The next morning, before the sun had fully bathed the estate in light, I heard a sharp knock on my door.
“The Madre requests your presence in the living room. Immediately,” a guard said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
I had just stepped out of the shower, my hair still dripping.
But the matriarch of the Falcieri family doesn’t wait for anyone.
I dressed quickly and descended the spiral staircase.
In the living room, Caius was feeding imported cherries to Livia, one by one. She was half-reclined on the leather sofa, her pregnant belly prominent.
As if she were already the Donna of this house.
Caius’s hand froze mid-air when he saw me enter.
“Alessia, you look pale,” he said, rising and walking toward me, a hint of concern in his eyes. “Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
The Madre scoffed. “Why wouldn’t she look rested? She bears none of the weight. Unlike our Livia, who barely slept, worrying over the little Don in her womb.”
Her gaze was as sharp as a knife. “Alessia, after you frightened her last night, Livia’s condition has worsened. I had the best fortune-teller come, and he said the east wing guest room she’s in has bad energy, harmful for the fetus.”
“Of all the rooms in this house, only your jewelry studio in the south wing gets the best light. It’s the only place suitable for her to rest.”
“What?” Though I knew they would find a way to target me, I hadn’t expected them to come for my studio.
It was my sanctuary. My design table, my tools, every piece I had ever crafted with my own hands…
“I need that studio,” I said, my voice low and firm.
Caius knew better than anyone how much that place meant to me. He used to come there himself, to sit with me and find inspiration.
But now, when I looked at him, he avoided my gaze.
“A woman’s hobby?” she sneered. “You think your trinkets are more important than the Falcieri heir?”
“A hobby?” My voice was quiet. “That’s my work.”
“Work?” The Madre scoffed. “Alessia, you married into this family five years ago. Your only duty was to continue the bloodline. Now that Livia is fulfilling that duty, what ‘work’ do you need?”
Livia chose that moment to start sobbing, one hand on her belly, the other dabbing at her eyes. “Mother, please, let it go. I know I’m just a widow, I have no right to ask for anything. I’d live in the stables if it meant the baby would be born safely.”
She lifted her tear-streaked face to Caius. “All I want is to give you a healthy son…”
For a fleeting moment, I saw him struggle, caught between his duty to the family and me. But in the end, he abandoned me.
“Alessia, it’s just temporary. After the baby is born, I’ll build you a bigger, better studio.”
“For the future of this family… can’t you make this one sacrifice?”
I looked at this man.
He was destroying everything I held dear for another woman’s lies.
My horse, my studio, my dignity.
But none of it mattered anymore.
“Fine,” I said, my voice even. “I’ll have my things out by evening.”
Caius was stunned, clearly not expecting me to give in so easily. “You don’t have to be in such a hurry…”
“Thank you, sister!” Livia chirped, cutting him off. The tears on her cheeks were still wet, but a smirk was already playing on her lips. “Caius, I’m craving Italian white truffles. Could you go get some for me yourself?”
