"Thank you, Vittorio, but I don't need it," I whispered, voice cracking. "I just came to tell you I'm leaving. You're the only one who's ever made me feel seen. Like I was worthy of love."
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
"You're like a daughter to me, Serafina," he said with emotion in his voice. "But please, don't leave with nothing. You were my son's wife. You carried the Moretti name."
He stood and opened a drawer behind his desk, pulling out a small leather-bound passbook. He handed it to me. "Take this. It's enough money to live on for now. And please, reconsider the property."
"Thank you so much, Vittorio," I said through tears. "You're like a father to me."
He held my hand tightly. "I know things weren't easy. Your own alliance groom humiliated you on your wedding day, in front of both families and half the Commission. If Dante hadn't stepped in back then, I don't know what would've happened. But now that he's gone… I just want you to find happiness again. Remarry. Start a family."
I smiled faintly. "I don't think I could marry anyone else, Vittorio. I'll live the rest of my life as a widow."