Chapter 10
Silvano sped all the way back to the hospital. The moment he walked in, he saw Vittoria curled up in the corner with Celene in her arms, both of them looking terrified.
As soon as they saw him, they rushed over and threw themselves into his arms.
“Silo, your grandma wants to kick us out,” Vittoria said through tears, her voice shaking.
Celene clung to his neck, sobbing hard. “Daddy, the bad guys are trying to throw us out!”
Silvano held them tightly, heart aching, then turned with a dark expression to Giovanna, who sat calmly on the sofa, looking sharp and composed.
“Grandma, what are you doing?”
Giovanna scoffed, “What am I doing? Cleaning up the mess you made.”
She pointed at Vittoria and Celene. “Look at them. A woman with no background and a child who popped up out of nowhere-this is who you brought into our home? You’re embarrassing the Cavanna family!”
Silvano’s jaw clenched. “Grandma, Tori saved my life, and Celene is her daughter. They’re not just ‘nobodies’.”
“Saved your life?” Giovanna laughed coldly. “And how do you know it wasn’t all a setup?”
Silvano took a deep breath, barely keeping his temper in check.
“Grandma, how can you say that? Tori isn’t that kind of person.”
“Not that kind of person? Then what kind of person is Maddalena?” Giovanna raised her voice.
“She’s graceful, educated, and decent in every way. Tell me, what does this woman have that Maddalena doesn’t? Where do you expect Maddalena to stand in all this?”
“Maddalena again!” Silvano snapped, tugging at his tie in frustration. “She just acts pitiful and complains behind my
back!”
“Does she need to do that?” Giovanna shot back, her voice thick with disappointment.
“Think about how you’ve treated her lately. Do you even see her as a person anymore?”
“She’s become impossible,” Silvano said flatly. “She is so unreasonable. I can’t talk to her like a normal human be- ing!”
“Unreasonable?” Giovanna trembled with anger, then raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
“This is the woman you choose to defend? After everything Maddalena has done for you, have you already forgotten
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it all?”
“That’s enough!”
Silvano suddenly snapped, cutting her off.
“Grandma, this is between Maddalena and me,” Silvano said, his voice tense. “Please don’t get involved. I have my own plans.”
Giovanna stared at him, stunned. Then her eyes reddened as she looked at the faint red slap mark on his face.
“Silvano, do you even know that Maddalena’s grandfather passed away?”
“What?” This new information hit him like thunder.
It took a while before he found his voice again.
“When did that happen?”
“Yesterday,” Giovanna said quietly. “We just got the news today. That old man spent his whole life drifting, and the one thing he wanted before he died was to see Maddalena get married and know she’d be taken care of.”
Her voice grew cold with disappointment. “But you kept delaying everything. What were you doing? He probably couldn’t even rest in peace.”
Silvano’s thoughts were in chaos. His mind flashed back to Maddalena lying pale and silent in the hospital bed yester- day.
“She had begged to go out.
“Was it for this?
“But he…”
Just then, the attendant from the next ward happened to walk past and overheard.
“Wait, didn’t you know? Dr. Albergo’s already married. She got the papers and everything.”
Silvano froze. He turned stiffly toward the doctor, disbelief flooding his face.
“Married?
“Maddalena is married?”
His hand shot out and grabbed the doctor by the collar.
“What nonsense are you spouting? How could Maddalena be married?
“Didn’t she always want to marry me?”