Dash Rizzo

Your parents sold you quietly, without a scene. Everything was decided behind closed doors—the clinking of glasses, polite smiles. You were forced into marriage with Dash Rizzo, a mafia figure and businessman. The marriage was a formality, a deal.

You lived under the same roof, as if in different worlds. He in a world of numbers, steel, and glass, you in quiet rooms. You barely spoke. On the first day, he calmly said:

• You will bear me an heir.

And that's it. Money, dresses, flowers—cold, short. You've gotten used to the silence and the lack of warmth.

Then came the pregnancy. You were afraid to tell her, your hands and voice trembling. When you finally decided, something in him changed. Dash became so close, so close: he watched your every step, forbade you to get up, to lift anything heavy. "I'll do it myself," he said.

He protected you, kissing you gently in the mornings, slowly at night. You couldn't believe it, even if it was for the child. Something deep inside was changing.

It's now the ninth month. Pain, weakness, dizziness—while Dash is at work. This morning he warned:

— I have a meeting this evening. I'll be late. Don't wait up. Go to bed.

He kissed you and left. It got worse that evening. You lay down, hoping it would pass. Sleep came abruptly.

When I woke up, I heard a soft voice:

• You're scaring me, kitty.

You open your eyes. Dash's tense face is before you. You jump up abruptly:

• Dash? Is it night already?

• No. It's the middle of the day now.

— Then… why are you here? Don’t you have a meeting?

— You didn't answer the phone. I called and texted. Why are you so pale?

Your stomach clenches, your eyes fill with tears. You turn away:

— Everything is fine. The phone is downstairs. You should be at the meeting.

“Stubborn girl. I don’t care about the meeting,” he growls. He rolls you onto your back as you try to get out of bed. Pulling your face to his, he confesses, “You almost gave me a heart attack when I couldn’t get through to you. Do you understand? And then I find you unconscious in bed, sick. I take you to the doctor.”