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He still wore that same arrogant confidence from years ago.
Carmela was even more deluded, convinced that by latching onto Rocco, her child would
be born into greatness.
This was the wound that had defined my life.
When Marco saw me emerge from the manor, he immediately moved to greet me.
“Rocco, why are you wasting your breath on a barren bitch? It’s not like she can ever get
pregnant again.”
I let out a cold laugh.
Back then, Rocco’s family was just an insignificant branch of the Corleone clan.
Rocco’s anger shifted back to me.
When I collapsed, bleeding out and losing our child, he had me thrown into some
back–alley clinic because I couldn’t entertain Carmela anymore. He wouldn’t even let the
doctor give me anesthesia.
But when I was pregnant, he forced me to dance in a nightclub for three straight nights just to make Carmela smile.
“I told you to apologize. Are you deaf?”
But Carmela, seeing her chance, let out another pained cry.
Enjoy the dinner. If it becomes too much, Marco is waiting outside for you.
But I never expected Rocco and Carmela to throw themselves in my path, so determined
to cause a scene.
Rocco didn’t expect my insolence.
“Lucia, my brother is being generous by not throwing you out. What’s with the act?”
I glanced at my phone. A message from Salvatore.
“If this is a game, Lucia, don’t push it.”
“The baby in Carmela’s belly is the first heir to our branch of the Corleone family. He’s
precious. Do you, a worthless stray, dare to provoke her?”
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Before he could get the word “Signora” out, Rocco’s harsh voice cut him off.
He had urgent business and might not make it to the Corleone family dinner, asking if I’d
rather stay home.
“Firstborn heir? Her?”
Rocco’s sister, Isla, was the first to step forward.
Isla had worshiped Carmela since they were children, hanging on her every word.
“Don’t pretend. You came to this dinner to get my attention, didn’t you?”
And I remembered what Salvatore Corleone had told me even more clearly.
I picked up my clutch from the table, rose to my feet, and headed for the exit.
The day I chose to stand by Salvatore Corleone’s side was the day I buried the past.
I remembered what he had told me earlier.
Isla looked at me with a mocking sneer.
So, he did remember that pregnant women shouldn’t be provoked. He did know how to carefully protect a woman carrying his child.
But I was no longer the woman I used to be.
I violently shook his hand off my arm.
I refused to get entangled with them any longer and walked straight for the door.
At Isla’s words, a flicker of triumph crossed Carmela’s face.
What had I told him?
Of course, I knew this was Corleone territory.
“You’re talking about worthiness? What gives you the right to challenge me?”
Isla put a protective arm around Carmela.
The other Corleone family members couldn’t stay silent any longer.
But now Isla was acting as if they owned the place.
The rest of the family’s hunger for drama was written all over their faces.
He’d said that since I’d made Carmela unhappy, he would make me pay for it in pain, a
hundred times over.
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Seeing me leave, Rocco’s first instinct was to follow.
If Rocco’s father hadn’t managed to secure a position under Salvatore, the Don himself, Rocco wouldn’t even be qualified to attend this dinner.
When you can’t bear it any longer, you don’t have to.
“Apologize?” I scoffed. “Is she even worthy of one?”
Seeing Marco remain motionless, Rocco lost his temper.
“Are you deaf? I said drive to the hospital, now!”
That I didn’t mind at all.
Four years ago, she had made my life a living hell.
With that, he pulled open the door of the bulletproof Cadillac and settled in the back with
a now–fainting Carmela in his arms.
Hearing this, a flicker of something–was it sorrow?-crossed Rocco’s face for the first
time.
My defiance made Rocco laugh, a harsh, angry sound.
“Lucia, you have the nerve to bribe a family Soldato? Don’t you know this is Corleone
territory? This is no place for your games.”
I had no reason to stay and be their entertainment.
He glared at me, his face a mask of fury.
Hearing Isla’s proclamation, the other family members exchanged knowing glances before
turning their silent judgment on me.
But Marco remained steadfastly by my side.
But Rocco blocked my way,
And now, it was their punchline.
The sound stopped Rocco in his tracks, his attention snapping back to her.
“Get her to the nearest hospital. Now.”
“Watch your tone. Carmela is pregnant. Don’t upset her.”
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