Chapter 214 Book 2 CHPT 46: I’m Sorry, Moglie Mia

Chapter 214 Book 2 CHPT 46: I’m Sorry, Moglie Mia
VALENTINO’S POV

Seeing my wife again after six months of faking my death did something to me I could not control.

For six months, I had lived with the weight of that decision.

For six months, I stayed away, watched from a distance, made sure she was safe, but never allowed myself to reach for her.

But nothing prepared me for this.

Nothing prepared me for seeing her standing in front of me with our child growing inside her.

My chest tightened, my throat burned, and before I even realized it, tears were already falling.

She looked at me like she was seeing a ghost.

Her lips parted, her whole body trembling as her eyes searched my face in disbelief.

“Valentino… no…” she croaked, her voice breaking.

“No… this is not real…”

It hit me hard, the fear in her voice, the confusion, the pain.

I forced a small smile even though my chest felt like it was being crushed.

“Moglie mia,” I said softly. “It’s me.”

She took a step closer, then another, like she was afraid I would disappear if she moved too fast.

“Is this really you?” she asked again, her voice shaking. “Is this really you?!”

I nodded.

“Yes, baby. It’s me.”

That was all it took.

Her face crumpled, and suddenly she was crying like everything inside her had finally broken open.

“You’ve been alive?” she cried, her voice rising and shaking.

“You’ve been alive all this time?!”

Each word hit me like a blow, but I took it.

I deserved it.

“You made me suffer like that… you made me mourn you,” she continued.

“Do you know what I went through? Do you know what you did to me?!”

“I know,” I murmured, even though I knew those words were not enough.

“I know, amore mio…”

“No, you don’t!” she shouted, and then her hands were on me, hitting my chest over and over again.

“You don’t know anything! I saw you die, Valentino! You died in my arms!”

Each hit landed, but I didn’t stop her.

I let her pour everything out.

“Meanwhile, you were alive,” she continued, her voice breaking apart.

“You couldn’t even reach out to me? Not once? Not one call? Not one message?”

Her hands gripped my shirt now, her whole body shaking.

“How did you do it? I saw you die. You died in my arms. How are you still alive?”

I stepped closer and pulled her into my chest, holding her even as she struggled against me.

“I’m sorry, moglie mia,” I whispered against her hair.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t reach out to you. I’m so sorry I made you mourn me. I’m sorry for everything.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry!” she cried, pushing against me again.

“You are wicked. You are a wicked man. You knew the pain it would cause me, and you still chose to keep it from me.”

Her fists hit me again, weaker now but still full of anger.

“I hate you, Val! I hate you!”

I closed my eyes and took it.

If this was what she needed, I would take all of it.

After a moment, I grabbed her wrists gently, not to hurt her, but to make her look at me.

“Look at me,” I said, my voice low and steady despite everything breaking inside me.

“Punish me all you want. Do whatever you want to me. But I never meant to hurt you like this. I did what I did for us.”

“Don’t tell me you did it for us!” she snapped immediately. “That is selfish. How could you do this to me and say it is for us?”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry,” I said again. “I didn’t mean to lie to you, but that night I almost died.”

She froze.

“What do you mean, almost?” she asked, her voice dropping.

“I was taken to the hospital,” I explained.

“And that was when they realized my body had shut down in a way that looked like death. My pulse was almost gone. My breathing was too shallow to detect. They thought I was gone.”

Her eyes widened as she listened.

“I was in a coma for five days. When I woke up, the first thing I heard was that you were also in the hospital. You collapsed from the shock.”

Her face changed instantly, the anger mixing with something else.

“At that moment, I realized something,” I continued quietly.

“I realized that even if I survived, that life would kill me eventually. If not me, it would destroy you. It would destroy our child.”

She shook her head slowly, tears still falling.

“So you decided to fake your death?” she whispered.

“Yes,” I said.

“Because I wanted freedom, moglie mia. I wanted peace. The Romano law does not allow a don to step down unless he dies. That life does not let you walk away. The only way out is death.”

Her lips trembled.

“So I gave them one,” I continued. “I let the world believe I was dead so I could finally leave that life behind and choose you. Choose our family.”

Tears streamed down her face as she stared at me.

“You still could have told me,” she said, her voice breaking again.

“You let everyone know except me. Dante knew. Everyone knew except me.”

“I had to make it real,” I said, my voice heavy.

“That is why I made Dante carry out the burial before you woke up. If you had known, even for a second, you would not have reacted the same way. And that would have raised suspicion.”

Her face twisted in pain.

“So you broke me on purpose?” she asked quietly.

That question hit harder than anything else.

“Yes,” I admitted. “And I will regret that for the rest of my life.”

She pushed me back, tears falling freely now.

“Leave me alone,” she said. “Just leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again, stepping closer.

“I may not have been with you, but I made sure you were protected every single day. You were never alone, even when you thought you were.”

She let out a bitter laugh through her tears.

“How did you even find me?” she asked. “How did you know I was here?”