Chapter 5

Adriana's POV

I looked up at Lorenzo and gave him the gentlest smile I could manage.

"Don't worry," I said quietly. "I'll take care of it."

He didn't hesitate. Not even for a breath. The second the words left my mouth, he turned and rushed off like he couldn't get away fast enough, his shadow gone from the doorway before I'd lowered my hand.

The nurse who came in to draw my blood gave me this tight, uneasy look. In the Family's private clinic, no one spoke louder than they had to. The walls here had heard too much.

"Signora Moretti, your vitals aren't looking good," she said softly. "You really shouldn't be donating blood in your condition."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I'm the same blood type as Miss Falcone. And it's two lives we're talking about."

In my last life, Tessa died from this.

And that was the root of Lorenzo's hatred toward me. That moment. That loss.

This time, I was going to fix it.

After the blood was drawn, everything went sideways. I felt my whole body cave in, and before I could even try to sit up, everything went dark.

...

When I woke up, Lorenzo was sitting right beside me. For once, the anger in his eyes was gone, and all I saw was gratitude.

"Tessa's surgery went well," he said, his voice low. "Thanks… for everything. Here. Take this as a token of appreciation."

He held out a small box.

Inside were sapphire earrings, still in their original case.

I remembered them. They were the pieces that came with the Blue Heart necklace, back when that necklace was meant to be mine, when Vittorio and Rosaria still called it a gift for the blood-oath bride.

Still valuable. Still beautiful.

But I didn't reach for them. I gently pushed the box back toward him.

"No thanks," I said. "I don't need them."

Lorenzo paused, probably noticing how pale I looked. And this time, he didn't argue.

He just nodded and said, almost gently, "You always said you wanted to see the flowers at Saint Jude's chapel, right? Once you're better, I'll take you."

I gave the faintest smile, more reflex than sincerity, and stayed silent.

I didn't tell him the truth.

Magnolias only bloom for a few days. They're delicate like that. By the time he ever got around to taking me, they'd be long gone, just like everything else.

He set the earrings down on the side table.

"I'll go get you something to eat. Wait here," he said, standing. "Marco's right outside. If you need anything, just call him."

Then he left.

And I just sat there, watching the door close behind him with this quiet, bitter ache blooming in my chest. Somewhere down the corridor a monitor beeped, steady and indifferent, the only sound in a place built to keep secrets and the men who made them.

'Lorenzo, this time, I really can't wait for you anymore. Your heart's already full of her. I know it. I've seen it. There's no room left for me, and I'm done trying to squeeze into a space that was never meant for me in the first place. I won't be the distraction you keep having to push away.'

Not anymore.

My thumb found the thin band on my left ring finger and turned it, once, the way it always did when I was deciding whether a truth was worth speaking aloud. Then I stopped. There was no one left to lie to.

...

Lorenzo's POV

I walked back, food in hand, and found the room empty. The moment I realized she was gone, it felt like a punch to the gut.

I called out, my voice sharp and frantic. "Where is she?"

Marco rushed in, pale and stumbling over his words. His hand was already cracking through its knuckles, one finger at a time, the way it did when he was carrying something he didn't want to say. "Boss, I swear, I was right outside the door the whole time. She never passed by me. I didn't see her leave."

Then a nurse walked past, muttering under her breath, thinking no one in this place would dare listen. "What a shame. So young. She jumped from a high place. Her face was barely recognizable."

I froze.

Turning to her, my voice broke as I shouted, "What did you say? Who jumped? Where?"