Julian was flipping through the folder I had risked my life to salvage. The marriage certificate with scorched edges fell out. 

“This worthless piece of paper? You almost died for this?” His voice was tight with disbelief. “Serafina, you have a hairline fracture in your left calf and a lung infection. The doctor said if you’d been brought in ten minutes later, you would be dead!” 

I reached out and snatched the folder back. 

Without this original document, the expedited divorce with the lawyer couldn’t move forward. 

Julian stared at my protective gesture over the folder, his brows pulling into a tight knot. 

“All you had to do was back away and everyone would have gotten out alive. But no, you had to play this twisted game, forcing me to make a choice. Are you that desperate to prove where you rank in my heart?” 

“This was a hit by our rivals. I protected Mia and got her out first because she’s a civilian who doesn’t know anything. You, on the other hand, knew how to survive on the streets better than anyone.” 

I stared at the surgical light on the ceiling and gave a soft reply. “Yeah.” 

“Baby,” his tone softened as he leaned closer to me. “I told you a long time ago that I’m settling down. But with Mia… her family is drowning in gambling debts, and her mother has a bad heart. I’m just helping her out. It’s the least I can do.” 

He claimed to value me as his wife, but his actions betrayed his infatuation with her. 

I finally met his gaze, my own eyes like a pool of stagnant water, without a single ripple. 

“I know. I completely understand.” 

Driven to the edge by my cold indifference, he abruptly stood up, only to catch sight of the angry red welts from the burns across my shoulder. 

“Serafina, wasn’t losing our child enough torture for me? Did you have to scar your own body just to make me bleed, too?” 

“You’re overthinking it. I’ll never do something so stupid again.” 

He opened his mouth to say more, but his phone rang. 

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and answered the call. 

I couldn’t make out the exact words on the other end, but I could faintly hear Mia’s fragile, helpless weeping. 

Julian lowered his voice and coaxed her for a moment. After hanging up, he turned back to me. “There’s a rat in one of our operations that I need to deal with. I have to get back to the office. Stay here and focus on recovering.” 

Leaving those words behind, he strode out of the hospital room without a backward glance. 

For the next few days, I stayed quietly in the hospital. 

Julian sent his men over with boxes of expensive supplements and red roses. The landline in the room rang like clockwork every day. 

I always had the nurse on duty answer for me: “Her condition is stable. No visitors.” 

On the day I was discharged, I endured the severe pain and went to the pharmacy alone to pick up my painkillers. 

Just as I handed my prescription slip through the window, a middle-aged woman cut in front of me, shoving me aside. 

“My son-in-law is the boss of this district! Why the hell should I have to wait in line!” 

I frowned. “Please wait in line.” 

The woman looked me up and down, her face full of disdain. “Who do you think you are? My son-in-law is Capo Julian! If you delay my medication, can you bear the consequences?” 

Right on cue, Julian and Mia came hurrying down from the other end of the corridor. 

He pulled me over to the wall and lowered his voice. “Mia’s mom has a weak heart, she can’t handle emotional stress. You’re the Capo’s wife. It’s only right that you let a civilian go first.” 

Mia quickly supported the heavily panting woman, her eyes red. 

“Mrs. Marchetti, I am so sorry… My mom’s condition acts up when she gets upset. I was afraid she wouldn’t accept the expensive medication, so I just told her Julian was my fiancé.” 

“Please don’t be mad at the Capo either. He just has a soft spot for loyalty and can’t stand to see good people suffer.” 

I quietly observed the three people in front of me. 

So, the moment Mia’s mother claimed she felt unwell, he could abandon his own wife, nursing a fractured bone and severe burns, alone in a hospital room without a second thought. 

Whatever. None of this mattered anymore anyway. 

I nodded and turned toward the elevators. I had only taken two steps when I heard Mia’s soft, sniffling voice behind me. 

“Julian, is Mrs. Serafina angry? Will she act out like last time? I’m so scared of dragging down your position…” 

Julian’s voice was low, yet every word drifted clearly into my ears. 

“Ignore her. Don’t overthink it. She came from an orphanage. She wouldn’t know compassion if it hit her in the face.”