~1~

~Claire Valli~

My lungs scream for oxygen, and my ribs ache from running. But the excitement keeps me going.

'I'm pregnant. Finally, I'm giving him an heir.' I clutch the report tightly. 'This five-year-old marriage will finally make sense.'

I reach Russo's chamber, take a deep breath, and wipe the sweat off my face. I'm still gasping as I collect myself.

“Russo, my darling husband. The doctor just dropped by. I saw him first, and he told me I’m carrying our child.” My eyes squint with anticipation, imagining how surprised he’ll be. He’d carry me in his arms and finally adore me when I tell him this.

With that thought, I rush inside...then I freeze. My face falls at the sight before me.

The snake with icy blue eyes, blonde hair, and porcelain skin, graces herself to the bed. She’s wearing Russo’s T-shirt. No underwear. Nothing else.

“And look what the wind brings in— the foul smell of a stubborn pus,” she sneers comically.

I ignore her and look around for Russo, but she blocks me.

“Get the fuck out.”

Vivienne De Luca. Russo’s favorite mistress. A wicked soul ruining my marriage. Her tall frame looms over mine, and I can’t deny I’m intimidated.

But I force a counter. “I’m his wife. You should get out."

Silence... then her laughter bursts out, cruel and ear-piercing. Her head tilts back as she holds her stomach, her eyes teary when she finally looks down at me again.

“Salvatore is mine alone. I’m defiant, resilient, strong, and wild. Everything he craves. You’re weak, worthless, and without a title...” She pauses, her gaze dropping to my hands. “What’s that?”

Before I can react, she snatches the report from my fingers.

“No—give it back!” I shout, but it's helpless.

My eyes dart to the balcony. Russo’s there, on a call. And he looks like he’s about to come in.

Vivienne’s voice snaps me back. “You’re…” She chokes on a bitter laugh. “Bitch, you think you can take my place with that bastard child? Been sleeping with the guards, huh? ‘Cause I know Salv doesn’t fuck you no more.”

My mouth drops open as she rips the report to shreds. My body locks up. My mind goes blank.

“You’re born worthless. You’ll die worthless. Not even that bastard child will save you.”

“How… how could you?” I’m hyperventilating. Adrenaline strikes through me and I push her. She trips, slamming her head against the wooden bedframe.

“Shit,” Russo’s voice booms as he rushes to Vivienne. He’s never dropped a call for my sake. But he just did for her?

When Vivienne sits up, blood is streaming down a side of her head.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean…” I stammer. In all honesty, Vivienne doesn’t deserve my apology, but I’m an empath. She, on the other hand, is cursing me out, about to raise her palm to slap me.

But Russo grabs her hand.

He forces her to look at him. “No, my firecracker. Let me do it for you.”

I barely understand his words before he strikes me. It's sudden and unexpected. He just hit me because of Vivienne.

Pain explodes in my head. My vision fades as I lose balance, crashing to the floor. My lips break with a taste of blood in my mouth and my cheek swells. He’s threatened me before—cold, cruel words—but he’s never hit me.

“Russo—you…” My voice cracks. He stares at me, deadpan.

“My dogs haven’t eaten in days.” He takes a step forward. His towering frame darkens towards me. I crawl backwards in fright. “Their teeth crush metal. In a blink of an eye, you’ll be gone. Want me to feed you to them?”

I shake my head, paralyzed.

“Send her away, my love,” Vivienne says softly behind him. “I don’t want to see her again. She’s not worth anything anyway. Just a toy.”

“You have an hour,” Russo growls. “Get out of my house. You disgust my woman.”

I lie there, frozen, my fingers trembling as I try to gather my thoughts. This isn’t happening. I’m carrying his child. He won’t even let me tell him.

As Russo turns, I lunge for his leg. “Russo, I came to tell you that I’m—”

Vivienne slams me into the wall. Her eyes are wild and cold. She's so quick just like the reptile she is.

“Bitches usually know their place. But a cunt like you just don't. You need to be taught a lesson.” She yanks my hair, and I scream. The throbbing shoots deep into my skull.

I fight back, pushing her off. My head throbs as I spit out, “I’m the one he married legally. You’re just his mistress. Russo wouldn’t let you—” Mid sentence, my voice breaks.

He’s laughing, his shoulders shaking.

Away from being a barren and a dullard, you're also a fool. What qualities of being such a wretch do you not have?" He says. He really won't send me out of here, will he?

No… no, he’s really going to throw me out.

I drop to my knees, clinging to his leg. “You’re my husband. Please, you can’t send me away. I have nowhere else to go. No family, no money. I have nothing, pease…”

He yanks his leg from me like I’m some filth.

“I have a woman who can give me what you couldn’t. You have one hour.” He grabs Vivienne’s hand, and they head towards the door. “Come on, love. Breakfast is ready.”

They leave me there. Alone. Shaking. Broken.

Tears stream down my face. Russo is a malicious Mafia King. I’ve seen him do terrible things… but this? This broke something in me. I never expected he'd get this barbaric with me.

I can't risk the chances of his dogs ending me, so I pack. Even as I leave the mansion in tears, he's nowhere to be found. Him and Viv. My heart feels like it’s caving in. My legs barely move. Every fiber of my soul is damned. Five years left me with nothing. Returned to the same gutter I was taken from.

I don’t know where to go.

In New Jersey, I have no one. In this world, I have no one. Russo picked me off the street and returned me to it. The deal was simple: give him a child. I did—eventually. Too late, I guess.

I find a tent next to a shop and sit. My only belongings are a bag of clothes and a few pieces of jewelry. I could sell them, maybe… but I don’t even know where to do that. Russo kept me locked indoor for five years. To protect because of his work nature, he claims. But I was never meant to be anything but a womb.

That’s why he married me. But I thought he’d love me. I love him. I'm stupid.

Maybe I deserved this. Maybe I should have died in that car crash with my parents. I survived, for what?

That night, I can’t stop crying. The next day is slow. It's miserable and cold. I try to return to the mansion, but Russo’s men shove me off the property. He's commanded them not to let me say a word.

I starve all day, and now it's night again. Rain pours down, heavily, soaking through the tent and dripping through the torn spaces.

I curl into a ball, shivering. My mind races. A million and one thought in my head, all ending the same way: I’m not meant for this cruel world. I’m pathetic. Feeble. Worthless.

And so I run out of the tent and into the woods nearby.

My feet hurt on muddy ground and bleed from broken branches. Still, I push forward—until I reach a cliff.

An ocean stretches out into the dark, into the distance. Endless. Cold. Like me.

“Aaahhhh!” I scream into the sky. Wind whips through my hair. Rain slashes my skin. “No one will notice I’m gone. No one cares. No one even knows me.”

I step forward. Eyes closed. Arms out. Hands on my chest.

“I should have died with you,” I whisper as the memory of my parents reels in.

Then I leap... and let gravity end my story.