Chapter 5

To protect Eryn, Aiden broke more and more of the rules he had once treated as sacred.

He put her name on businesses she had never helped build. He gave her access to accounts and properties that even longtime associates couldn't touch. He even skipped important meetings and played childish tricks on his own men simply because they made her laugh.

For Eryn, Aiden was willing to bend rules he had spent years forcing everyone else to obey.

In doing so, he didn't just trample on my dignity.

He made a mockery of the very code that held the Moretti Family together.

But what finally broke me was the ceremony he arranged for her.

That year, Aiden had just won the bloodiest territorial war of his career.

Three rival crews had been driven out of Brooklyn, and several smaller families had sworn allegiance to the Morettis. Almost overnight, Aiden Moretti became one of the most powerful Dons in New York.

Every major family knew his name.

And at the height of his power, he chose to share that glory with Eryn.

One of the newly acquired clubs was renamed Erynden.

Aiden told everyone the name meant "forever intertwined."

Aiden and Eryn.

Two names bound together.

Forever.

Then, on the night the Moretti Family held a banquet to celebrate his victory, Aiden gave Eryn something he'd never given me.

A wedding.

The ceremony was held at a private estate overlooking the Hudson.

I watched Eryn walk toward him in a white wedding dress.

I watched Aiden take her hand.

And beneath the lights, surrounded by the most powerful people in our world, I listened as they promised to remain together for the rest of their lives.

Something inside me broke all over again.

Aiden and I had never had a wedding.

Years earlier, I'd asked him for one more times than I could count.

His answer had always been the same.

"Nina, you know me. I don't care about ceremonies."

He would barely look up from whatever ledger or report was in front of him.

"Why waste time and money putting on a show for other people? I have more important things to handle."

Because I loved him, I accepted it.

Because I loved him, I kept accepting things until there was almost nothing left of me.

That night, every emotion I'd buried finally exploded.

In front of everyone, I rushed toward Eryn.

I grabbed her wedding dress and tore the delicate fabric at the shoulder. When she cried out, I slapped her across the face.

Once.

Then again.

Before I could do anything else, Aiden stepped between us.

A glass of ice water hit me full in the face.

I froze.

Water ran down my hair and across my cheeks as Aiden stared at me with nothing but coldness.

"Nina, you've gone too far."

Not long after that, Aiden filed for divorce.

He told me he was taking Eryn away.

Of course I refused.

Back then, I still couldn't let him go.

I followed him outside, crying so hard I could barely breathe.

"If you walk away with her today, I'll throw myself off this cliff with your child."

Aiden stopped.

He didn't leave.

Instead, he came toward me and shoved me away from the edge.

Maybe he only meant to frighten me.

Maybe he thought I would stumble back and finally come to my senses.

But I fell.

And I lost the baby I had wanted more than anything in the world.

After that, I was committed again.

This time, the diagnosis was severe depression.

I told Sabrina this part with a faint smile, my voice so calm it almost sounded like I was talking about someone else's life.

"During my second year in the hospital, Aiden filed for divorce."

I looked down at the old box in front of me.

"I fought him until the very end. In the end, all I walked away with was this box of useless things."

Sabrina didn't speak.

"The first year after the divorce was the worst. I couldn't accept what had happened. I hurt myself. I lost control more times than I can remember."

I rubbed my thumb lightly across the dusty edge of the box.

"My condition was so bad that I couldn't hold down a proper job."

My parents suffered with me.

They aged quickly, and their health grew worse with every passing year.

Eventually, I became afraid that if I kept falling apart in front of them, I would destroy them too.

So I started helping at the bakery my family had owned for years.

At first, I only swept the floors, packed bread, and worked behind the counter.

Strangely enough, the ordinary routine helped.

Little by little, I stopped thinking about Aiden every waking moment.

Little by little, I became myself again.

"Eventually, I took over the bakery," I said. "And I'm actually doing pretty well now."

My voice remained calm.

Sabrina, however, was crying so hard she could barely speak.

"Nina, how did you survive all of that?"

She wiped angrily at her tears.

"Aiden Moretti is a bastard. I don't care if he's the most powerful Don in New York. If I ever see him, I'll beat him bloody for you."

The words had barely left her mouth when the bakery door opened.

Cold air swept inside.

Sabrina went silent.

Aiden Moretti stood in the doorway.

The glass was still clouded from the rain, leaving his expression difficult to read.

I stared at him.

And suddenly, I remembered what he'd tried to say when we parted outside the flower shop.

I think he'd said,

"Nina, I..."