What about the years I stood quietly beside him? The achievements I longed to celebrate with the man who claimed I was his partner?
The final fracture came when Zaldy accompanied Maria back to Paris—this time to meet her remaining benefactors, old-money crime families, and influential elders who still held sway in Europe’s underground. Watching him embed himself deeper into her world made the truth impossible to deny.
I had already lost him.
Every instinct in my body screamed that it was time to walk away. When I finally made the decision, it didn’t come with relief—only a dull, aching sadness that had been growing for years.
I signed the separation agreement, relinquished my claim to Corell Manor, and booked a flight to Italy to pursue my master’s degree in Art—choosing a future free from Zaldy’s divided loyalties and looming shadow.
Before I left, I sent him one final message.
[Sami: There’s nothing left for me here. I’m stepping away. You’re free to live the life you want.]
His reply came quickly. Cold. Revealing.
[Zaldy: And how exactly do you plan to survive without me? Without my protection?]
Tears burned my eyes as the truth finally settled in. To him, I had never been a partner—only an ornament. A possession. A symbol of status, not a woman he loved.
I blocked his number, cut off every channel, and severed the last remaining thread binding me to him.
Days later, whispers reached me through mutual associates. Zaldy was searching relentlessly—sending messages I never saw, demanding updates, growing increasingly volatile.
[Sami, I made a mistake. Come back.]
Tomorrow was supposed to be my graduation—four years of relentless study at the Rhode Island School of Art finally coming to an end. When I mentioned it over dinner the night before, his reaction was colder than any threat he’d ever made.
“I have commitments tomorrow,” he said curtly. “I’ll have something sent to you.”
He stood, already absorbed in his phone, barking orders to his men, leaving me staring at the empty chair across from me—feeling erased from his life.
In recent months, just when I dared to believe he might be returning to me, he withdrew once more. The reason was obvious.
Maria Lee had come back—ready to claim her territory in Providence.