Chapter 10

One year later, the Moretti family's new cargo ship launched from New York Harbor. When the ceremony ended, Dominic was waiting at the far end of the pier. His black suit was still perfectly fitted, but he had lost weight. He carried an old wooden box in both hands.

He said he wanted to return the box to me. When he opened it, I saw meeting files I had organized, medical schedules, family albums, and photographs I had saved from the day we met. My notes were written beside every plan, and every photograph had a date on the back. The box held no expensive jewelry. It held twelve years of my care.

Dominic admitted that he had never paid attention to any of it. He had believed dinner appeared because it was my duty. He had believed the estate stayed under control because that was normal, and he had believed the family would always remain loyal. He had treated my care as a habit.

His eyes turned red. "Now I know you did it because you loved me." I watched him without answering.

Dominic told me Helena had left Chicago. He had created a trust for the child, but she would never become Mrs. Valenti. He had also taken control of his own family responsibilities and no longer expected someone else to carry the consequences for him.

I told him that was good. My calm answer weakened the hope in his face.

"Isabella, I am not here to complain about my life. I need you to know that I finally understand what I did. I did not lose a wife who knew how to manage a crime family. I lost the woman who gave me her entire life and stood beside me when I had nothing to offer her."

Those were the words I had once waited to hear. When he finally said them, I felt no need to return.

Dominic asked whether we could have had another chance if he had understood sooner, never met Helena, or stopped the first time he hurt me. I told him we would not.

He stared at me, so I explained. "If I had stayed, you would never have noticed. You would have continued to believe dinner was a wife's duty, the family was a wife's burden, and my forgiveness was guaranteed. Helena did not create the problem. You had already learned that you could consume my love without paying a price."

The color left his face. He said he understood me now.

"You do, but I no longer need you to."

The ship's horn sounded as the vessel moved away from the pier. Dominic did not try to stop me. He remained beside the box and accepted that the woman who had once loved him most would never return.

I walked down the pier without looking back. I had spent the first half of my life giving up my name for love. I would not spend the second half as Mrs. Valenti. I was Isabella Moretti, and my life finally belonged to me.