The Mafia Don’s Graveyard Bride Chapter 03
I was still lost in thought when the door swung open.
“You’re awake?”
Adrian walked in with long strides, carrying the chill of the outdoors on him.
He looked down at me, his gaze cool. “Your brother called. Says he needs to talk to you.”
I took the phone, and Ethan Shaw’s complaining voice immediately poured through:
“Sis, you haven’t been giving Adrian a hard time again, have you?”
“Just stop making trouble. Every time you throw a fit, I have to deal with the fallout on my end of the family business. People look at me differently.”
“I’m telling you—be grateful. Your husband is the Don of the Moretti family. He’s willing to keep protecting you, providing for you. Even if he has another woman bear his children someday, you’re still better off than most people in this world.”
“Mom and Dad didn’t raise you easy. You don’t work, you have no income, you can’t help the family at all. I’m trying to take over the business now, and everything costs money—connections, relationships. So suck it up, lean on Adrian’s network and resources to help us out. Think of it as repaying Mom and Dad for raising you.”
I listened quietly to his endless rambling, a faint smile on my face the entire time.
Even after he hung up, that smile never wavered.
Adrian took back the phone and spoke as if in passing:
“Margaret says she wants us over for dinner tomorrow. What are you planning to bring?”
I pretended to think, then answered softly:
“Mom likes money best. I’ll give her a card and deposit money into it monthly. What do you think?”
“Monthly deposits?”
Adrian studied me for several seconds, his tone softening slightly:
“If you know to send your mother money every month like a filial daughter, then you really have come around. You’re done trying to die.”
“Good, Willa. This is good. Once Gia’s baby is born, we’ll be a happy family of three.”
In a rare moment of tenderness, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear:
“As long as you behave, I’ll always protect you. The entire Moretti family will protect you.”
I didn’t shrink from his touch. I answered in a quiet voice:
“Okay. Let’s check out of here, then.”
Sunlight streamed through the window, gilding my face, dissolving the deadness that had once lived in my eyes.
I made myself look easy, relaxed—like someone ready to live a good life.
Adrian finally let out a breath of relief.
What he didn’t know was that in the final stage of a terminal illness, there’s a brief window where the patient seems to recover entirely.
And the last phase of depression has a name: the calm before the end.
The next morning, Adrian took me home.
I handed over the card I’d prepared.
“Mom, there’s some money on this card. Consider it your birthday present.”
Margaret Shaw instinctively glanced at Adrian, waiting for his approval.
Adrian spoke evenly. “Take it. It’s from her. She’ll deposit money every month from now on.”
I nodded along, smiling obediently.
No one knew that this card held everything I had—every cent from liquidating my prenuptial trust fund, my jewelry, my personal investments. Nearly two million dollars.
Enough to repay every debt I owed for the life they gave me.
Margaret’s eyes brimmed with grateful tears:
“Good girl. It’s good you’ve come around! You and Adrian just live well together from now on. Our whole family, happy and harmonious.”
The birthday dinner was held at an upscale Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, and the mood was warm and lively.
Afterward, Margaret specifically reminded me to accompany Ethan to an important business meeting in three days.
Adrian had no objections, and I readily agreed.
After we left the restaurant, Adrian’s phone rang. The caller ID read Gia Romano.
I spoke up graciously:
“If you have something to take care of, go ahead. I can wait for the driver to bring me back to the estate.”
Adrian gave a short nod.
Before leaving, he reminded me:
“I’ve already announced within the family that you’re pregnant. In a while, I’ll bring you to the family banquet. Rest well these next few days.”
“Okay.” I answered softly.
Adrian turned and strode away.
I stood alone, watching his car until it disappeared entirely from view. Only then did I whisper:
“Adrian, congratulations on becoming a father. The road ahead of you is clear now. I’ll never hold you back again.”
The moment the words left my lips, snow began to fall from the sky.
Large flakes drifted onto my shoulders, and the biting cold seeped through to my bones.
“It’s so cold…”
I returned alone to the Moretti estate in Oyster Bay. The instant I stepped into the master bedroom and closed the door behind me, every ounce of strength drained from my body.
Everyone had forgotten. Seven years ago today, my child left me forever.
Today was the anniversary of my baby’s death. And it would be the anniversary of mine.
Seven years ago, I wasn’t able to go with my child. Now, it was time to make up for that.