A Donna in Name, a Prisoner in Practice

Rosalie's POV

"I had the hospital put your mother back on treatment. Now behave yourself, and quit making up excuses to get money out of me."

The call came from my husband, Silas Crane.

The Don of the Crane family had noticed I hadn't gone to his assistant for money in five whole days. He probably figured I'd finally been trained to be a proper Donna.

Before he hung up, he added, "I know life's tough for people from the wrong side of town. But you're not going to scam the Cranes that easily."

I didn't tell him the divorce papers were sitting right in front of me.

When I packed, I went through the entire walk-in closet. In the end, the only thing I could take was the old denim jacket I'd worn the day I married into this family.

From the outside, being the Crane Donna looked like having it all.

But in five years, I couldn't even scrape together two decent outfits.

The jewelry and gowns were locked in a safe. Every dollar I spent needed a written request, and Silas's personal assistant, Tessa Vaughn, had to approve it.

His reason was simple. I came from nothing, and he was afraid I'd start blowing money the second I married into wealth.

Five days ago, Mom was lying in a hospital bed waiting on a $300,000 surgery deposit.

Tessa sent my request back again and again. Before the money ever came through, Mom was gone.

I'd put up with Silas for five years, and it was never about love. It was about the surgery slot at the Crane hospital that could save Mom.

Now Mom was gone, and there was nothing left in the Crane family that could keep me here.

"I want a divorce."

I put the papers on Silas's desk. He didn't even look up. His eyes stayed on the stack of shipping manifests.

"Don't start."

I didn't move. "I'm not starting anything. Just sign it."

Only then did he set the manifests down and lean back in his chair, sizing me up like one of his men who didn't know any better.

"I'm the one who okayed cutting off your mother's meds. It had nothing to do with Tessa. She was just doing what I told her."

"You humiliated her in front of everyone at the family meeting. I had to teach you a lesson somehow."

"I already had the hospital put her back on it yesterday. I don't have time for your tantrums."

He grabbed his coat and walked out. He didn't even slow down when he passed me.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

He figured that in a few days I'd be back to my old routine, bringing coffee to his study and asking with a smile what he wanted for dinner.

Never mind that just last month, right in front of the butler, he'd said my people-pleasing act made him sick.

But it didn't matter to me anymore whether the hospital resumed her treatment.

If he'd been willing to hear me out five days ago, I probably would have stayed in this marriage for the rest of my life.

Five days ago, I called him from the hospital hallway. It took seven tries before he picked up.

I gripped the phone and begged. "Silas, five minutes. That's all I need. Mom can't wait."

But the first voice on the line was Tessa's, soft and a little hurt.

"Is Rosalie still mad at me about last time? I was really just trying to get her to do things the right way."

"She was used to doing whatever she wanted before she married into the family. I'm only strict with her because I want her to live up to the Crane name."

Silas's voice went cold. "Whatever Tessa says, you do."

Then the line went dead.

I'd been hearing that for five years.

When he was doing business, I was supposed to go to Tessa. When he was traveling, go to Tessa.

Even when I asked if he'd be home for dinner on the weekend, all he said was, "Ask Tessa."

I was the Donna of the Crane family, but in this house, I had to file a request just to step out the door.

For Capo dinners, charity galas, all the events he insisted I attend with him, the gowns and jewelry were locked up in the closet.

I had to get Tessa's approval ahead of time, and every time, she sent it back with a smile.

"This is way too vague. Write it up again."

"The dinner ends at ten, and you're asking to stay out till midnight? Where exactly are you planning to go?"

"You left the signature line blank again. How many times do I have to tell you to check before you turn it in?"

She always found something wrong, and she always signed off half an hour before we had to leave.

I ended up changing in the back seat and using my phone screen as a mirror to put on lipstick. By the time I got there, everyone in the ballroom was already raising their glasses.

When we got home, Silas would give me a cold look.

"Can you ever be on time? You can't even handle something this simple. Why can't you be more like Tessa?"

Every time I was late, I had his trusted assistant to thank for it. But he didn't see it, and he didn't care to.

He knew perfectly well Mom's condition couldn't wait a single day, and he still snapped at me over the phone the same way.

"How many times have I told you? If it's urgent, go to Tessa. You really think she won't take care of it?"

Getting money out of Tessa had never been easy.

When she read my request for the $300,000 deposit, the first thing she did was laugh.

"What kind of illness needs that much up front? Rosalie, you're not trying to sneak a little something for yourself in there, are you?"

"Even if it's our own hospital, every dollar that goes out has to be accounted for. Attach the bill and I'll push it through for you."

I explained that it was a deposit. There wouldn't be an actual bill until after the surgery.

She nodded like it had just dawned on her.

"Then get the hospital to write up a statement. Rules are rules. I can't make an exception for you."

When I sent the statement over, she had something new to say.

"The hospital belongs to the Cranes, and you're the Donna. You could get them to sign anything you want."

"It's not that I don't trust you. I just have to be careful."

"Paperwork from inside the family doesn't count. Print out the state health department regulations and attach those."

When the nurse came running to find me, I was standing at the hospital printer, watching the regulations come out one page at a time.

It wasn't until I'd signed Mom's death certificate that a notification popped up on my phone: Your request has been approved.

I stared at those words for a long time. Hatred and grief crept in bit by bit until my chest felt so tight I could barely breathe.

This marriage was a cage. It had kept me locked up for five whole years, and I had to get out.