As the morning sunlight spilled into the kitchen, I hummed an old Northern tune, frying bacon and a sunny side up egg at my own pace.
This was a farewell feast I’d gotten myself.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. Just as my fork touched the soft yolk, the door opened with a soft click.
Rafael walked in, reeking of Natalia’s perfume and holding a huge bouquet of flamboyant strelitzia. It was a kaleidoscopic mix of bright orange and gold with stiff stems sticking out from the sides.
I hated those flowers and always thought they looked cheap and forced, like a dressed-up turkey ready to be served. But Natalia loved them. She said they were hardy like the version of herself she longed to be.
“Morning, Gianna.” His voice was rough from a night up, but he seemed in good spirits. He dumped the tacky bouquet on the far end of the table and dropped into the seat across from me.
Then, he said, his tone jokingly unhappy, “Natalia was a handful last night and kept whining that the new painkillers weren’t working. Her body’s so delicate that anything sets her off.”
As he rambled, he instinctively reached for my bread. I picked up my plate and avoided his hands.
He froze, and only now did he notice that there was just one set of breakfast on the table.
Raising an eyebrow, there was a spoiled, entitled tone in his voice as he asked, “Where’s mine? Come on, Gianna. You can’t just think of your baby and starve your husband.”
When he noticed my cold expression, realization belatedly hit him. So, he leaned in and grasped my hand.
“About what happened at the chapel yesterday, I’m sorry, Gianna. Natalia was really sick then, and Antonio…”
The same old script, huh?
When he noticed I didn’t react, he immediately changed the subject. Turning around, he grabbed the ugly flowers and thrust them into my arms. “These are just for you; your favorite! There’s a surprise inside. Wanna see?”
Grinning mysteriously, he slipped behind me and guided my hands to peel open one of the blooms. “In here.”
My fingers fumbled with the petals until a dark red velvet box tumbled into my hands. A pair of earrings lay inside.
I froze. The stones had decent clarity, but when the light hit, there were visible spiderwebbed flaws trapped inside.
As I took a closer look at the color and cut… a wave of absurdity crashed over me.
“Do you like them?” His voice was warm, expecting praise.
My body started shaking in absolute rage as I kept my stare on the pair of earrings. Of course, I liked the earrings. They were made from the pigeon-blood ruby I’d given to be made into my wedding gift!
Half a year ago, he told me it was sent to a jeweler, and I’d been looking forward to seeing the final piece.
Now, I knew that the jewelry carrying the centerpiece sat on Natalia’s vanity, and I was being handed its scraps.
Just the fact that he tried to pacify me with such a pair of shabby earrings and tossed me scraps of my own gemstone like some pitiful handout filled me with fury.
“Gianna?” Rafael gently nudged my shoulder when I didn’t answer.
I shut the box and dropped it onto the table.
“Don’t you like them?” he asked, frowning, and sensed that I was being extra unreasonable today.
As he set the box aside, the forced warmth on his face faded and was replaced by a flicker of irritation. He cleared his throat and seemed to finally remember today’s real agenda.
“Gianna, there’s something else… Natalia told me she wants to play Goddess Freyella this year for next month’s Harvestide.”
I froze, and Rafael was still rambling. “You know how fragile she is. She’s been feeling down lately and mentioned twice that she’d love to play Goddess Freyella…”
Harvestide was one of Southern Silenzio’s biggest celebrations. Traditions dictated that Goddess Freyella be played by the Don’s wife or his sister, if unwed.
And here I stood, pregnant with his baby yet not his legal wife after countless failed wedding attempts. So, by the letter of our laws, Natalia had every right to fight for it.
Studying my face, Rafael was starting to grow impatient. “…You know she’s weak, and now, there’s this one thing that makes her happy. She’s always wanted to play the goddess as a kid.
“When Antonio was around…”
He brought me the flowers I hated.
