Chapter 4

Another explosion tore through the building.

I didn’t wait.

My twelve uncles had trained me for situations like this since I was a child. When danger came, you didn’t freeze. You moved.

I spotted a narrow construction gap and ran toward it just as the ceiling above me started collapsing.

BOOM!

Concrete crashed down and pain exploded through my body. My vision blurred. The last thing I saw was Ricci outside, still protecting Valerie.

Then a BlackSword soldier ran toward him, shouting over the sirens.

“Boss! We just got an urgent call from Naples Blood headquarters!”

Ricci turned sharply. “What is it?”

The soldier’s face was pale. “They’re demanding an immediate rescue of the Naples successor. They said Huntress has been trapped inside the war zone!”

And for the first time, Ricci’s face changed.

…

When I woke up, I was lying inside a makeshift first aid station in an abandoned warehouse.

The whole place smelled like blood, smoke, and burned concrete. BlackSword men were moving around everywhere, treating the wounded and carrying supplies through the broken building.

A nurse noticed my eyes opening and hurried over. “Miss Redmond, you’re awake? Damn, you’re tough. You were buried under that rubble for hours, and you somehow came out with only burns, cuts, and dehydration.”

I slowly sat up. “My phone.”

“Easy. You need to rest first. Once you’re stable, we’ll need you to fill out some information.”

I barely heard her.

My mind was still stuck on the last thing I’d heard before the building collapsed.

Ricci choosing Valerie.

Ricci saying anyone could replace me.

My twelve uncles had been trying to reach me too, and I knew they were waiting for news.

I swallowed, but my throat felt raw. “Where’s Ricci?”

The nurse hesitated. “Mr. Santiago? I heard he left with Valerie. Apparently, BlackSword received an urgent mission to protect someone important.”

“Someone important?”

I looked down at my scraped and burned arms.

A bitter smile touched my lips.

I reached for my phone.

I was about to call my family and finally reveal everything to Ricci. I wanted him here so we could sign the divorce papers and end this properly.

Then a message appeared.

Valerie.

[Our teamwork is still perfect, just like always. Unlike some people who only know how to get in the way. ♡]

There was a photo attached.

Valerie and Ricci were sitting together after the failed search mission, their hands tightly clasped.

I stared at the picture.

My fingers went cold.

That little smile of hers wasn’t innocent.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

And Ricci?

He probably didn’t even realize she was rubbing salt into my wounds.

Why should he?

He’d already made his choice.

A fresh drop of blood slid from my forehead. I wiped it away and took the form from the nurse.

My hands were still trembling, but I filled everything out quickly.

Name: Thalia Amelisse Redmond.

Age: 29

Marital status: Single.

The nurse glanced over my form and frowned. “Miss Redmond, are you sure? This says you’re single but Mr. Santiago is your husband, isn’t he? Maybe you filled it in by mistake.”

I gave a small, cold smile. “He isn’t my husband anymore.” The nurse looked confused. “We’re getting divorced.”

Before she could say anything else, a deep male voice came from behind us.

“Thalia, what the fuck did you just say?”

I looked up.

The door had been shoved open and Ricci stood there.

His black shirt was covered in dust, his sleeves were rolled up, and his face was grim. He looked like the mafia boss everyone feared, not the man who had spent the last five years calling me his wife.

The nurse immediately stood up. “Mr. Santiago, you two should talk. Whatever happened, you can work it out. I’ll give you some privacy.”

She grabbed the form and quickly left.

The door closed and silence filled the room.

Ricci walked straight toward my bed.

It was only then that he noticed my face.

His expression shifted.

For one brief second, panic crossed his eyes.

“Thalia… Are you hurt badly? Does your face still hurt?”

I laughed softly.

He finally noticed.

After everything, he finally noticed.

Ricci frowned. “Don’t laugh. I’m asking you a serious question.”

I looked away.

He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “Look, about what happened earlier, the situation was fucking chaotic. I had to make a decision, and if I’d chosen you over Valerie, I would’ve lost control of the entire rescue team.” He stepped closer. “I wasn’t abandoning you. I swear to God, I went back looking for you the moment I could, but you’d already been rescued. So stop thinking I left you there on purpose, okay?”

Okay?

That word almost made me laugh again.

After being burned, buried, forgotten, and replaced, he still wanted me to understand him.

Did he ever try to understand me?

I slowly raised my hand.

Ricci didn’t even see it coming.

Smack!

My palm landed hard against his face.

His head snapped to the side.

Ricci looked completely stunned after I slapped him. His jaw tightened, and I could see the anger rising in his eyes. For a second, I thought he’d finally lose his temper, but then his eyes fell on the burns and cuts covering my body, and he held it back.

“Forget it,” he muttered. “I won’t hit you back just because you’re angry. You’re already hurt enough.”

His hand came up and gently touched the corner of my eye.

If this were the old me, I would’ve slapped his hand away. Five years ago, I would’ve glared at him and said, “You’re damn right I’m angry.”

But that woman was dead.

Just like the Ricci I used to love.

“I’m not angry.”

He looked relieved. “Really? That’s good. I knew you’d understand eventually.”

I smiled. “Of course I do.”

After all, why would I waste my anger on a stranger?

Over the next few days, Ricci kept coming to see me after handling BlackSword’s operations. He brought food, changed my dressings, poured me water, and even made sure I took my medicine on time.

He suddenly became the perfect husband.

The doctors couldn’t stop praising him. “Miss Thalia, you’re really lucky. Your husband takes such good care of you.”

Ricci actually looked proud. “I learned it from my wife.”

Of course he did.

For three years, I’d cooked his meals, prepared his clothes, served his coffee, and waited for him at home like some obedient wife.

“Did you?” I asked, looking at him.

He smiled. “Yeah. My wife taught me how to take care of people. She’s always been good at this.”

I didn’t correct him.

There was no point.

That evening, I sat quietly on the hospital bed, staring out the window. Ricci came over and started massaging my temples. Apparently, one of the doctors had taught him how to do it.

His fingers were warm and gentle.

For a few seconds, I closed my eyes.

It almost felt like the old days.

Almost.

But then I remembered him standing outside the collapsed building, protecting Valerie while I was trapped inside.

So I opened my eyes again.

No.

I couldn’t let myself forget.

Later that night, Ricci pulled a blanket over me and quietly left.

Not long after, hurried footsteps came from the hallway, and the door flew open.

“Mr. Santiago!”