Abandoned by My Four Dons: The Mafia Princess’s Revenge chapter 04
“Nina, I know you blame me. The medicine, the baby. And I know you’re jealous that I got a healthy heart and you didn’t. But…”
Her voice cracked and she dissolved into tears, choking on every word.
“I’ve waited so long to dance again. So long. And you let that drop on purpose just to watch me fall…”
Alessio was already kneeling beside her, examining her leg, his thumb gently grazing the red scrape on her calf.
Matteo’s expression darkened with fury, a vein pulsing visibly at his temple.
“Nina! Is this who we raised you to become? When did you turn this cruel?”
The other three stared her down, anger and confusion etched across their faces, as if they no longer recognized her at all.
Every word struck like another blade through her chest. Her voice emerged hollow.
“I… I didn’t do anything! That piece came loose yesterday…”
“Still making excuses! We gave you everything, and this is what you became!”
Matteo’s jaw locked tight. His massive frame lunged forward, his hand snapping up toward her throat.
The grip never landed.
Rafe caught his wrist mid-motion.
“Matteo, she’s been through enough. Just give her some time!”
Dario stepped between them. “Let it go. Didn’t Gianna mention wanting to try that new dessert place? Let’s take her out, celebrate her discharge.”
Then he turned to her, and every trace of warmth drained from his expression.
“You stay home and think about what you’ve done.”
Rafe started to say he’d remain behind with her, but Gianna rushed forward and grabbed his hand right in front of her, swinging it playfully like a child begging for a treat.
“Come with us, Rafe! You promised. If I behaved through the surgery, you said you’d take me out to eat. Remember?”
Rafe’s expression tensed.
“I’ll stay here with Nina… she…”
Her gaze dropped to their intertwined fingers, laced together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her voice came out scraped and raw.
“If Gianna wants you there, go.”
Rafe brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“Baby, just hang in there, okay? I’ll bring you back some clam chowder, the kind you love.”
She fell asleep waiting for him. When she woke at three in the morning, his side of the bed was still cold.
Rafe never came home.
The villa sat dark, every room silent except for Gianna’s.
The door wasn’t shut completely. The moment she got close, she heard her, breathless, whimpering, making sounds that had nothing to do with crying.
Rafe’s voice came through low and rough.
“Easy, baby… we need to stop. You just got out of surgery…”
Gianna’s voice turned pleading, half-sobbing.
“My heart’s fixed now. So when are you finally going to leave her? We belong together, Rafe. You were always meant to be mine.”
When Rafe answered, his tone was soft, tender in a way she hadn’t heard directed at her in months.
“You know you’re the one I love. But Nina saved my life. I can’t just discard her. And if your body starts rejecting the heart… we’re still going to need her blood.”
“Rafe…”
Every word felt like a bucket of ice water, soaking through her completely until she couldn’t feel her own hands anymore.
She pressed her back against the wall, eyes shut, phone trembling in her grip.
She stayed there through the entire night, listening to the moaning, the panting, the whispered promises that were never meant for her.
The next morning, Alessio, Matteo, and Dario discovered her still slumped against Gianna’s door.
“Nina, why are you here?”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t even look up at them.
Then she reached back, gripped the handle, and shoved Gianna’s door wide open.