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“Well, Mr. Ricci, I understand your necessity, but you are not my patient. You are not my focus. Your wife is, and not because I intend to fix her to give you what you want.” Dr. Farina stood to her feet. “I plan on helping her with her condition, and if you get an heir as a result, then that’s a benefit.”
“How much would it cost to fix her? As I said, I’ll pay anything.”
Dr. Farina looked him dead in his eyes and unflinchingly said, “There’s not enough money in the world to fix her. She’s not broken yet.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Massimo watched as Dr. Farina left her office. She just left him standing there with the door open. He could shout and insist that she return and talk to him. He could demand another audience with her, answer his question, and give him the answer he so desperately needed. But that was not the case. She was gone. Massimo had no choice but to leave her office. It wasn’t over, though, not by a long shot.
Massimo reluctantly made his way back toward Isotta’s room. He wasn’t ready to go in yet, but he didn’t have a choice. It was the least she could do as her husband. But he still couldn’t bring himself to turn the handle, to open the door, and act like he was concerned about her for her. Instead, Massimo made his way to the elevator. He needed the fresh air, if only for a moment.
He stepped outside of the hospital, out of the awning, and into the fresh air. Massimo took a deep, cleansing breath in an effort to clear his thoughts and refocus his attention on something. But he kept coming back to the conversation he had with Dr. Farina and the lack of responsiveness. His level of frustration was so high Massimo had a difficult time processing it. He thought the fresh air would be enough to help eradicate the thoughts. It didn’t. Massimo wanted to be in control, in control of it all. He wanted to ascend to the highest rank, and his wife’s inability to give him the child he deserved could put an end to all of it.
Massimo took another deep breath, unfocused on the movement around him because he was too inside his own head. He should be concerned about his wife. He should be concerned about her overall health. He did take vows to love her through sickness and health. But not by choice, he admitted, and not so reluctantly. Massimo tried. He really tried to absorb and accept that he was forced into a marriage for the sake of the family. Silently, he accepted it because that’s what was expected of him. He’d been groomed to think that since he was small. And so he accepted it as his duty, as his responsibility because inevitably, he would get everything he wanted.
But not so much if she couldn’t reproduce. She was defective. They ensured she was a virgin before he married her because that was important. But no test ensured that she wouldn’t be broken.
He didn’t sign up for broken.
Massimo needed to vent, to unleash all of what he felt. He thought about going to visit Ricardo to kick the tires and work out his frustrations. Maybe he would. But even after a few minutes of thinking about the prospect, Massimo realized that he wouldn’t get nearly enough satisfaction out of beating the shit out of someone he’d already beat the shit out of.
He reached for his phone and dialed the number.
Massimo paced, waiting for his father to answer.
“I’m right in the middle of something. I hope this can wait,” Giordano said.
“It can’t wait,” Massimo insisted. “She’s broken,” he blurted.
“Excuse me. What?”
“Isotta. She’s broken.”
“What do you mean?” Giordano asked.
“She’s in the hospital. They found out she’s got a condition. It could mean she’s infertile.” Saying it made it real regardless of how much he contemplated it. Saying it made the possibility too real.
“Could mean, is that what you said?” Giordano questioned.
“Yes, Dad. She could be infertile, which means I married her for nothing.”
“Woo, hold on, son,” Giordano insisted. Now, everything that had been on his plate was momentarily pushed aside. “First of all, you married her for the good of the family, our family,” Giordano again insisted. “Secondly, there’s no guarantee that she is infertile, just a risk. Is that right?”
“Isn’t that enough?” Massimo quizzed. “My fate lies in her womb. My fate.”
“And your fate has not been sealed, son,” Giordano replied.
“It feels like it has,” Massimo replied. “What else could go wrong? It’s like the universe, and my parents are conspiring against me. Why should I even bother?” He laughed sarcastically. “Like Giuseppe said, I’m rich. I can be satisfied just being rich and screw the company. Screw the company, Dad!”
“You don’t mean that,” Giordano replied. “I have groomed you, taught you, partnered with you because I believe in you.”
“No, you don’t, and no, you didn’t. You are counting on Isotta, not me.”
“It is your seed that brings about an heir. I am confident in your seed.”
“But she’s the host! She’s the one who has got to conceive, and there’s a chance she can’t!”
“But there is still a chance she can. That’s what you’ve got to hold on to. That’s what you have to focus on,” Giordano reassured. “Take care of her, and she’ll give you the son you deserve.”
