Page 78 of Broken Mafia Bride

“What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.

She lets out a soft sigh. “The engagement… I know it must’ve come as a shock. I’m truly sorry, Giulia. None of this was planned—it happened fast, and there was a lot of pressure. We were pushed into it more than anything else.”

Isabella gently takes my hand, her expression earnest. “We’re only doing this for the sake of peace in Chicago. But if it ever comes to it—if it’s really causing harm—I’d walk away. I don’twant to be a pawn in any of this. There has to be another way to bring peace without tearing you and Raffaele apart.”

I shake my head. “Isabella, listen to me. You have to go through with the wedding.”

Her eyes widen. “I… I don’t know if I can. Not if I know it’s hurting both of you. I never wanted to come between you. That thought alone weighs on me.”

“Stop,” I say gently, letting out a breath. “It’s all right. If there’s anyone I’d rather see with Raffaele, it’s you. I can’t ask you to walk away—not after everything that’s been done to keep this fragile peace. We can’t sacrifice that… not for me. Not for something that might never be simple.”

My voice shakes as I try to explain, even while knowing part of me is devastated at the idea of her and Raffaele together.

“How can I stand back and watch the war rage on, knowing I could’ve prevented it just by stepping aside and letting this marriage happen? When I get Noemi back, I want her to be able to return to the place I was born—without me living in constant fear that she’ll become a victim of the chaos.”

I know this isn’t either of their faults, and sometimes I wonder if they want this even less than I do. I can’t hate them for it, or keep being bitter about the cards they’ve been dealt… the cards we’ve all been dealt.

She looks at me, worried. “Are you sure?”

I nod, pasting on a smile. “Yes. I promise.”

She sighs. “I don’t want you to hate me. But you have to believe me—I never wanted him. Not once, not when you two were together. But… after that night, I think I started to have feelings for him. It’s—” She hesitates, voice trembling. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

But her words lodge in my brain.That night.What is she talking about?

Isabella lets out a quiet, humorless laugh. “It was the biggest mistake of our lives. And god, I wish I could forget it.”

I stop breathing. “W-what?” I croak, barely audible.

But she keeps going, her tone calm, almost detached. “Unfortunately, stupid choices come with consequences.”

I stare at her, frozen, as she presses a hand gently to her still-flat stomach. My chest tightens. My eyes drop to her dress, searching—desperate—for any sign of a bump.

No. It can’t be.

Raffaele would’ve told me. I asked him, and he…

My thoughts slam to a halt. He never actually said he hadn’t been with her. I just assumed—and that lie belongs to me. A cold, sick feeling rises from my stomach to my throat, choking the breath from me.

“You’re… p-p-pregnant?” The words scrape out of me, barely there.

Isabella meets my gaze, and for a second, I expect smugness or shame. But there’s only honesty—and a hint of sadness.

“Yes,” she says simply. “But it wasn’t planned. And it doesn’t change anything, Giulia. You have to believe me when I say he’s never looked at me the way he looks at you. Not once.”

She takes a breath, steadying herself. “Whatever’s between you two, it’s bigger than anything Raffaele and I could ever pretend to have. I know that. I’ve always known that.”

Her eyes flicker with a quiet strength. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m not trying to take anything from you. And I know… I know this complicates everything. But I’m not your enemy, Giulia. I never was.”

She keeps talking, but her voice starts to fade, growing distant—muffled, like I’m sinking beneath the surface of a heavy, dark sea. My heart pounds in my ears, drowning out her words.

Fragments cut through the blur?—

“…he doesn’t know yet…”

“…I wanted to tell you first…”

The rest is just noise. My vision blurs. My body feels too light and too heavy at once.