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Chapter 3

Penulis: Gemma
Camilla noticed the suitcases at our feet first.

“Elena, where are you going?”

“The East Side,” Dante answered. “Security is already in place.”

“I didn’t know you lived here.”

Dante kept one hand on her suitcase. “Elena manages the family’s legitimate businesses. The Romano family provides housing for her and her son.”

Six years of marriage disappeared into a family arrangement. To Dante, it had never been a marriage freely chosen. It was the consequence of a night he still believed I had arranged.

“I see.” Camilla turned to me. “I’m sorry my situation is forcing you to move. I’ll leave as soon as the danger passes.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

Only then did Dante look at Leo.

“Good evening, Uncle Dante.”

“What did you call me?”

“Uncle. That’s what everyone else calls you. You said no one could know.”

Dante had taught him that rule. Behind closed doors, Leo still called him Dad, as though secrecy ended once we came home.

Now he had stopped pretending.

Dante released the suitcase and caught my wrist.

“Give me a few days. I’ll explain this to Leo.”

“Explain what?”

Before he could answer, Camilla steadied herself against the elevator wall. Dante let go of me and turned to support her.

I led Leo into the elevator, but Dante stopped the doors from closing.

“Wait.”

He sent a guard downstairs. The man returned with a white cake box, which Dante held out to Leo.

“Happy birthday.”

Leo looked at me.

“The club prepared it for my welcome dinner,” Camilla said. “No one touched it, so Leo can have it.”

I was about to refuse when Leo asked, “Will you eat it with me?”

“Yes.”

That promise brought us back into the apartment.

The doctor took Camilla to the guest room while Dante sat across from Leo in the dining room. The sugar plaque had been removed from the cake, though the faint outline of Camilla’s name remained in the frosting.

Dante cut Leo a slice and said, "Here,this is your favorite cake." Leo, flattered, accepted it—this was one of those rare moments when Dante acted like a father.

But the instant Leo took a bite, I saw mango between the layers.

I snatched the plate from his hands and threw the cake into the trash.

“Spit it out, Leo. Now.”

Dante rose from his chair. “Elena, what are you doing?”

“There’s mango in it.”

“He only took one bite. You didn’t need to—”

“Leo is allergic to mango.”

The anger left Dante’s voice.

I helped Leo spit out the cake, took the medication from the side pocket of his backpack, and checked his breathing.

“Since when?” Dante asked.

“Since he was a toddler.”

The doctor arrived within minutes. Leo had swallowed almost nothing, and after an hour of observation, the doctor cleared him to travel.

Dante crouched in front of him. “Leo, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Leo looked at him for a long moment. The excitement he had carried into the dining room was gone.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “You didn’t know.”

Dante reached toward him, but Leo wrapped both arms around my neck.

“Mom, I want to leave.”

I held him closer.

“I don’t want to wait for Dad anymore.”

I lifted him into my arms and reached for the luggage.

“Elena.”

Dante followed us to the door.

“The doctor said he needs rest.”

“I’ll take care of him.”

“At least stay tonight.”

I kept walking.

For six years, his guilt had always been enough to make me wait again. This time, it was too late.

After leaving the apartment, I went to Romano Holdings.

I cleared the few personal items from my office, sent the handover files to Human Resources and Legal, and left my resignation letter on the desk.

The executed divorce and custody settlement was already with my attorney.

I was done working for the Romano family.

I was done being Dante’s hidden wife.

Leo stayed close to me throughout the drive to the airport. The signed travel authorization rested in my bag beside our passports.

Before boarding, I straightened his collar.

“Will you be angry with me for taking you away from New York?”

He wrapped his arms around my neck.

“I only need Mom.”

When the boarding announcement sounded, I turned off my phone and blocked every number connected to the Romano family.
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  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 8

    When I asked Leo whether he wanted to see Dante, he remained silent for a long time before agreeing to one hour at a café near the school. The guards remained across the street while Dante waited beside the window.“Uncle Dante.”The title stopped him, though he did not correct it. He returned the storybook, asked about school, and accepted Leo’s brief answers without pushing for more.Dante remained in Sydney, respected the boundary around our apartment, and arranged visitation through his attorney.Three weeks later, the court entered the final divorce decree.Leo was at school when my attorney sent the document. Dante arrived soon afterward, and I let him inside before making coffee from habit, adding two sugars and no milk.“You still remember,” he said.“Seven years of habit do not disappear in three weeks.”I placed my phone on the table with the decree open on the screen.“The divorce is official.”Dante’s fingers tightened around the cup. “I’ll have my attorneys review it.”“Yo

  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 7

    The Romano family’s jet left New York after sunrise.Dante was still wearing the shirt from the banquet, its collar open and sleeves creased. Leo’s storybook rested beside him with the handmade bookmark marked Dad and Me between the pages.Once the aircraft leveled out, he opened the divorce and custody settlement again.Their names appeared side by side on the final page. The agreement granted Elena primary custody of Leo, while the separately signed parental travel authorization allowed her to take their son overseas before the court entered the final divorce decree.Elena’s resignation belonged to a separate process. The handover records showed that she had begun organizing her projects before Leo’s birthday and formally resigned on the night she left New York. Human Resources completed the offboarding under company procedure without requiring Dante’s approval.She had left Romano Holdings by her own decision. The private legal documents he signed allowed her to continue the divorce

  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 6

    After leaving the banquet, Dante returned to the penthouse for his passport. The alcohol caught up with him during the elevator ride, and when he entered, he loosened his tie and spoke toward the dark living room out of habit.“Elena, bring me some water.”No answer came. He stood in the entrance before remembering that Elena and Leo were gone.When he switched on the lights, the dining table had been cleared and the birthday decorations removed. A faint trace of frosting lingered in the air. Leo’s chair had been pushed beneath the table, and the space where his small shoes usually stood was empty. The apartment looked as though a child had never lived there.Dante went into the kitchen and took a soda from the refrigerator. As he closed the door, the stickers covering the silver surface caught his attention. Cartoon animals, superheroes, and uneven stars spread across the metal, several curling at the edges.He had complained that the stickers made the kitchen untidy and had nearly or

  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 5

    By evening, the Romano family was still tracing Elena and Leo’s route out of New York.During the drive to the banquet, Dante checked his phone several times. Elena’s number remained unreachable, and Leo’s last words kept returning to him.I’m not waiting for Dad anymore.For six years, Elena had argued, questioned him, and continued waiting after every disappointment. This time, she had left without explaining herself.Dante had always held her responsible for what happened seven years earlier. That suspicion had shaped their marriage, yet he had never reopened the investigation.At six, he arrived at a Romano-owned hotel. The business dinner was being held in a private ballroom on the top floor, with family guards controlling every entrance. Several of Romano Holdings’ most important shipping partners were already seated around the table. The negotiations covered port storage and three international routes.Camilla waited in a nearby lounge with a doctor and two guards. Dante checked

  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 4

    Dante arrived at Romano Holdings the next morning expecting Elena and Leo to be at the East Side apartment.Leo calling him Uncle Dante had followed him through the night. So had his son’s quiet words before leaving: I’m not waiting for Dad anymore.The first email in Dante’s inbox came from Human Resources.Elena Moretti — Employment Offboarding CompletedBefore he could open it, Camilla entered and placed a folder on the desk.“These are the DeLuca properties and accounts that may need to be transferred. I thought it would save you some time.”Dante opened the file. The first safe-house number was wrong, several accounts had been matched to the wrong properties, and one compromised residence was still listed as secure.“Who prepared this?”“I did.”“Security records cannot be completed from memory.”Camilla drew the folder back. “You think I’m useless.”“That is not what I said.”“Since the divorce, I’ve been trying to prove I can still handle something on my own. Apparently, all I d

  • The Divorce He Signed Without Reading   Chapter 3

    Camilla noticed the suitcases at our feet first.“Elena, where are you going?”“The East Side,” Dante answered. “Security is already in place.”“I didn’t know you lived here.”Dante kept one hand on her suitcase. “Elena manages the family’s legitimate businesses. The Romano family provides housing for her and her son.”Six years of marriage disappeared into a family arrangement. To Dante, it had never been a marriage freely chosen. It was the consequence of a night he still believed I had arranged.“I see.” Camilla turned to me. “I’m sorry my situation is forcing you to move. I’ll leave as soon as the danger passes.”“It has nothing to do with you.”Only then did Dante look at Leo.“Good evening, Uncle Dante.”“What did you call me?”“Uncle. That’s what everyone else calls you. You said no one could know.”Dante had taught him that rule. Behind closed doors, Leo still called him Dad, as though secrecy ended once we came home.Now he had stopped pretending.Dante released the suitcase a

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