2: I'm not your prisoner.

The room they kept me in was small and windowless. I didn’t know if it was day or night, nor how much time had passed since they locked me in there. The silence was so dense it sometimes made it hard to breathe. The only thing that broke the monotony was when they brought food, always leaving it without saying a word, as if I were an invisible prisoner.

Valentino hadn’t returned since that day I cursed him so viciously that, after he left, I truly thought he might kill me.

"I want to get out of here!" I screamed with all my strength.

His absence was starting to gnaw at my mind. I had to talk to him, tell him what was stuck like a thorn in my chest: that I wouldn’t take away his right to be in the child’s life… but I wasn’t going to hand him over completely either. That baby was mine too. And I… I was much more than an incubator—I was his mother!

I sat on the cot, staring into nothing. The sound of the lock jolted me out of my daze.

An older man with a harsh gaze entered. He looked dangerous.

"You're small and delicate," he said, scanning me from head to toe before letting out a mocking laugh.

I felt my stomach twist. Nausea, disgust, fear. All at once.

"I want to leave," I whispered, but my voice was choked by the tears filling my eyes. "Please… let me go."

The man narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible," he said calmly. "At least not until the child is born. Now, get ready. We're leaving soon."

He turned around and walked out, leaving me alone again. I ran to the door and kicked it with all my strength. I hated Valentino Salvatore. I hated him with everything I had.

"I want to get out of here!" I shouted.

I slammed my fist against the door and stepped back. There was no use in screaming myself hoarse.

...

Hours later, I was taken out of that dark room and brought to an airport. The hangar lights blinded me for a second. As soon as they pushed me toward the private jet, I felt the cold air hit my face. My entire body trembled—not just from the chill, but from what I sensed was coming. I climbed the steps under pressure, nerves fraying, and when I entered… there he was.

Valentino.

Sitting as if nothing had happened, one leg crossed over the other, a lit cigarette between his fingers. Dressed elegantly, impeccably, as if kidnapping pregnant women was part of his daily routine.

My breathing quickened, a wave of hatred rushing through me.

"Damn you!" I screamed and ran toward him, fists clenched, ready to tear his face apart.

But he stood up quickly before I could touch him and grabbed my wrists firmly. He held me tightly, but without hurting me.

"Let me go, you disgusting gorilla!" I shrieked, struggling with all the fury I had left.

"Calm down, Ginevra," he said in a low voice, jaw clenched. But his eyes… his eyes pierced right through me, intense, deep, maddeningly irresistible.

We stood there, breathing the same air, our faces just inches apart. His grip loosened, and instead of pushing me away, he pulled me closer, as if my rage didn’t matter. As if he dared me to keep hating him while being so close.

I felt his hand slowly slide down my arms. His eyes locked on mine. His mouth… so close.

My heart started to race out of control.

And then, just as his face began to move closer to mine, a violent wave of nausea hit me.

"Shit…" I muttered, pulling back abruptly.

But it was too late.

I leaned toward him and vomited… directly onto his perfectly polished shoes.

The silence was brutal.

Panting, my body trembling from disgust and humiliation, I looked at him.

He stared back, eyes narrowed, as if deciding whether to strangle me or laugh.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and snapped:

"That's what you get for kidnapping me, you idiot."

Valentino let out a long sigh, stubbed out his cigarette on the armrest, and muttered:

"This will cost you, Ginevra."

...

Hours later, the plane landed in Naples. I didn’t even know when I had fallen asleep, but I woke just as the wheels hit the ground. I had vomited, screamed, insulted him, and still, he hadn’t said another word. He ignored me the entire flight as if I didn’t exist, as if my screams were just background noise. I hated him more with every passing minute.

"You’re a coward!" I yelled as we got off the plane.

He didn’t even look at me. He walked ahead as if I were a bothersome burden.

"Do you even realize what you’re doing?! Kidnapping me! And on top of that, acting like a damn psychopath!"

Nothing. Silence. Damn silence.

They dragged me to the car waiting for us. I got in reluctantly and insulted Valentino again, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t even glance my way.

The ride was long, but when the car finally stopped, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise. The house was stunning. Imposing. It looked like something out of a dream.

Without being told, I got out of the vehicle. I had to see it all. Every detail, every corner.

"Lock her up. She doesn’t come out until I say so," Valentino ordered, his voice low, cold.

I was about to scream, protest, fight. But before I could do anything, his men surrounded me—merciless. They dragged me away without compassion.

"You can’t do this to me! I’m not your damn prisoner!"

But I was. Reality hit me instantly. In seconds, I found myself locked in a huge room, with a balcony overlooking a garden.

I paced back and forth like a caged beast, my footsteps echoing on the cold floor. I searched for an escape. But there was nothing.

Only the balcony.

I approached it, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest. I leaned over the edge. It was high. Too high. And for a moment, the temptation was stronger than me. I wanted to fall, to let it all end, to make the pain disappear. I climbed onto the balcony railing and stood there, deciding what to do.

The sound of the door opening startled me.

A man around my age, with a scar shaped like an X on his face and stone-cold eyes, appeared in the doorway. He stared at me intently.

"Get down from there, girl," he said, his voice deep, almost scornful. "You might get lucky and not survive the fall. But if you don’t die… Valentino will torture you until you beg for death."

I glared at him, my eyes filled with tears I couldn’t hold back. My chest heaved with every beat, so violently I thought I might explode.

"Maybe it would be better to jump right now and end all of this," I replied, my voice cracked, yet defiant. I didn’t move.

He took a step forward, eyes fixed on me.

"Don’t play the brave girl," he whispered, coming closer. "Get down before I have to make you."

The hot air hit my face, my body trembled with rage and fear. Seconds passed that felt eternal. I took a deep breath, enough to feel my soul fracture, and finally climbed down.

But my frustration didn’t vanish. Every muscle in my body burned with the need to fight.

"This isn’t fair!" I shouted. "If you’re not going to let me go, then I’ll jump for real next time!"

The man stared without blinking, his eyes as empty as the abyss.

"Try to survive until that child is born. After that… we’ll see."

And he left, leaving me alone again. With tears burning my skin, with my body trembling and my heart on the verge of breaking. The future slipped away as I sank deeper and deeper into this nightmare.