“She used to be such a wonderful hostess,” she said. “Maybe she can serve drinks. Just until things settle.”
Vincenzo said nothing.
So I bent down and picked up the tray.
I moved through the room, handing out glasses like I belonged nowhere else. A waitress gave me a look—something close to pity.
At the bar, someone whispered, “Is that the first wife?”
Another voice replied, “I heard she poisoned the house… with her dead child’s ashes.”
I kept walking.
Slow. Steady.
They couldn’t take anything more from me.
I had already lost it all.
Let them talk.
Let them laugh at the ghost they thought I had become.
Because soon—
They would remember my name again.
And when they did… it wouldn’t be in whispers.
While I was serving champagne near the garden tables, I tried to melt into the golden light of the lanterns, hoping I’d become invisible to everyone around me. But I wasn’t. I could feel it—every whisper, every glance—burning straight through me like acid on skin.
“Vincenzo and Lena look so good together.”
“She actually fits this world. She moves like she belongs in a mafia family.”
“Their son is so well-behaved. Clearly, she raised him properly.”
“Vincenzo finally chose someone worthy of him.”
I kept pouring champagne, my fingers tightening around the silver tray until they ached. The plain black dress I wore felt less like clothing and more like punishment. Around me, everyone sparkled—diamonds soaked in old money, power passed down like inheritance, like blood.
And then it happened.
Noel.
Vincenzo’s precious heir, his spoiled little prince, casually stuck his polished shoe out just as I passed.
I noticed too late.
My heel caught. My body lurched forward.
Crystal glasses exploded across the marble. Champagne burst onto a woman’s ivory dress, spreading like a stain that looked almost alive—like something she would never forgive.
Gasps shot through the air. The music stuttered and died.
I stood there in the center of it all, hands shaking, surrounded by shattered glass and silence.
Noel lifted his chin, smug and proud.
“She always ruins everything,” he said loudly. “Just like she ruined my baby brother.”
The garden went still.
A heavy, choking silence dropped over everyone.
Then Lena stood up slowly, one hand resting gently over her stomach. Her eyes shimmered with practiced fear, like she had rehearsed the expression in front of a mirror.