Chapter 6 My Husband and My First Love Showed Up at My Door

Mireya's POV

The car door shut with a dull thud on the empty road.

I sat behind the wheel,still gripping the key Raffaele had pushed into my hand.

In the rearview mirror,his tall figure disappeared into the night.

He did not look back.

His final words followed me long after he was gone.

Figure out who you actually want beside you.

I exhaled and deleted the estate from the navigation system.

Instead,I drove to a private hotel downtown.

I needed neutral ground.A room that belonged to neither Raffaele nor Nerio.Somewhere I could think without feeling as though two men had built walls around me from opposite sides.

I checked into a suite,refused the security detail the estate tried to send with me,and locked myself inside.

I got less than thirty minutes alone.

The first knock was controlled but urgent.

I looked through the peephole.

Nerio.

He had not even taken proper care of his shoulder.Dried blood darkened his black shirt,but for once he did not pound on the door or call my name through it.

He simply leaned against the wall and waited.

A few minutes later,footsteps approached from the elevator.

Raffaele.

He had not changed either.A dark gray knit shirt stretched across his shoulders,and his expression was as unreadable as ever.

The moment the two Valdieri men saw each other outside my door,the hallway seemed to shrink.

"Why are you here?" Nerio asked.

His voice was dangerously low.

"She doesn't need you playing husband tonight."

Raffaele barely reacted.

"I'm here because I am her husband."

Then his gaze dropped to Nerio's injured shoulder.

"You can't even keep yourself safe.What exactly makes you qualified to protect her?"

Their voices rose.

Within seconds,they were arguing over who was responsible for my safety as if I were not ten feet away on the other side of the door.

I yanked it open.

"Enough.Both of you.Leave."

Nerio stepped forward.

"Mireya-"

"No."

I looked from him to Raffaele.

"I don't want your security.I don't want your questions.I don't want either of you standing outside my room fighting over who gets to decide what's best for me.If you need to act like animals,go back to the estate and do it there."

I slammed the door and locked every latch.

Silence.

Finally.

I leaned against the door and closed my eyes.

Everything hurt.

I showered,changed into loose clothes,and crawled into bed.

At two in the morning,someone knocked again.

Twice.

Softly.

Then stopped.

I went to the door barefoot and looked through the peephole.

Nerio was sitting against the wall.

His eyes were closed.His face looked pale beneath the dim hallway lights.Blood had started soaking through his shoulder again.

Something in my chest tightened.

My mind told me to leave him there.

My hand unlocked the door anyway.

Nerio opened his eyes.

Surprise crossed his face,followed by a flicker of hope he tried to hide.

He did not step over the threshold.

"I was following another lead on Taddeo's money trail," he said quietly."Things got messy."

His mouth twisted.

"I don't really have anywhere else to go.Can I at least borrow your first-aid kit?"

I looked at the blood running down his sleeve.

Then I stepped aside.

"Come in."

Only one wall lamp was on.

I found the medical kit and used scissors to cut away the fabric stuck to his wound.

The room filled with the mixed smell of antiseptic and blood.

"You never learn," I muttered as I cleaned the cut."Taddeo has already made a move against us.You know how dangerous this is."

"If it gets me the proof from five years ago,I'll take dangerous."

He watched my face instead of my hands.

"What about you? You let me into your room.What happens if Raffaele finds out?"

I met his eyes.

"This is my room."

My voice stayed calm.

"I let you in because you're hurt.That does not make us a couple again.Right now,legally,you're still my stepson.I am drawing a line,Nerio.You need to respect it."

A self-mocking smile touched his mouth.

He looked down at the knot in the bandage as if it represented the two of us perfectly.

Raffaele's POV

Downstairs in the hotel lobby,I had not left.

I sat alone on one of the sofas with a cup of black coffee that had gone cold long ago.

One of my men approached quietly.

"Sir,Mr.Nerio is currently inside Mrs.Valdieri's suite."

I said nothing.

I looked toward the elevators.

Every instinct I had told me to go upstairs,open that door,and remove my son from her room myself.

I did not.

For the first time in my life,I forced myself to understand that dragging Nerio out would only push Mireya farther away from me.

So I stayed where I was.

Mireya's POV

By morning,Nerio was gone.

I opened the curtains and let pale sunlight into the room.For one strange second,I felt the absence of him more sharply than I wanted to admit.

I dressed and went downstairs.

The elevator doors opened.

Raffaele was standing beside the revolving entrance.

He looked as if he had been there all night.

His clothes were still immaculate.His face gave away no exhaustion.

When he saw me,he crossed the lobby and removed his charcoal cashmere coat.

Before I could object,he settled it around my shoulders.

The fabric still held his warmth and the familiar cedar-and-pine scent I had slept beside for years.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

I pulled the coat closed and looked up at him.

"I'm not going back to the estate.And I need you to sign the divorce papers."

A voice came from behind a column.

"I'll stay with her."

Nerio stepped into view.

Then he looked at Raffaele.

"Father."

Raffaele's jaw tightened.

His hand curled slowly into a fist.

"So that's your answer?" he asked me."You chose him?"