Chapter 2

Word about Jasmine's return, and her little girl's, spread through the Salvatore family in no time.

Seven years ago she'd left for the Marchetti family overseas, and she hadn't come home since.

Still, everyone knew Rafael had never really let her go.

Back then, the two of them had been the family's golden couple. Their wedding was only days away.

But the night before the ceremony, Jasmine fell head over heels for a Don from another family. She walked out on Rafael, ignoring every plea, and chased after the other man.

And that was the end of that.

At the time, I was just the family doctor, the one who stitched up Rafael's wounds after the bad nights. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him.

Once, he took a bullet and lay unconscious for days. I sat by his bed for three nights without sleeping. When he finally opened his eyes, he gripped my hand and thanked me for staying.

After that, he started showing up where I was.

Sometimes he even drove me home himself. At family dinners, he stood between me and the whispers and the sneers.

I believed he'd finally gotten over Jasmine.

Then came the night we both got drunk at the celebration dinner after a huge deal closed, and we ended up in bed together. I got pregnant with Nina, and Rafael married me.

It wasn't until after the wedding that I understood he'd done it out of duty, not love.

Seven years later, I finally saw it clearly: the tenderness that had made me feel cherished had never been meant for me.

That was why I'd made my decision last night.

I packed my bags. I called a lawyer and had him start drawing up divorce papers. Then I took my resignation to the head of administration.

"Nadia Whitney? You're sure you want to leave the family?" he asked, staring at me.

"I'm sure," I said. "I've accepted an offer from an international medical research institute in Switzerland, and I'm taking Nina with me."

He sighed. "The Don's been swamped lately. Maybe the two of you could try again."

I managed a thin smile.

If it hadn't been for Nina, I'd have walked out years ago. Seven years was plenty of time to see exactly who Rafael was. It was also plenty of time to learn that some things never happen, no matter how long you wait, because they were never meant to.

I'd barely stepped out of the administration office when I saw Jasmine.

She was in a long white dress, holding a little girl's hand. Rafael stood right beside her, wearing a soft smile I hadn't seen on him in years.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, not even for a second.

Some of the family walked by, and I overheard them. "Can you believe it? Seven years, and the two of them still look so much better together."

"Right? I was thinking the exact same thing."

I was the Don's wife. I'd stood next to him for seven years. And right now I felt like a stranger passing through.

He didn't need me anymore, so I wasn't going to keep waiting for him.

As I passed by, Rafael finally noticed me and gave me a cold look.

"Nadia. What are you doing here?"

There was a warning in his voice, a reminder to behave and remember my place. He probably assumed I'd come to "accidentally" bump into him. I didn't bother defending myself.

"Nothing," I said flatly.

He grunted and looked away, his eyes going right back to Jasmine as if she were the whole world.

Rafael was my husband and my daughter's father, and still he handed all of his attention and warmth to another woman, right in front of me.

It was pathetic, and I laughed a little at myself.

I'd meant to tell him I was leaving, but I didn't see the point now. He had never really paid attention to Nina or to me anyway.

I turned to go, but my phone rang. It was Nina.

"Mommy, you remember there's parent-teacher night tonight, right? Ms. Redding said we can go home early to get ready. Mr. Warren is bringing me to you now!"

For a second I just stood there. Then I scanned the courtyard for her. I'd only taken a few steps when I saw Rafael crouching down to fix Ally's hair, which the wind had blown into a mess.

Nina was about five feet away, her backpack on her shoulders.

She stood rooted to the spot, her eyes wide, watching her own father fuss over a little girl she'd never met.

The tenderness on his face was something neither Nina nor I had ever once seen.

My heart dropped. I was about to hurry over and get her out of there when Rafael looked up and saw her too. He went rigid and pulled his hand back, awkward.

But a moment later, he put himself between Nina and Jasmine and Ally, and walked right past her, steady and unhurried, like she was nobody he knew.

My chest tightened. I rushed Nina over to a nearby bench. Before I could say a word of explanation, she looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

"Mommy," she asked timidly, "is that the woman and the little girl the Don likes?"

I had no strength left to speak. All I could do was nod and bite my lip.

Nina didn't push. She just stood in front of me, pulled the teddy bear out of her backpack, and stroked it softly. She couldn't stop the tears, though, and they dripped onto its fur.

She scrubbed at the wet spots on the bear, hard, fighting back her sobs. I couldn't stand it any longer. I pulled her close.

"You've still got me, baby. And I love you more than anyone in the whole world, okay?"

Rafael had two chances left before Nina and I walked out of the family for good.