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00:00Never knew why, until one day, he looked into my eyes in bed, and called out my sister Alicia's name.
00:05Alicia.
00:07Growing up, I only ever got what my sister Alicia didn't want.
00:13My brother Lorenzo came home from settling family business.
00:19I brought back two dresses.
00:21One was teal.
00:22The other was rose pink.
00:24He asked Alicia first.
00:26Which one do you like?
00:28When it was my turn, he pushed the one left over toward me.
00:31Pink suits you. Try it on.
00:33If I didn't like it, I'd get nothing.
00:35So I took it. It was the same with schools and private coaches and everything.
00:39Alicia, you choose first.
00:47Even husbands.
00:50Alicia, come here quickly.
00:52When we, the Belandis, were arranging a marriage alliance with the Morettis,
00:56Matteo, the next head of the Moretti family, set an engagement ring in front of Alessia.
01:00His younger brother, Dante, looked crushed.
01:02Then he casually pointed at me.
01:04Then I'll take Gianna.
01:07After we married, I knew he regretted it.
01:10But back then, he treated me well.
01:11I could use his black card whenever I wanted, and pick any jewelry I liked at auction.
01:15His men stopped to greet me every time they saw me.
01:17There were no other women either.
01:22Later, Alessia and I both crashed in an underground race.
01:28I was the one he saved.
01:29He dragged me out of the wrecked driver's seat, only for another car to hit him.
01:35And sent him flying, in the emergency room.
01:37He traced my brows and eyes.
01:39Then, suddenly, he smiled.
01:40Your eyes really do look like hers.
01:44But, you're not her.
01:49Gianna, why couldn't I ever have the one I wanted most?
01:52Then he died.
01:53I couldn't hold on any longer either.
01:55I collapsed.
01:57When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that private room.
02:01Dante was pointing right at me.
02:03I lowered my head, letting the brim of my hat hide my eyes.
02:06I'm already in love with someone.
02:07Dante froze for a second.
02:08And, Lorenzo set down his drink and glanced at me.
02:10She's just nervous.
02:12Gianna, Dante's willing to marry you.
02:14Don't be difficult.
02:15My nails dug into my palm.
02:16Here we went again.
02:18I hadn't wanted to marry him in my first life, either.
02:20I tugged at Lorenzo's sleeve under the table, hoping he'd speak up for me.
02:24He'd just held my hand down.
02:26Gianna, this is the best choice you have.
02:28I tried that choice.
02:30It wasn't good.
02:30This time, I didn't back down.
02:32I said I'm in love with someone.
02:34The whole room went quiet.
02:35Finally, Dante smiled.
02:37Fine.
02:38I don't want to settle this time, either.
02:40He looked at Alessia.
02:41Alessia, give me a chance.
02:43Anything my brother can give you, I can afford, too.
02:46Matteo frowned.
02:47Dante, enough.
02:49Lorenzo stood to smooth things over.
02:51Alessia pressed her lips together without reaching for the ring.
02:54Everyone's attention shifted back to her.
02:56I slowly unclenched my hand.
02:58My nails had broken the skin of my palm, but I could finally breathe.
03:07In my first life, I really did love Dante.
03:10Before the wedding, Lorenzo brought in two stylists.
03:13As usual, he let Alessia choose first.
03:16Which team do you want?
03:16I don't know where I found the nerve, but I cut in.
03:19Lorenzo, can I go first this time?
03:21Alessia looked surprised.
03:23Of course.
03:24Let Gianna.
03:25Lorenzo frowned and interrupted.
03:26They're both the best.
03:27What difference does it make?
03:28I lowered my head and swallowed what I'd wanted to say.
03:31Dante walked in just then.
03:32He saw everything.
03:34That evening, the heads of several styling studios showed up at my house.
03:38Dante put a tablet in my hands.
03:40Gianna, you pick.
03:41I stared at it for a long time.
03:43It was the first time I'd ever had a choice.
03:45Dante brushed away my tears with his thumb.
03:47I'll try to love you.
03:48He tried for two years.
03:50He stopped staring at Alessia.
03:52Stopped making excuses to ask about her.
03:54Whenever he came home from handling business, he brought back just one gift.
03:57Only for me.
03:58He wrapped his arms around me from behind.
04:00You'll never have to take someone else's leftovers again.
04:03For those two years, he kept that promise.
04:05Where we'd have dinner.
04:06Which street we'd buy a house on.
04:08Whose name the shares from the family would go under.
04:10Whenever someone asked, he'd hold up his phone.
04:12Hang on.
04:13Let me ask my wife.
04:14For a while, I thought I'd been lucky to be his casual choice that night.
04:17Until his mother's birthday party.
04:19Mateo held Alessia close and announced they were having a baby.
04:22Dante was tucking my hair behind my ear.
04:24His fingers suddenly stopped.
04:25He got very drunk that night.
04:27In the car on the way home, he pinned me to the back seat.
04:30Ignoring my struggles.
04:31The driver was still up front.
04:33Humiliated, I turned my face away.
04:34He gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.
04:36Why won't you look at me?
04:38Your eyes are so beautiful.
04:39Why am I never the one you see?
04:40I gripped the edge of the seat.
04:42I am.
04:43I'm looking at you.
04:44And be gentle.
04:45He didn't stop.
04:46His grip only tightened.
04:47Don't lie to me.
04:48Alessia, you only have eyes for my brother, don't you?
04:50I went still.
04:51I'm not her!
04:52Dante, look at me.
04:53I'm not her!
04:54He raised his hand and covered the lower half of my face.
04:56Yes, you are.
04:58Alessa, I remember your eyes.
04:59I finally understood why, whenever the lights went out,
05:02he liked to cover my face that way,
05:04leaving only my eyes, because he loved my sister.
05:11A sharp pain low in my stomach woke me.
05:14I was back in my own bed.
05:15Several private doctors stood by the door.
05:17None of them dared to speak.
05:19Dante looked lost.
05:20He looked at me, his eyes frighteningly empty.
05:22I tried.
05:24I still love her.
05:24I wanted to laugh, but the tears came first.
05:27It felt like a hand was twisting my insides.
05:30Warm liquid ran down my legs.
05:32His violence that night cost me my first baby.
05:35Afterward, he went back to being everyone's idea of a good husband.
05:38I told him to get out.
05:39He wouldn't leave.
05:40I grabbed a glass and threw it at him.
05:42His temple immediately started bleeding.
05:44He just pressed a handkerchief to the wound.
05:46Careful.
05:46Don't cut your hand.
05:47Even when I lost it,
05:48it felt like I was just helping him play the patient husband.
05:51Other people saw it and tried to talk sense into me.
05:54He's done all this for you.
05:55What more do you want?
05:57But when I woke in the middle of the night,
05:58I'd find him sitting alone on the terrace.
06:00His phone screen glowing.
06:01A picture of Alessia on it.
06:03When he came back from out of town,
06:05the gifts started coming in pairs.
06:07Matching supplements.
06:08Matching limited edition handbags.
06:09Baby clothes, too.
06:11One set went to my sister's house.
06:12The other went into our empty nursery.
06:14A year later,
06:15the bed was waiting for an underground race at the docks.
06:18Dante ordered two identical race cars.
06:20Alessia glanced at me and didn't take the keys.
06:22Mateo already has mine covered.
06:24I didn't look at Dante's reaction.
06:26I opened the car door and got in.
06:28I had to win that night.
06:29In our family,
06:30a divorce decree didn't mean you were free to leave.
06:32Without his father's approval,
06:33I couldn't get out before the race.
06:35I put every asset I owned on the line for a wager.
06:38If I won,
06:39the Morettis would let me divorce him.
06:40Run away from the lap.
06:42Alessia and I were caught in a pileup at the same turn.
06:45Mateo braked,
06:46jumped out,
06:46and ran straight to her.
06:48I wasn't surprised.
06:49What surprised me was Dante running toward me.
06:51He pulled me through the mangled car door.
06:53A second later,
06:54another car had been crashing toward us.
06:56Out of control.
06:57The doctors couldn't save him.
06:58I stood dazed beside his hospital bed.
07:00He wouldn't stop bleeding,
07:01but he looked almost relieved.
07:03I gave you the car.
07:04I couldn't just leave you.
07:06John, you were even.
07:07A faint sob escaped my chest.
07:09I couldn't tell if it was grief or relief that it was finally over.
07:12He lifted his hand and traced my brows and eyes one last time.
07:16I wanted the best.
07:17How did I still end up with my second choice?
07:25So now,
07:26even being in the same private room as Dante was,
07:28torture,
07:29I picked up my clutch.
07:31You don't need me for anything else, right?
07:34I'm leaving.
07:35Then I hurried out.
07:36I hadn't gotten far when someone grabbed my wrist.
07:38Dante had followed me.
07:39You look pale.
07:41Are you feeling sick?
07:42I'll get a doctor.
07:43I pulled my hand away at once
07:44and took a small step back.
07:46No need.
07:47His hand hung in the air for a while
07:49before he lowered it.
07:50Good.
07:50As long as you're okay.
07:53Alexia would worry if you were sick.
07:54I nodded.
07:56Not wanting to keep talking.
07:58The elevator arrived,
07:59but he stretched an arm across the doorway.
08:01This guy you're in love with,
08:02who is he?
08:04Give me a name.
08:05I looked up at him.
08:06None of your business.
08:07His smile faded.
08:08I was just asking.
08:09He looked at me as if there was something
08:11on the tip of his tongue.
08:12In the end, he walked away.
08:13I never made it into the elevator.
08:15Lorenzo called to me from behind,
08:16his voice low.
08:17Are you done making a scene?
08:18If your sister hadn't saved
08:20Matteo and Dante back then,
08:21do you think the Morettos
08:22would ever have backed us?
08:23Your driver reports
08:24everywhere you go to me.
08:25Now you're telling me
08:26you're in love with someone?
08:26He stepped closer.
08:27When did you start lying to me?
08:29I tightened my grip on my clutch
08:30and said nothing.
08:31He watched me for a moment,
08:32looking like he was trying
08:33to stay patient.
08:34When those gunmen were after us,
08:36I was down in the woods.
08:38Alessia was the one
08:39who led them away.
08:39She almost didn't come back.
08:41Yes, I favor her.
08:42I owe her.
08:44When have I ever done anything
08:45that wasn't for your own good?
08:47You have to use your marriage
08:49to pick a fight with me?
08:50Mom and dad are gone.
08:51If I don't look out for you,
08:53who will?
08:53He paused.
08:54His voice softened instead.
08:55Do you want an apology from me?
08:57That badly?
08:58I looked into his eyes.
08:59There was exhaustion,
09:00guilt over what he owed my sister,
09:02anger that I'd embarrassed him
09:03in front of everyone.
09:04But nobody was asking
09:05why I didn't want this.
09:06At that moment,
09:07I didn't even have the energy
09:08to explain.
09:15When I was 11,
09:17gunmen from a rival family
09:18broke into our home.
09:22I never saw my parents alive again.
09:25Lorenzo shoved Alessia and me
09:27into a car
09:27and fled with us that night.
09:29Partway there,
09:30they forced our car to the stock.
09:32All we could do
09:32was run into the wooded hills.
09:34Gunmen kept coming.
09:35Lorenzo took a bullet in the leg.
09:37Blood ran down his pants
09:38and soon he couldn't stand.
09:40Alessia stared at the flashlight beams
09:42moving through the trees
09:43and clenched her jaw.
09:45She took our brother's coat.
09:46Gianna, stay with him.
09:48Then she threw it on
09:49and ran into the rain,
09:50deliberately calling out.
09:51The footsteps and gunfire
09:53followed her.
09:53It was just Lorenzo and me.
09:55He was terrified.
09:57The shadows of the trees shifted.
09:58The rain kept falling.
09:59His hands were getting colder,
10:01but I was even more afraid
10:02of being completely useless.
10:03I found a tarp
10:05at an abandoned campsite.
10:06Pulled him onto it
10:07and dragged him downhill.
10:08Little by little,
10:09when I fell,
10:10I got back up.
10:10When my fingers lost their grip,
10:12I wrapped the corners of the tarp
10:14around my wrists.
10:14I don't know how long I walked
10:16before I finally saw a ranger's cabin.
10:18I stumbled up to the door
10:19and pounded on it.
10:21Begging the people inside
10:22to save my brother.
10:24The family took us in.
10:25They also found Alessia,
10:26who'd fallen down the hillside.
10:28Only once I knew she was alive.
10:29Did I let myself close my eyes?
10:31When I woke,
10:32Lorenzo was crouched beside her bed.
10:34His eyes were red.
10:35Alexia,
10:36you saved my life.
10:37I was happy then.
10:38All three of us had made it.
10:40But after that,
10:40every time my sister got first choice,
10:42my brother acted as if
10:43that was simply how things should be.
10:45I'd never wanted to fight her for anything.
10:47I just thought about it sometimes.
10:49I'd been there that night too,
10:50with the tarp cutting into my wrists
10:52until they bled.
10:53In the hallway,
10:55Lorenzo was still waiting for my answer.
10:56I slowly swallowed past
10:58the tightness in my throat.
11:00I don't want an apology.
11:02I just want to decide who I marry.
11:04He stared at me for a long time.
11:05At last,
11:06he smiled a little.
11:07Fine.
11:08Starting tomorrow,
11:08your sister can take you
11:09to meet some men.
11:14For the next two weeks,
11:16Lorenzo filled my schedule with dates.
11:19In a rooftop hotel restaurant,
11:22a politician's son swirled his drink.
11:24Sex is fine.
11:26Marriage.
11:27We'll have to wait.
11:28I haven't quite broken things off
11:30with my other girlfriends.
11:31Alessia came down her silverware,
11:32grabbed me,
11:33and left in a nightclub booth.
11:34An arms dealer's nephew leaned in close.
11:36I hear you're a good girl.
11:38How about giving me eight kids?
11:40Alessia kicked his leg away.
11:41Back off!
11:43At a private garage,
11:44a young crew boss
11:46who'd just taken over business at the docks
11:47opened the door for us.
11:49When he got a good look at me,
11:50his smile faltered for half a second.
11:52Lorenzo said he was looking
11:53for a match for his sister.
11:55I thought...
11:56His gaze settled on Alessia.
11:57He meant you.
11:58I run the whole south dock now.
12:00Alessia, won't you reconsider?
12:01Alessia's face went cold.
12:03The first day you got promoted,
12:04you dumped the fiancé
12:05who'd stuck with you everything!
12:07You're not good enough for my sister!
12:09Once again, we left early.
12:11Back home that day,
12:13Alessia saw the list
12:14of prospective dates on my phone
12:16and suddenly went quiet.
12:17Gianna, stop scrolling.
12:19I was sitting on the terrace,
12:20still swiping down.
12:22If you're tired,
12:22you don't have to come.
12:23I'll go by myself next time.
12:24She put her hand over my phone.
12:26These same men
12:27wanted to date me three years ago.
12:29Lorenzo had them checked out.
12:31He knows how awful they are.
12:32I looked up.
12:33What?
12:34She took my hand.
12:35Maybe his assistant sent the wrong list.
12:37I wanted to believe that too.
12:38Unfortunately,
12:39Lorenzo was coming out of his study right then.
12:41He heard us.
12:43He didn't even blink.
12:44It's the right list.
12:46Now do you see what's out there?
12:48You still have time to go back to Dante.
12:50I suddenly started crying.
12:51I stared at the man I'd called my brother
12:53for more than 20 years.
12:54Do you want me to be happy?
12:55Or do you just want me to obey?
12:57He frowned,
12:58as if he couldn't tell the difference.
13:00Marrying Dante is the best outcome
13:01you can hope for.
13:03Gianna, why are you suddenly acting like this?
13:05Suddenly,
13:07I remembered those two dresses.
13:10I'd never liked pink.
13:11I'd wanted the teal one.
13:12And I remembered the private coach
13:14I'd been left with.
13:15Alessia's patiently corrected her form.
13:18Mine just called me stupid
13:19and pinched my arms
13:20when no one was looking.
13:21I wiped away my tears.
13:25I've always been this way.
13:26I don't want to marry Dante.
13:28Did you hear me?
13:29I don't want to!
13:30Two sharp sounds rang out
13:31almost at once.
13:33Lorenzo slapped me across the face.
13:34At the door,
13:35Dante,
13:35who'd come to bring Alessia wine,
13:37dropped the bottle
13:38and shattered.
13:44Let me see.
13:46Alessia pulled me into her arms.
13:48Let me see your face.
13:49Lorenzo seemed to realize
13:50what he'd done only then.
13:51He reached for me.
13:53Gianna.
13:53I flinched back on instinct.
13:54Dante caught his wrist.
13:56You fucking crazy!
13:57Mateo came in behind him,
13:58kicked the broken glass aside,
14:00and stepped between them.
14:01Enough.
14:01She wants to make her own decisions?
14:03Let her prove herself.
14:04He turned to me.
14:05There's a race at the docks in two weeks.
14:07Every family will have cars there.
14:08I'll talk to my father.
14:09We'll put your terms in the wager.
14:10You win,
14:11and no one gets a say in who you marry.
14:13I knew how much their word
14:14at the betting table mattered to them.
14:15Mateo looked back at Dante.
14:17You keep the other cars off her.
14:19Alexia and I will let her through.
14:20She has a shot at winning.
14:21He tugged at Dante,
14:22who seemed dazed.
14:24Say something.
14:24Dante didn't answer.
14:25He kept staring at my face.
14:27Alessia pressed him.
14:27Dante, please!
14:29He finally looked away.
14:30Okay.
14:31But as he was leaving,
14:32he stopped again.
14:34You're not scared to race again?
14:35Alessia glanced at him.
14:37What does that mean?
14:38Her lap times are more consistent than mine.
14:39My shoulders stiffened.
14:41Suddenly,
14:41I could hear the sound of metal
14:42crushing my body again.
14:44I unclenched my fingers one by one.
14:47Yes,
14:47I was.
14:48Always waiting for someone to choose me.
14:49Accepting a life and a husband
14:51someone else had picked.
14:52All of that terrified me
14:53far more than crashing.
14:54Dante avoided my eyes.
14:55Then I'll get you a car.
15:02I'd learned my lesson in my first life.
15:04I flat out refused the car Dante sent.
15:06I urged Alessia to.
15:08Let's use our own cars.
15:09She answered right away.
15:10Whatever you say.
15:11For the next two weeks,
15:12I turned day off to night.
15:13The race at the docks
15:14was five laps around
15:15closed on freight roads.
15:16First across the finish line won.
15:18For my first life,
15:19I'd been in third before the crash.
15:21Alessia had been second.
15:22Just because she'd let me pass
15:23didn't mean anyone else would.
15:25I couldn't stake the rest of my life
15:26on a few promises to help me.
15:27The night before the race,
15:29the timer stopped.
15:30Alessia took off her headset,
15:31looked at the screen,
15:32then at me.
15:33Gianna,
15:33you beat my fastest lap.
15:35Her eyes lit up as she smiled.
15:36Drive like that.
15:38Don't look back.
15:39I leaned against the car
15:40and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
15:41Okay.
15:42The next evening,
15:43I put on my racing suit
15:44and set my helmet
15:45on the passenger seat.
15:46When Alessia and I
15:47reached the underground garage,
15:49Lorenzo's car
15:50was blocking the exit.
15:51I hadn't seen him in days.
15:53Gianna.
15:53I tightened my grip on my keys
15:55and stayed where I was.
15:56What?
15:57He looked at my racing suit
15:58and frowned.
15:59You just have to copy your sister?
16:00People there pull guns
16:01over a lost race.
16:02You think this is a game?
16:03If something happens,
16:05don't call me crying.
16:05I didn't argue.
16:06I opened the door
16:07and got in.
16:08Just as I was about to close it,
16:10he caught the edge of the door.
16:11After a few tense seconds,
16:12he looked away.
16:13Be home early.
16:14I had dinner ordered.
16:16There's something you like?
16:17I wanted to ask
16:18if he even knew what I liked.
16:19Instead,
16:20I just looked at the hand
16:21holding my door open.
16:22He finally let go.
16:23The engine roared
16:24and I drove out of the garage.
16:30I got into the driver's seat
16:32and worked to steady my breathing.
16:33My phone buzzed.
16:34Mateo had sent the signed wager.
16:36My name was listed separately on it.
16:38I locked the screen.
16:39A black car pulled up beside me.
16:42Dante lowered his window.
16:43You've been training past midnight
16:44every day for two weeks.
16:46I kept my eyes ahead.
16:47You made a promise.
16:48Don't back out.
16:49He was quiet for a moment.
16:51Then his voice dropped.
16:52You came back too, didn't you?
16:54Gianna, you remember our first life?
16:55That's why you hate me.
16:56Why you'd rather die
16:57than marry me again.
16:58The starting lights
16:59came on one by one.
17:00I wasn't surprised.
17:02I'd suspected it
17:02ever since he'd asked
17:03if I wasn't scared to race again.
17:05Before rolling up my window,
17:06I looked at him one last time.
17:08It's starting.
17:08The light turned green.
17:09The gas.
17:10His car hesitated for a beat
17:12before he caught up.
17:12The training had paid off.
17:14Over the first four laps,
17:15I took the lead.
17:16One lap left.
17:16I just had to hold it.
17:17As I took a turn,
17:19Dante's younger cousin
17:20suddenly cut in from the side.
17:21Her car slipped
17:22to my rear quarter.
17:23The steering wheel
17:24jerked out of my hands
17:25and threw the windshield.
17:26I saw her raise a hand
17:27to Dante behind her.
17:28I hit the barrier.
17:29Pain exploded through my body.
17:31The ruling came over the radio.
17:33Racing incident.
17:34Car 7 is out.
17:35A rescue worker
17:36opened my door
17:37and helped me out.
17:37Dante rushed over
17:38to take me from him.
17:39I shoved his hand away
17:40and slapped him across the face.
17:42Dante,
17:42what the hell
17:43do you want from me?
17:49and dodge.
17:50His head snapped to the side
17:52and he slowly turned back.
17:54Gianna,
17:54I'm helping you.
17:55I stared at him,
17:56unable to speak for a moment.
17:57If you'd won
17:58and beaten Alessia
17:59in front of everyone,
17:59how do you think she'd feel?
18:01You have to make your sister
18:02lose to you to be happy?
18:03Tears welled up faster
18:04than I could wipe them away.
18:05He reached to wipe them for me.
18:07Don't cry.
18:08If Alessia agrees to be with me,
18:09I'll keep you close too.
18:10A house,
18:11money,
18:11you won't go without.
18:12If she still chooses my brother,
18:14I'll marry you.
18:15We can go back
18:16to how things were.
18:17Wouldn't that be good?
18:17I looked at his earnest face
18:19for the first time.
18:20I felt that,
18:20despite three years together,
18:22I'd never really known him at all.
18:23Alessia pushed through the crowd
18:25and heard the last few words.
18:26She grabbed a metal wrench
18:27off the workbench
18:28and threw it at him.
18:29I'd hit the back of his shoulder
18:30and Dante grunted
18:31and staggered against the car door.
18:32If my sister wins,
18:34I'll pop the champagne.
18:35Alessia stood in front of me,
18:37her hands shaking.
18:38You're jealous of your brother.
18:39Don't assume the rest of us
18:41are as rotten as you.
18:42If I'd known what you were,
18:43I wouldn't have bothered
18:44pulling you out too
18:44seven years ago.
18:45Blood seeped from the cut
18:47on the back of Dante's shoulder.
18:48He seemed oblivious to the pain.
18:50He just stared at her.
18:51What do you mean,
18:52me too?
18:52You saved me first.
18:54Mateo arrived
18:55with the medical team
18:55just in time to hear it.
18:57He paused for a few seconds.
18:58She went into the water for me.
18:59I told her to pull you out first.
19:01You'd already ran out of strength.
19:02Alessia didn't spare Dante
19:04what little dignity he had left.
19:05I went in to save Mateo.
19:07From that day to this one,
19:08it's always been him.
19:09Dante, you were never
19:10my first choice.
19:11He went rigid.
19:12A long time passed
19:13before he turned toward me
19:14as if something had
19:15suddenly occurred to him.
19:17Jaina.
19:23Three years together,
19:24I knew he was hurting.
19:26I knew that look all too well.
19:27With his parents,
19:28he'd always been the one
19:29waiting to be noticed, too.
19:30While his mother was pregnant with him,
19:32her husband slept with the personal assistant
19:34she trusted most.
19:35After that,
19:35all the hatred she had nowhere else to put
19:37landed on Dante.
19:38His mother loved Mateo more,
19:40his father's business,
19:41his trust,
19:42his choice of successor.
19:43Mateo came first in all of it.
19:45Even Alessia chose his brother.
19:46I used to worry about his pain,
19:48about him feeling the way I did,
19:50sitting among other people,
19:51wondering if he should even be there.
19:52So when he said he'd try to love me,
19:54I was already taking us seriously
19:56to get his mother
19:56to have a birthday dinner with him.
19:58I waited outside her office
19:59until dark.
20:00Then I got on my knees and begged.
20:01When his father was hospitalized,
20:03I stayed with him for a month,
20:04even though I was sick myself.
20:06All to hear one thing.
20:07Dante, you did well.
20:08But no matter how far I lowered myself,
20:10I couldn't earn anything
20:11for either of us.
20:12The love from my first life
20:13and the hatred from this one
20:14lodged in my chest.
20:15I looked at him.
20:16Are you happy now?
20:17Two lives,
20:18and I've never had a choice
20:19in either one.
20:20I stopped and swallowed a few times
20:22before I could finish.
20:23Dante, I hate you so much.
20:24The color drained from his face.
20:26He tried to come closer,
20:27but Alessia and Mateo blocked him.
20:29Gianna, wait!
20:30I didn't look back.
20:31In the makeshift medical room,
20:32I sent everyone out
20:33except the doctor
20:34treating my injuries.
20:35The door shut.
20:36Finally,
20:36I didn't have to hold it in.
20:37Tears dripped onto my racing suit.
20:39The wager was worthless now.
20:41What was I supposed to do next?
20:42The doctor clenched in front of me,
20:44suddenly looked up.
20:45Gianna,
20:45do you want another chance to choose?
20:47I looked at him through my tears.
20:49His eyes were clear and bright.
20:51When he looked at me,
20:51they didn't stray.
20:52Something about him seemed familiar.
20:54Lorenzo's voice came from outside.
20:56Where is she?
20:56I told her she wasn't allowed to come.
20:58She had to wreck a car
20:59before she'd listen.
21:00The doctor glanced at the door,
21:01then back at me.
21:02He seemed nervous.
21:03His palms were sweaty.
21:04My name is Luca Viteri.
21:05I have a car.
21:07It's parked out back.
21:08If you want to leave,
21:09I can take you right now.
21:11When we get there,
21:12you decide where you live
21:13and what you do.
21:15Gianna,
21:15do you want to get out of here?
21:16I finally remembered his face.
21:24First life after Dante died,
21:25I collapsed too.
21:26The injuries from the crash
21:28were worse than I'd realized.
21:29I drifted in and out of consciousness,
21:31surrounded by voices.
21:32Dante's mother sighed.
21:33That poor child.
21:34How could this happen?
21:35Alessia screamed through her tears.
21:37What do you mean
21:37there's nothing you can do?
21:39Get the best doctors here.
21:40The private jet is right there.
21:42Whoever you need,
21:43go get them.
21:44I want her alive!
21:45And Lorenzo,
21:46his voice was so hoarse.
21:47I barely recognized it.
21:49I thought I was doing
21:49what was best for you.
21:51Gianna, I was wrong.
21:52Wake up and yell at me.
21:53Please?
21:54I don't know how much time passed
21:55before those voices began to fade.
21:57Just one person stayed,
21:58talking in my ear every day.
22:00Sweet Gianna,
22:02you weren't happy here,
22:03were you?
22:04Then how about we go somewhere else?
22:06The shore in New Jersey is beautiful.
22:09I'll take you.
22:10It's okay if we don't catch any fish.
22:12I'll buy you some.
22:13He talked way too much.
22:14So much that I finally opened my eyes
22:16and forced out two words.
22:18Shut up.
22:18He froze at first.
22:19Then he smiled.
22:20His lips parted.
22:21I never heard what he said next.
22:22That was my last glimpse of the world.
22:24Luca stayed in the ICU,
22:26fighting to pull me back
22:27from the internal injuries
22:28and massive blood loss.
22:29In the end,
22:30he only bought me a little more time.
22:31So now,
22:32I wasn't afraid he was lying to me.
22:34I looked at him and asked quietly,
22:35Do you have a pen and paper?
22:37He immediately pulled a pen
22:38and a notepad from his pocket.
22:39Yes.
22:39Only when I held the pen
22:40did I realize I'd been shaking the whole time.
22:43I still managed to write those two sentences
22:45and stick the note to the wall above the bed.
22:47Luca carried me on his back
22:49through the staff exit.
22:50His car was out of the dock area
22:52before Lorenzo arrived.
22:58Lorenzo pushed open the medical room door.
23:01I told you to listen to me.
23:02He stopped mid-sentence.
23:04Blood-stained protective gear lay on the bed.
23:06She was gone.
23:07Alessia followed him in,
23:08still trying to calm him down.
23:09Stop yelling at her.
23:10After everything she's been through today.
23:12She stopped too.
23:14A note was stuck to the wall above the bed.
23:17Where's Gianna?
23:18Dante shoved past the people in the doorway
23:20and rushed to the bed.
23:22Blood was seeping through the bed.
23:23Bandage on the back of his shoulder.
23:25He didn't care.
23:26Gianna?
23:27She was just here.
23:28Where's my Gianna?
23:29He grabbed the note.
23:30When he read the word at the end,
23:31his expression changed.
23:32What the hell does she mean goodbye?
23:34He grabbed his staff number
23:35outside the door.
23:36Where did she go?
23:37Who took her?
23:39Lorenzo stood there for a long time.
23:41Then he walked over
23:41and took the paper from Dante's hand.
23:43It read,
23:43I'm going to live the life I choose.
23:46Alessia, goodbye.
23:47Alessia.
23:47She'd only said goodbye to Alessia.
23:50Lorenzo gripped the note
23:51and headed out.
23:53He didn't see that the steps
23:54were slick as rain.
23:55He fell back,
23:56smashing the back of his head
23:57against the doorframe.
23:58Everything went black.
23:59When he woke,
24:00he was drenched in cold sweat.
24:02He'd had a dream
24:03long enough
24:03to feel like he'd lived another life.
24:07Alessia came in
24:08carrying his medication.
24:09He saw him sit up.
24:11Lorenzo, don't move yet.
24:12The doctor said...
24:13Wait.
24:13He'd already thrown off the covers.
24:15The bodyguard beside the bed
24:16tried to stop him.
24:17He shoved him away.
24:17Lorenzo grabbed his car keys
24:19and pulled a hand up
24:20from the coat
24:21hanging over the chair.
24:22Alessia's face changed.
24:23What are you doing?
24:24He answered.
24:25Thunder rolled outside the window.
24:27Over ten minutes later,
24:28he stormed into doctor's house.
24:35He stood in the rain,
24:36still on the phone.
24:37Check the cameras
24:38at the old freight yard.
24:39Get me the list
24:40of everyone who left.
24:42I want to know
24:43where she is.
24:44Gianna can't...
24:45A gunshot tore through the rain.
24:47Dante's arm jerked.
24:48The phone fell from his hand
24:49and hit a puddle.
24:50Blood dripped from his cuff.
24:51He looked up.
24:52Lorenzo stood a few paces away.
24:54His hair soaked.
24:55The gun still pointed at him.
24:56The bodyguards rushed out
24:57in the sound.
24:58Dante raised his uninjured hand.
24:59Stand down.
25:01Lorenzo's gun hand
25:02wouldn't stop shaking.
25:03I trusted you with my sister
25:05because I thought
25:06you'd treat her right.
25:07And what did you do?
25:08She lost two babies
25:10because of you.
25:11The rain screamed
25:11down his face.
25:14She got on her knees
25:15and begged your mother
25:16to have dinner with you.
25:19She was sick herself.
25:21She still sat by
25:22your father's hospital bed
25:23because she didn't want
25:24you getting chewed out again.
25:26And this is how
25:27you fucking treated her?
25:28He couldn't get the rest of her.
25:30Dante didn't even try
25:31to help her win.
25:32You too?
25:33Wait, what do you mean two?
25:34He took a small step back.
25:36Memories from his first life
25:37crowded his mind.
25:39Before the race,
25:40Gianna had barely been able to eat.
25:42He thought she was still angry.
25:44A month earlier,
25:45he'd gotten drunk
25:45and forced himself on her again.
25:49Lorenzo stared at him
25:50and gave a cold laugh.
25:52You've been back this whole time.
25:53So you got a second chance
25:55and you still hurt him.
25:56Dante opened his mouth.
25:57Nothing came out.
25:58She was pregnant when you died.
26:00After that,
26:01they rushed her
26:01in the emergency room.
26:02They lost the baby.
26:03Then they lost her.
26:04Dante, you didn't spare her
26:05either time.
26:06Thunder cried.
26:07Dante clenched his jaw
26:08so hard he tasted blood.
26:10Lorenzo's breathing
26:10turned ragged.
26:11At last,
26:12his gun hand dropped.
26:13The bodyguards
26:14stepped in immediately,
26:15took the gun
26:16and separated them.
26:18Someone called for a doctor
26:19over the radio.
26:20Someone else pressed a towel
26:21to Dante's bleeding arm.
26:22He seemed unable
26:23to feel any of it.
26:24Gianna,
26:24why hadn't she told him?
26:26Why had she insisted
26:27on entering that race
26:28in both lives?
26:29His breathing grew faster.
26:30Only one thought remained.
26:31Find her.
26:32He pushed past the bodyguards
26:33and stumbled into the rain.
26:40Luca had a lot going for him.
26:42He just talked a little too much.
26:43And when he sat next to me,
26:45he couldn't seem to figure out
26:46how much space
26:46to leave between us.
26:47A colleague was heading
26:48back to town.
26:49So Luca had him drive
26:50and squeezed into
26:51the back seat with me.
26:52He kept finding things
26:53to talk about the whole way.
26:55I was only at that
26:55private hospital in New York
26:57for a short exchange program.
26:59The ER was crazy busy
27:01and they still had me
27:02giving case presentations.
27:04I leaned against the window
27:05and murmured an absent.
27:07He went quiet for a few seconds
27:08and tried again.
27:10I'm 26.
27:12No girlfriend.
27:13I live with my brother.
27:14I don't have much
27:15saved up,
27:16but I don't have any debt.
27:18Mm-hmm, I said again.
27:19He looked even more nervous.
27:20After a while,
27:21he glanced toward the front seat
27:22and leaned closer.
27:23Also,
27:25I work out.
27:26Wanna feel?
27:26My mind was elsewhere.
27:27I nodded without thinking.
27:29At the time I realized
27:30what was happening,
27:31he gently guided my hand
27:32to his stomach.
27:33His abs were tight
27:34beneath his t-shirt.
27:35His ears had gone bright red.
27:37Not bad, right?
27:40We arrived in a small seaside town
27:42in New Jersey.
27:44I gathered my things
27:45and got out.
27:47Thanks for the ride.
27:50I came here with my parents
27:51when I was little.
27:52I know a pharmacy here.
27:54I'll ask if they need an assistant.
27:56If I can find a job,
27:57I should be able to stay.
27:59So I'll just...
28:00Wait!
28:00Luca stepped in front of me
28:02and shifted aside a little,
28:03worried he was blocking my way.
28:06I know a clinic that's hiring.
28:07It's where I work.
28:08I can teach you
28:08whatever you want to learn
28:09and if the pay or the out
28:09work for you, we can talk.
28:10He was speaking too fast.
28:12Finally, he stopped
28:13and added quietly,
28:14Would you give it a try?
28:18You're not going back
28:18to that private hospital?
28:19He rubbed his nose.
28:21It was an exchange program.
28:22They don't own me.
28:27October Point was a small town
28:29on the New Jersey coast.
28:30It had coffee shops,
28:32convenience stores,
28:32and a breakfast truck
28:33where the arguing started
28:34at 6 in the morning.
28:36I became an assistant
28:37at the clinic.
28:37I answered calls,
28:39checked patients in,
28:40and organized medications.
28:42When things were quiet,
28:43Luca taught me first aid.
28:44At first, I only knew the people
28:46who came in for treatment.
28:47Before long,
28:48even neighbors with missing dogs
28:49would poke their heads in.
28:50Gianna, have you seen him?
28:52That afternoon,
28:52Mrs. Romano was missing a cake.
28:54Luca sat outside the clinic,
28:55looking more serious
28:56than he did with his patients.
28:57When did you last see it?
28:59Last night.
29:00I just put it in the fridge.
29:02It was for my husband's birthday.
29:04I had to order it a week ahead.
29:06Luca nodded.
29:07Before the cake disappeared,
29:09did anyone show
29:09an unusual interest in it?
29:11I couldn't help laughing.
29:12Mrs. Romano glared at him.
29:14If you're not going to help,
29:15shut it!
29:16She turned and grabbed my arm.
29:17You found Uncle Enzo's dog last time,
29:19and you found a vet
29:20who'd see the girl next door's pet
29:22in the middle of the night?
29:24Think of something.
29:25I can't stick a candle
29:27in a piece of toast
29:28for my husband.
29:28I hesitated.
29:30Maybe we should ask Nico first?
29:32Luca turned sharply.
29:34That was him sneaking cake down
29:35by the water last night?
29:36Mrs. Romano's expression changed.
29:38She turned and marched off.
29:40Luca leaned closer
29:41and lowered his voice.
29:43You still got it?
29:44I smiled and shook my head.
29:47Soon, Nico came running over,
29:48a little blue frosting
29:49still at the corner of his mouth.
29:51Gianna, you sold me out!
29:52His mother chased after him,
29:54clutching the game console
29:55she'd just confiscated.
29:56And you went to eat it
29:57by the old warehouse?
29:58Someone was shooting out there
30:00just last week!
30:01Luca looked at me.
30:02I looked at him.
30:03We both laughed.
30:05That evening,
30:05we walked back along the shore.
30:07His hand brushed my fingertips,
30:08then pulled away.
30:10Gianna.
30:10He stared at the pavement
30:11and swallowed.
30:12Do you think you might feel
30:13something for me now?
30:14Even a little?
30:14Before he could finish,
30:15a familiar voice came from behind us.
30:17Get your hand off her!
30:18Dante stood by the dock.
30:20His suit wrinkled,
30:21dark circles under his eyes.
30:22He stared at Luca's hand,
30:23then looked at me.
30:24Gianna, did it ever occur to you
30:25to leave me a note
30:26before you took off?
30:27You won't answer my calls,
30:28you won't text me back.
30:30Were you really planning
30:30to make sure I never found you?
30:32His words grew more frantic,
30:33then his voice suddenly broke.
30:36You were pregnant.
30:37Why didn't you tell me?
30:42Where I could speak,
30:44Luca punched him.
30:45People nearby rushed
30:46to pull him apart.
30:47Wait!
30:47Dante raised a hand
30:48and barked at his bodyguards
30:49to stay back.
30:50In the end,
30:50I took Dante into a restaurant
30:51by the dock
30:52and ordered him some hot soup
30:53as an apology.
30:55Luca lost his temper.
30:57This is on me.
30:58Leave him alone.
30:59Dante looked at me,
31:00his eyes slowly reddening.
31:01Suddenly,
31:01he seized my wrist.
31:03You're apologizing for him?
31:05Who is he?
31:06Are you two together?
31:08I sat in a breath at the pain.
31:09He let go at once
31:10as if he'd been burned.
31:11I'm sorry.
31:12His voice was painfully hoarse.
31:15Gianna,
31:15my life's a mess without you.
31:17I set down my spoon.
31:18Oh.
31:20I need to help Uncle Enzo
31:21find his dog.
31:22He followed someone
31:23onto a boat again.
31:24You can get home
31:25on your own, right?
31:26I stood.
31:26He caught hold of my clothes.
31:28The man who could silence
31:29an entire casino table
31:30with a word
31:31looked up at me.
31:31You loved me, didn't you?
31:34Come back with me.
31:35I was wrong about the race.
31:37I admit it.
31:38Whatever you want to do
31:39from now on,
31:40I won't stop you.
31:42And the babies.
31:43It's not too late
31:44in this life.
31:45We can have more.
31:46He looked at me,
31:46waiting for me to soften,
31:47as if having two more
31:48would erase the ones who died.
31:50I was about to speak
31:50when gunfire
31:51erupted at the end
31:52of the alley.
31:52Swing was filled
31:53the restaurant.
31:54A man knocked
31:54open table by the entrance
31:55and aimed his gun
31:56straight at Dante.
31:57Cursing on the writing name.
31:58He was here for him.
31:59I instinctively step out,
32:00but my knee buckled.
32:01It felt as if an old injury
32:02had been torn up again.
32:03The next aside,
32:04someone wrapped his arms
32:05around him
32:06and forced me out
32:07and over to the table.
32:08The walls shattered overhead.
32:10Someone screamed.
32:12He's been shot!
32:14He's covered in blood!
32:15Call the cops!
32:16Get an ambulance!
32:22The work to stop Dante's bleeding.
32:24His expression was so cold,
32:26he seemed like a different person.
32:28Wounds to the leg and abdomen.
32:29He needs a hospital.
32:30An ambulance is on its way.
32:31We'll get him to the nearest hospital first.
32:33We can't operate here.
32:34Dante lay propped up on the bed,
32:36frighteningly pale.
32:37His eyes never left me.
32:38Gianna?
32:39Luca dropped the used gauze
32:40into a tray.
32:41Save your strength.
32:43You want to keep that leg?
32:44He told the nurse to stay by the bed,
32:45then turned to me.
32:46His voice softening again.
32:48Sit down.
32:48You shouldn't be standing.
32:49Is your knee hurting again?
32:51I nodded.
32:51He pulled over a chair
32:52and didn't let go
32:53until he was sure
32:54I was settled in it.
32:55I'll meet the paramedics out front.
32:56At the door,
32:57he looked back.
32:57You'll still come find me
32:58when you're done talking, right?
32:59My ears grew hot.
33:01I gave him a little push
33:02out the door.
33:02Dante was breathing heavily.
33:04He managed a faint smile.
33:05You have to believe me this time.
33:07I've been so busy looking for you.
33:08I've let the business
33:09in New York slide.
33:11My father's already
33:12put Mateo in charge
33:13of my casino.
33:14After all those years
33:15fighting him for it,
33:16and now I've taken
33:16a bullet for you.
33:17He looked at me
33:18as though he'd finally found
33:19something valuable enough
33:20to bargain with.
33:21Isn't that enough?
33:21I was quiet for a moment.
33:23Dante, there's one thing
33:23Luca does better than you.
33:25His smile vanished.
33:26What?
33:26He understands the word no.
33:28If I won't go with him,
33:29it'll hurt him.
33:29But he won't wreck my car
33:31and tell me it's for my own good.
33:32I looked at this man I loved,
33:33then hated,
33:34and finally wanted
33:35nothing more to do with.
33:36I used to think you had
33:37to choose me
33:38for me to have a good life.
33:39Now I see it's the other way around.
33:41Whoever I choose
33:41to give my love to
33:42is the lucky one.
33:43His fingers tightened
33:44around the sheet.
33:45I kept going.
33:46In our first life,
33:46I was racing for a divorce.
33:48Your father signed the papers.
33:50If I won,
33:51the family would let me go.
33:52So when I was fighting to win,
33:54I wasn't trying
33:55to get your attention.
33:56I was trying to leave you.
33:57The last trace of color
33:58drained from Dante's face.
34:00I picked up my phone
34:00and blocked his number
34:01right in front of him.
34:02I'm done waiting
34:03for someone to choose me.
34:04You should try letting go, too.
34:05Outside the room,
34:06I ran into the clinic's receptionist.
34:08She was drenched in sweat.
34:09A bunch of cars just pulled up.
34:10They said your brother's here.
34:11I looked up.
34:12Lorenzo stood beside a car,
34:14his coat unbuttoned,
34:14looking as if he'd been rushing
34:16to get here for hours.
34:17When he saw me,
34:18his lips moved.
34:18Gianna, I'm here now.
34:25I took Lorenzo for a walk
34:26through the weekend market
34:27by the shore.
34:28The stalls sold handmade jewelry
34:29and used records.
34:30People walked their dogs
34:31and pushed strollers.
34:33His bodyguards started to follow,
34:34but he raised a hand,
34:35leaving them at the end
34:36of the street.
34:37Have you eaten?
34:38I pointed to the food trucks
34:39along the road.
34:40Fish and chips, tacos,
34:41or a hot sandwich.
34:43What sounds good?
34:44I know the best spots.
34:45Lorenzo didn't look at the menus.
34:47He kept looking at me.
34:47Lorenzo?
34:48He swallowed,
34:49then finally spoke.
34:49What about you, Gianna?
34:51What do you want to eat?
34:52I understood what he was
34:53really asking.
34:53I could see the cautious hope
34:55in his eyes, too.
34:56I paused for a few seconds
34:57and gave him a small smile.
34:58No thanks.
34:59Someone's cooking for me at home.
35:00All at once,
35:01I really wanted to see Luca.
35:03I should get back.
35:04He's waiting for me.
35:05When I got home,
35:06something smelled burned
35:07in the kitchen.
35:07Luca stood at the stove,
35:09scowling at a pot
35:10of mushroom soup.
35:11You even managed
35:12to burn this.
35:13No wonder she doesn't want you.
35:14Then he turned
35:15to the plate of grilled fish.
35:16Don't look at me like that.
35:17What's the point
35:18of looking so good?
35:19She's not coming back
35:19to eat you.
35:20Leaning against the doorway,
35:21I finally laughed out loud.
35:22He spun around.
35:24Gianna,
35:25you came back?
35:26I mean,
35:27you didn't go with them.
35:28I deliberately left him
35:29waiting for an answer
35:29and walked over slowly.
35:31Luca,
35:32you've filled my fridge
35:33and taken over my kitchen.
35:34How long are you going
35:35to keep telling the neighbors
35:36you're just here
35:37to cook dinner?
35:37He straightened,
35:38still holding the ladle.
35:39That's not what I meant.
35:40I can...
35:40He stopped.
35:41He saw my smile.
35:41At last,
35:42it clicked.
35:43He set the ladle aside.
35:44He took my hand
35:44so gently,
35:45as if afraid I'd put it away.
35:46I could feel his heartbeat,
35:48fast.
35:48Gianna,
35:49will you marry me?
35:50This time,
35:51no one answered for me.
35:52I nodded.
35:57Renzo bought me
35:58all kinds of things.
35:59A teal dress,
36:00the brooch I'd wanted
36:01as a child,
36:02a teddy bear.
36:03Shopping bags stood in a row
36:04across the living room.
36:05Everyone held something
36:06I'd once wanted
36:07and never gotten.
36:08He sat at the edge
36:08of the couch
36:09and spoke very softly.
36:10Dante's out of surgery.
36:12Once he's stable,
36:13they'll transfer him back
36:13to New York
36:14for further treatment.
36:15And about your wedding,
36:16I spoke to Mateo.
36:17He'll keep Dante's men in line.
36:19No one will cause any trouble.
36:20I pushed the bags
36:21back toward him.
36:22Thank you,
36:23but take these with you.
36:24Lorenzo's hand paused
36:25in midair,
36:26then slowly withdrew.
36:27He was silent
36:28for a long time.
36:29In our first life,
36:30after you were gone,
36:32Luca never got married.
36:33I checked on him
36:33over and over.
36:34He was always alone.
36:35I froze
36:36and looked up at him.
36:37His eyes were red.
36:37I was always so afraid
36:39you'd make the wrong choice.
36:40In the end,
36:40every decision
36:41that ruined your life
36:42was one I made for you.
36:43Gianna,
36:44stop worrying about what I think.
36:45Go live the life you want.
36:47I felt the sting of tears,
36:48but I still couldn't
36:49call him my brother,
36:50the way I'd once cried out for him
36:51whenever someone hurt me.
36:52Some things couldn't be undone,
36:54even when you knew
36:55you'd been wrong.
36:55That evening,
36:56Luca started talking
36:57nonstop again.
36:58Nico got his game console back.
36:59He's hiding it with his dad.
37:01His dad said
37:02they could take turns playing,
37:03as long as his mom
37:04doesn't find out.
37:05The cat next door
37:06had three kittens.
37:08Her owner's already
37:09sending pictures
37:09to everyone on the street.
37:10As I listened,
37:11I smiled.
37:12Only then did his fingers
37:13loosen around his cup.
37:14He quietly let out a breath.
37:16I pretended not to notice.
37:17Luca,
37:18I remember who you are.
37:20He stopped talking at once.
37:21I looked at him.
37:22I like you too.
37:22His face slowly turned red.
37:24Then could you
37:25keep liking me?
37:27I want to spend
37:27my whole life with you.
37:28I said,
37:29okay.
37:35I was ten
37:35when I first met Gianna.
37:36My brother was
37:37crouched over me,
37:38shielding me with his body
37:39as punches landed on his back.
37:40All he cared about
37:41was shouting,
37:41My brother didn't
37:42take your money!
37:43The pharmacy owner
37:43stood behind the counter
37:44without a trace of guilt
37:45on his face.
37:45I gave you work.
37:46I kept you fed.
37:48This is how you repay me?
37:49Hand over your pay
37:50to cover it.
37:51Or I'll call the people
37:52who run this street
37:52and let them handle you.
37:53The crowd of onlook
37:54admitted,
37:55You're two kids.
37:56How do you expect
37:57to take them on?
37:58Keep this up
37:58and you'll bring
37:59those people down here.
38:00Then you'll get worse
38:01than a few punches.
38:02The truth was,
38:02I was scared of dying.
38:03I was even more scared
38:04my brother would be
38:05beaten to death
38:05protecting me.
38:06I pushed him away,
38:07ready to confess
38:07just to end it.
38:08I took it.
38:09My brother had nothing to do.
38:10A hand suddenly
38:10landed on my shoulder.
38:11There's a security camera
38:12above the register.
38:13The voice was clear
38:14and sharp with anger.
38:15Show us the footage.
38:16Then we'll know
38:17who took the money,
38:18won't we?
38:18I turned.
38:19A girl in a teal dress
38:19stood there,
38:20a few inches taller than me.
38:21She glared at the owner.
38:22Are you afraid
38:22to let everyone see it?
38:23The owner glanced
38:24toward the door.
38:25His expression changed
38:26at once.
38:26The girl turned back
38:27and patted my shoulder.
38:28Don't be scared.
38:28My dad keeps people
38:29in line for the Morettis.
38:31My mom runs the businesses
38:32on this street.
38:33A man and a woman
38:34stood in the doorway.
38:35Two black cars
38:35were parked behind them.
38:36They didn't yell at me.
38:37They just crouched down
38:38and asked if I was hurt.
38:39Tell us what happened.
38:40Take your time.
38:42We're listening.
38:43That day,
38:43the pharmacy owner
38:44apologized in front of everyone.
38:45He paid back
38:46every cent he'd withheld
38:46from our wages,
38:47plus another $3,000.
38:49As we were leaving,
38:49I pulled free of my brother's hand
38:51and ran after her.
38:51What's your name?
38:52The girl looked back,
38:53her eyes bright.
38:54Gianna Bellotti.
38:54The window of the car
38:55behind her rolled down.
38:56A young man leaned out
38:57to hurry her along.
38:58Gianna, get in.
38:59We still have a few more
39:00stores to visit.
39:01Why can't you be more like Alessia
39:02and stop making everything
39:03so difficult?
39:04She waved at me.
39:05Coming!
39:06She called to her brother.
39:07I stood by the road
39:07and watched the black car
39:08drive away.
39:09I'd wanted to ask
39:09where she lived to,
39:10but I looked down
39:11at my torn clothes,
39:12then back at the taillights.
39:13I couldn't bring myself to ask.
39:19$3,000 really did
39:21change my life.
39:21My brother used the money
39:22to buy a used food truck
39:23and sold breakfast
39:24by the Harbor Point docks.
39:25He left before dawn
39:26and came home smelling
39:27of cooking grease.
39:27He got me back into school.
39:29Later, he put me
39:29through medical school.
39:30I couldn't let him down.
39:31Sixteen years later,
39:31I received an invitation
39:32from the Moretti's
39:33private hospital.
39:34The day I arrived in New York,
39:35a colleague stopped
39:35at a private garage
39:36in Brooklyn to pick up a car.
39:37I sat in the passenger seat
39:38with the window down.
39:39I heard a man speaking.
39:40Alexia, give me another chance.
39:42The woman in the teal dress
39:43looked at him coldly.
39:44You don't deserve Gianna.
39:45Gianna, I looked over at once.
39:46She stood behind the woman,
39:47her head lowered,
39:47her fingers gripping
39:48the hem of her dress.
39:49It had been so many years,
39:50I almost hadn't recognized her.
39:51As a child,
39:52she'd stood in a crowd
39:53and dared to point a finger
39:54in a grown man's face
39:54and demand answers.
39:55Now she stood there
39:56as if she were afraid
39:57even lifting her head
39:57would bother someone.
39:58I reached for the door handle.
39:59My colleague was already
40:00back in the car.
40:01Let's go.
40:02They're waiting for us
40:02at the hospital.
40:03We drove off.
40:04When I looked back again,
40:04she was gone.
40:10Later, I kept thinking
40:11how lucky it was
40:12that I'd gone that day.
40:13Bets were opening
40:14on the underground race
40:14at Brooklyn's old freight yard.
40:16The Morettis had asked
40:16the hospital to send medical staff
40:18to be on standby.
40:19A colleague came to me
40:19at the last minute.
40:20Cover for me.
40:21My wife's in labor.
40:22I grabbed a medical kit
40:23and left.
40:23I hadn't expected to see Gianna.
40:24She sat on an exam bed
40:25in the makeshift medical room,
40:27her racing suit torn,
40:28her leg covered in blood.
40:29From outside,
40:29I just heard her say,
40:30Dante, I hate you so much.
40:32I didn't know
40:33what had happened between them.
40:34I didn't understand
40:34all that talk
40:35about past lives either.
40:36All I knew was that
40:36everything I'd heard
40:37over the past few days
40:38was a lie.
40:39The Belanda's younger daughter
40:39was doing so well.
40:41Her brother protected her.
40:42Her sister adored her.
40:43If her life was so good,
40:44why would she be crying like this?
40:45Someone was yelling at her
40:46outside the door again.
40:47At the sound of his voice,
40:48her shoulders drew in.
40:49Suddenly,
40:49I couldn't wait any longer.
40:51Gianna,
40:51would you come with me?
40:52She looked at me
40:53without speaking.
40:54In those few moments of waiting,
40:55my back was soaked with sweat.
40:56I was afraid she wouldn't remember me.
40:57Even more afraid
40:58she'd think I was just another person
40:59trying to make her choices for her.
41:01At last, she spoke.
41:02Do you have a pen and paper?
41:07A lot happened after that.
41:08Someone was always refusing to give up,
41:10trying to take Gianna back.
41:11Thankfully,
41:12every time she stayed,
41:13we got married by the sea.
41:14There were no bodyguards
41:15lining the halls.
41:16No guests waiting to strike a deal.
41:19My brother brought his food truck
41:20and cooked for everyone.
41:21Gianna wore a dress
41:22she'd chosen herself.
41:23Three months into our marriage,
41:24she got pregnant.
41:25Then the results of her prenatal scan
41:26came back.
41:27I set the pictures by the bed
41:28and gently rested my hand
41:29on her belly.
41:30Two.
41:31A boy and a girl.
41:32She suddenly threw her arms around me
41:33and cried for a long time.
41:34I didn't know why.
41:36All I knew was that she seemed to have
41:37finally found something precious
41:38she'd lost.
41:40I held her tight
41:40and started searching
41:41for things to say again.
41:43Nico skipped school today.
41:44His dad caught him at the arcade.
41:45The cat next door
41:46goes to the convenience store
41:47every day for the AC.
41:48Pretend she can't hear a thing
41:49when they call her home.
41:50Uncle Enzo's dog ran off
41:51the husky next door again.
41:52He says next time,
41:53he's sending her off with a dowry.
41:54I went from one story to the next.
41:56From the breakfast truck by the dock
41:57to the coffee machine on the corner
41:58that still wasn't fixed after a week.
42:00Gradually, she stopped crying.
42:02With her fingers curled around my t-shirt,
42:04she fell asleep.
42:09Then did I let out a breath
42:10and gently pat her back.
42:11A neighbor who'd come to help
42:12set a letter on the table
42:13and lowered her voice.
42:14It's from New York.
42:15I thanked her and opened it
42:16with one hand.
42:17I thought it was Lorenzo again.
42:19These days,
42:19he sent a letter every few days
42:21asking how Gianna was doing
42:23and whether she was eating well.
42:24But this one was from Dante.
42:26Gianna had blocked every number he used,
42:28so he'd started writing letters.
42:30Gianna, how are our two children?
42:32Don't forget to come early
42:33for the race tomorrow night.
42:34I'll pick you up.
42:35Where did you go?
42:36Gianna, say something.
42:38Please.
42:38The handwriting was badly crooked.
42:40Dried blood stained the edge of the page.
42:41Gianna had said she didn't want
42:42to read his letters anymore.
42:43After reading it,
42:44I tore it up.
42:45The day Dante was shot,
42:46an ambulance took him
42:46to a nearby hospital.
42:47The gunshot wound to his abdomen
42:49was so severe
42:49that the surgery took hours.
42:51Later, he was transferred back
42:52to New York for further treatment.
42:53Over the next few months,
42:54complications sent him back
42:55to the ICU several times.
42:57His body slowly gave out.
42:58His memories started to blur, too.
43:00Sometimes he even thought
43:01Gianna still lived in the apartment
43:02they'd shared when they were married.
43:03The doctor said
43:04he didn't have much time left.
43:05Gianna stirred restlessly in my arms
43:07and murmured my name.
43:08Luca?
43:09I tossed the scraps of paper aside
43:10and held her close again.
43:11I'm here.
43:12She nestled closer.
43:13Her fingers slowly loosened
43:14their grip on my shirt.
43:15This time, I wasn't too late.