantic kisses to her face. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me again…”
Daniela hadn’t expected to find him like this.
When she’d discovered the man in her bed for two years wasn’t her dead husband but his younger brother, her entire world had shattered. A widow sleeping with her brother–in–law? The scandal would destroy her. The whispers, the judgment, the shame…
She’d fought so hard to escape her family’s poverty, to find respectability. Now she was worse than trash–the whore who’d fucked her husband’s brother.
She’d been standing on that balcony, ready to jump, when Donna Moretti burst in.
“Haven’t we destroyed you enough? If you die because of us, the Moretti name dies too. Marry him. Make this right.”
But Alessio had fled to find his precious Noemi, leaving Daniela with nothing but shame and an empty womb–the baby she’d been carrying, Alessio’s child, lost in the stress and trauma of discovering she’d been living a lie.
So when Donna Moretti pressed that ferry ticket into her hands-“Bring him home. The marriage license is waiting“-what choice did she have? Her reputation was already ruined. At least as Mrs. Alessio Moretti, she’d have security.
And maybe… maybe he could learn to love me. We had two years together. That has to mean something.
She’d prepared herself for his anger, his rejection. She hadn’t prepared for this desperate passion–his hands pulling her close, his lips on her skin, that broken voice begging her to stay.
For one beautiful moment, they were back in their bed in Sicily. He was her devoted husband again. She was his cherished wife.
“Please,” he murmured against her throat. “I need you. Don’t go.”
Her heart swelled. Maybe Mrs. Moretti was right. Maybe they could make this work. She tilted her face up for his kiss-
“Noemi… God, Noemi, please…”
The name slashed through her like a blade.
CRASH!
It was as if someone had dumped ice water over her head. The chill spread from her chest to her fingertips, freezing her solid.
Rage and humiliation flooded through her. She’d given this man everything–her body, her heart, what was left of her reputation–and he was calling out for another woman while kissing her?
Something inside her snapped. With strength born of fury, she shoved him away.
“LOOK AT ME!” She grabbed his face, nails digging in. “I’m right here! I’M THE ONE WHO’S HERE!”
16:43
To End My Cruel Twin Mafia Heir’s Fobidden Fake Death Game, I Became His Deadly Enemy’s Bride
15.3%
Chapter 25
Still lost in his fever dream, he reached for her again, eyes unfocused. “Noemi, don’t be angry. I can explain everything…”
“ALESSIO!”
Her scream finally penetrated his delirium. He blinked, shaking his head as if to clear cobwebs.
Recognition dawned slowly in his eyes, followed by something worse–disappointment.
“You.” His voice was flat, dead.
“What are you doing here?”
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