Ten Years Loving the Wrong One
Everyone in Ieplad knows Leopoldo Vece, the Don of the Vece family, loves guns but not women—until me.
Ten years into our marriage, my adoptive father, Raffaello Conti, lies dying of kidney failure. Leopoldo launches a global hunt for a donor, sparing no expense to save him.
He finds her—a young, fragile woman—and spends millions solving her every problem to ensure she is ready for the transplant.
On the day of the surgery, she vanishes.
I rush to her home in a panic, only to find my husband holding her gently in his arms, soothing her in a soft voice.
"If you're afraid of the pain, don't donate then. I'll find another donor."
"Is there time?" she asks quietly. "I heard Lucia's adoptive father is at death's door."
Leopoldo brushes his hand over her hair, his voice indulgent. "I'll search the world again if I have to. You're still young; this burden isn't yours to carry."
As my heart shatters, my phone rings. I answer numbly.
The person on the other end of the line says, "Signora Conti, we regret to inform you that Raffaello Conti just passed away. We waited as long as we could for the donor, but his body gave out five minutes ago."
I return to the hospital and handle the funeral arrangements alone.
After that, I call Marianna D'Andrea, the Don's mother, and say, "I agree to divorce Leopoldo. Please help me disappear."