My Sister Popped The Bubble Of My Happy Marriage Chapter 05

The anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet when Mother’s call came through.

“Where did you run off to? Serafina is back from the clinic. Everyone is waiting for you at the townhouse. Get back here now!”

She didn’t ask how I was. She only warned me not to disappear again, so Serafina wouldn’t worry about me. My passport and other documents were still locked in the safe at the townhouse. I had no choice but to hold myself up against the hospital wall and walk out step by step.

I held myself up against the hospital wall and walked out step by step.

By the time I got back to the Rinaldi Townhouse on the Upper East Side, my abdomen was still throbbing.

Dante sat beside Serafina. My parents hovered around her, fussing. Matteo glanced at me, his face full of impatience.

“Good, you’re back. The whole family’s been waiting on you. You really think you’re that important.”

No one noticed how pale I was.

No one asked why I smelled like disinfectant.

Dante motioned for me to sit, his tone like he was announcing a family arrangement that had already been decided.

“I’ve thought it through. The marriage continues, the baby stays. You’re still Mrs. Rinaldi, but I will not be separated from Serafina.”

I sat on the couch and said nothing.

He didn’t know that hours ago, I had ended the pregnancy alone.

Mother thought I had finally accepted their arrangement and immediately picked up the thread.

“This is the best outcome. When the baby is born, Serafina can move in and help you. You’re sisters. You’ll be raising the Rinaldi heir together.”

Father chimed in, his face stern.

“You married into the Rinaldi family. You need to consider both families’ interests. Don’t let a personal matter affect the relationship between the families.”

Matteo leaned back on the couch with a cold laugh.

“Don’t push your luck just because you’re pregnant. Serafina has given you enough. At least give her half of your husband back.”

Dante heard that and didn’t argue.

Serafina walked up to me with red eyes and gently placed her hand on my belly.

Her hands were still warm.

When we were kids, those hands wiped my tears.

Now they rested on the place where my child no longer was, and she said softly,

“The baby is innocent. Even if you hate me from now on, I’ll love it like my own.”

I looked at her and suddenly found it funny. They betrayed me, lied to me, drove me to walk into a hospital alone. Now they were putting on a generous act, as if letting me stay Mrs. Rinaldi and carry this baby should make me grateful.

Dante looked at me, his tone brooking no argument. “As long as you carry the baby to term and behave, you’ll always be Mrs. Rinaldi. But Serafina has given up enough for you. This time, it’s your turn to give in to her.”

I lifted my head and nodded calmly. “Okay.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mother even patted my shoulder, as if I had finally learned to see the bigger picture.

They thought I had accepted the arrangement.

Only I knew what I had agreed to was leaving.

After they went with Serafina to her old apartment to collect the rest of her things, I walked into the bedroom alone, opened the safe, took out my passport and documents, and packed a few clothes. The jewelry Dante gave me, the old things Mother shoved at me, the bills Matteo dumped on me to handle. I didn’t touch a single one.

As for the Santoro family financing, the Rinaldi business, and the bottomless pit between them, I wanted no part of it.

I set the signed divorce papers, the hospital procedure record, and a statement of severance side by side on the living room table. The wedding ring went on top.

Then I opened my laptop and organized all the evidence of their lies over the past two years. Dante and Serafina’s messages, my family’s records of covering their tracks, and the words they said today. I saved every piece and scheduled the post.

They cared most about the reputations of Santoro and Rinaldi, didn’t they?

Then I would stop keeping their secrets.

The moment the suitcase clicked shut, Dante sent a message.

[I’ll be home early today.]

Then another.

[Serafina is buying shoes for the baby. Don’t upset her again.]

I looked at those two messages and closed the conversation with him one last time.

The airport boarding announcement rang out. I pulled up my suitcase, walked into the gate, and didn’t look back.

There was no one left in this city worth staying for.

Or in the entire Santoro family. Never again.