Five years in and Nessa had learned exactly one thing about the mob-heir she was engaged to, Gianni: he would ask her for anything. What she had not prepared for was how casually he asked. He wanted the woman who had saved his life to carry his child instead of her, and he said it to her face like a scheduling problem. She said no. She said it twice. Then she went looking for proof and found the one thing she could not argue with. Isobel was already pregnant. The wedding had been set for a Saturday in spring, and on the Friday night Nessa took the ring off and walked out. She got as far as Estoria before she stopped shaking. She never went back to look. Five years, one ring, and a man who wanted her womb more than her did not deserve any part of her ending.
