Not Afraid to Start Over

My phone rang. Seeing the word "Honey" on the screen felt like a cruel joke.

I meant to decline, but my finger slipped and answered it instead.

"Come here."

Just two words, but Luca's voice carried a sharp authority I had never heard before. The voice of a mafia heir, not a husband.

"I'm busy." My voice was flat and empty.

"I was shot. You're my wife."

I didn't react. His tone turned colder and harder.

"Alivia, get here now unless you want Sacred Heart Hospital to shut its doors. Your precious coworkers won't have jobs anymore."

He used my colleagues and the career I had built my life around to threaten me.

I swallowed back the disgust and went, not because I gave in, but because I was going to end this with my own hands.

The hospital room stank of perfume mixed with disinfectant. Sylvia was half undressed, curled up beside Luca.

One glance was enough. I knew exactly what had happened here.

"Didn't I say no physical strain after surgery?" I pointed out.

Sylvia looked hurt. "Alivia, you just can't stand seeing me with Luca. That's why you're saying that."

Luca casually pushed her away and told her to wait outside. Then, he looked at me with steady disappointment.

"You'll need to get used to the lifestyle of women in the Colleones. Some things are better ignored. It's healthier for both of us. As for Sylvia, she's a helpless woman trying to survive out there. I'm just offering her protection."

I almost laughed.

He had nearly died in a shootout for her and gotten her pregnant, yet he made it sound like it was just charity work.

Without a word, I pulled the divorce papers from my bag and placed them in front of him.

He looked surprised for a second, then scoffed.

"Don't be dramatic. You know who I am now. Stay with me, and you'll be the future Donna of the Colleones. Isn't that what people dream of? I hid my identity because it was part of my family test. Do you think I enjoyed living in that dump with you, eating your cheap cooking?"

I cut him off before he could say more. "If I don't divorce you, what about the child she's carrying?"

Luca frowned like he was seriously thinking about it.

"That baby carries Colleone blood. It has to be born.

"Alivia, you've worn yourself out over the years. Your body's probably ruined. You may not even be able to have kids anymore.

"Once the baby's born, you raise it as your own."

Before he even finished, Sylvia burst in crying and threw herself into Luca's arms.

"Luca, does Alivia not want the baby and me around? I can go. I don't want to upset her, but the baby is innocent!"

As she brushed past me, her hand knocked over the steaming cup by the bed. Scalding coffee spilled all over my right hand, and pain shot up my arm.

I instinctively looked at Luca.

For ten years, he had treasured my hands more than anything. He always said, "You save lives with those hands. Don't ever let them get hurt."

But when his eyes passed over the blistered red skin on my hand, he didn't stop for even a second.

Instead, he grabbed Sylvia's shoulders urgently.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Sylvia's smile flickered before tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Alivia. The baby kicked, and my hand slipped."

Luca pressed her gently. "It's not your fault. She was standing too close."

The pain in my hand turned sharp and unbearable.

I turned and walked out without saying a word. I was going to get my hand treated at the ER.

Behind me, Sylvia cried softly, and Luca soothed her.

"It's not your fault. She should've moved."

At the ER, the nurse gasped when she saw my hand. "With burns like this, you won't be able to perform surgery for at least a month!"

My chest tightened.

Just as I started worrying about work, my department head walked over with a heavy expression.

The Colleones had pressured the hospital. I was suspended indefinitely. The official reason was "emotional instability that could compromise surgical safety".

"Dr. Rossi, I'm sorry. We just can't withstand that level of pressure."

I nodded. I understood.

The hospital had no real choice against the mafia.

And so, I started packing my office belongings.

Then, an unfamiliar number called my phone. Antonio Vettori, director of St. Lorenzo Memorial Hospital.

I knew the name.

"Dr. Rossi, I heard you're leaving Sacred Heart. Would you consider coming to St. Lorenzo? You'll be paid nine million a year. We give you a private top-tier lab team and a secured oceanfront residence near the harbor. I promise that no one will ever threaten you again."

Nine million dollars. That was thirty years of my salary from Sacred Heart combined.

I stared at the few pathetic items in my box and couldn't help laughing at myself.

Other hospitals had tried to hire me over the years, but Luca always said, "Alivia, don't take risks. My career is unstable. We need your steady income. Just wait for me a little longer."

So I did, for ten years.

Now the chance was right in front of me, and I didn't hesitate.

"I'll start next month."