My Mafia Husband Had Nine Mistresses, Then Said He Loved Me Chapter 17
Ludovica booked the earliest flight.
The next day, she returned home with Leonardo.
After the plane landed at the familiar airport, they took a car straight to the Civil Status Office.
Just as they were about to enter, Federico arrived after hearing the news and blocked them.
Federico was rarely disheveled, his eyes filled with obvious anxiety.
“Ludovica, even if you’re angry with me, there’s no need to marry someone else just to punish me. Besides, I’ve already apologized and promised you there will only be you by my side from now on. What else are you dissatisfied with?”
Leonardo’s gaze turned cold, and he was about to speak, but Ludovica stopped him.
Ludovica looked at Federico, her tone flat.
“Federico, do you think Leonardo is beneath you, not even worth mentioning compared to you?”
Federico did not speak, but disdain flashed in his eyes as he looked at Leonardo.
Ludovica laughed.
“Then among the mistresses you found back then, which one met your standard for a proper lady? Did you
think they were better than me?”
Federico frowned. “How can that be compared? They were only toys I used to pass the time. Besides, I
already know I was wrong. You don’t have to keep bringing these things up.”
Ludovica gently shook her head.
“See, Federico? This is the difference between you and Leonardo. When he faces me, he always respects me.
But you, no matter how much you admit you’re wrong, you still instinctively place me beneath you.”
“In your heart, you never saw me as your equal. You’re like an arrogant giver of charity. You think because
you gave me everything, I should obey you completely.”
Federico’s face turned ugly. “I never thought that.”
“No?” Ludovica smiled faintly, with soft mockery. “Then what about the club? If I hadn’t jumped, I might really have been violated. Did you ever think about what would happen if those men really ruined me?”
“You didn’t, did you? You arrogantly believed you could control everything. You were desperate to tame me, to make me obedient like a puppet, exactly how you wanted.”
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the chain of scars on her arm.
“See the scars on my arm? They came from the day you pushed me, when I burned myself on the fire.”
“There are scars on my leg too, from when I jumped and was cut by the metal. The doctor said even
cosmetic procedures can’t remove them.”
“You say you love me, but all you’ve given me is hurt.”
The string of words forced Federico into silence.
The familiar dull pain in his chest drained the color from his face.
“I… I didn’t mean to. I was just too anxious then. You know, Ludovica, I love you. I didn’t want you to leave
me.”
Ludovica’s voice was soft but sharp as a knife.
“So the harm I suffered can be erased by one light little ‘I didn’t mean to’?”
“Federico, if that’s what you call love, then I’m sorry. I can’t afford it.” She lifted her head and looked straight at him, undisguised sarcasm in her eyes. “So please, stop saying you love me. It makes me sick.”
“Of course, you can also force me back, just like before when you used my mother to threaten me so I couldn’t divorce you. But believe me, on the day you bring me back, the only thing you’ll get is my corpse.”
She stepped past him without hesitation and linked her arm with Leonardo’s as they walked into the Civil
Status Office.
The sunlight in June should have been hot on the skin.
But Federico felt only cold.
He suddenly understood with painful clarity.
Ludovica truly… did not want him anymore.
She had given him up like throwing off a burden, walking with Leonardo into a brand-new life.
But once, she had loved him so much.
When he knelt on one knee to propose, her eyes had reddened with happiness.
When she learned he cheated, she had cried until her heart broke.
On every night he stayed up late handling family business, she quietly wiped her tears because she felt sorry
for him.
When exactly had he lost her?
Federico wanted to chase after her.
He wanted to rush inside and stop what was about to happen.
But a faint voice rose inside him and stopped him.
It was useless.
Even if he stopped it, Ludovica would never love him again.
Just as she had said, even if it meant death, she did not want to return to his side.
Federico did not remember how he left.
When he came back to himself, he was already standing in the villa garden.
The butler watched him standing there for a long time and could not help asking with concern, “Don Federico, did something happen?”
Federico looked at the large patches of blooming roses before him, his voice hoarse.
“Nothing. Tell them to burn all these roses.”
She wanted freedom.
Then he would give her freedom.
She said she no longer loved him.
Then he… even through the pain, would let go.
