Chapter 4

Chris looked confused.

"What about today? The most important thing today is Ivy's birthday."

At that moment, the last of my hope for us died.

I said quietly,

"Let's get divorced."

As I spoke, more fireworks went up and cheers erupted beside us.

Ivy had arrived.

Chris let go of my hand and walked out to her.

Everyone crowded around her to wish her a happy birthday.

She really was their princess, the center of everyone's attention.

I put a hand under my belly and walked the other way.

That night I booked a flight to the city where my parents had lived.

Three hours later, the plane landed.

Nothing in their house seemed to have changed.

I looked at their portraits, and tears stung my eyes.

"Mom, Dad, I was wrong. I should have listened to you instead of insisting on marrying Chris."

But they could never answer me again.

At four in the morning, Chris apparently noticed I was gone.

The calls came one after another.

I turned the phone off.

All I wanted right then was to sit with my parents.

What I didn't expect was the pounding on the door at first light.

Chris had found the house, and he'd brought Ivy.

For the neighbors' sake, I opened the door.

"What do you want?"

He grabbed my hand.

"Ivy got drunk at an underground bar a while back and let someone from the Cavalli family get information out of her. You're the only one who can help her now!"

I pulled free.

"That has nothing to do with me."

His voice turned urgent. "This is not the time to be jealous!

"That bar is dimly lit, and you two have similar builds. If you say it was you, the Bellini family will believe you!

"You're my wife. I'll keep you safe.

"But Ivy has only just started patching things up with the Don. She can't afford a mistake right now!"

My voice was flat. "I told you. I'm not doing it."

Ivy's tears spilled at once.

"Aurelia, I know you've never liked me, but I really have no other way out this time.

"If my father finds out, he'll cut me off for good.

"I know you don't like how things are between Chris and me. Help me, and I promise I'll never contact him again. Please?"

She spoke as if every word hurt her, as if she were the one who'd been wronged.

Chris's pleading expression turned cold.

"Aurelia, Ivy and I are just friends. How can you let your feelings blind you to what's right and wrong?!

"If you weren't picking on her every chance you got, she wouldn't have been upset enough to go drown her sorrows in a bar like that.

"When it comes down to it, you owe her this."

I stared at Chris in disbelief.

So it was my fault for objecting to my husband getting too close to another woman?

I opened my mouth to argue, but he took out a diamond brooch.

"Your parents designed this for you while they were alive. If you don't agree, I'll have to destroy it."

My breath caught.

"Don't touch it!"

Until then, I'd managed to make excuses for everything he'd done.

Now I didn't want to make excuses for him anymore.

He knew exactly what that brooch meant to me.

My parents had poured their hearts into designing it for my 18th birthday. It was one of the few things they'd left me.

Two years earlier, Chris had fallen seriously ill, and doctor after doctor had been unable to help him.

I gave him the most precious thing I owned, hoping it would keep him safe and well. And with that brooch on him, he really did get better, day by day.

Back then, he'd held my hand and said, "Baby, this brooch is the whole reason I got well. I'll never forget what you did, and I'll always take care of it."

I was so happy he was well that I prayed the brooch would bring him luck forever.

What I'd once seen as proof of love had become something he could use against me.

I clenched my fists.

"I'll do it."

Chris immediately made a video call to Don Bellini.

I read his script word for word.

Angelo was furious. He expelled me from the Bellini family and banned me from setting foot on its territory again.

That suited me fine.

The Don's decision ended my marriage to Chris too.

When the call ended, Ivy stopped crying and smiled.

"Chris, you always know what to do. You saved me again."

He didn't answer her. Instead, he stared at me, as though my refusal to argue or make a scene unsettled him.

"Aurelia, are you all right? This is for the best right now. Afterward, we can..."

Expressionless, I held out my hand.

"Give me back what belonged to my parents."

He put the brooch in my hand, and I turned and shut the door.

"Don't come back. Neither of you is welcome here."

Chris sent me a message.

"Aurelia, I was wrong to do this to you."

"Don't worry. I'll plead with the Don the moment I'm back and get the punishment lifted."

"I'll come get you in three days at most."

His promises stirred nothing in me.

What he didn't know was that the second I took the blame for Ivy, we were finished.

I handed the house over to someone else to manage and blocked Chris everywhere.

New number, new place to live.

Life was finally quiet.

Through it all, Cassian Solari was always there to help. We'd been neighbors as children, and he'd wanted to marry me ever since. He drove me to every prenatal appointment.

Before I knew it, it was time to give birth.

He got me to the hospital. If a nurse hadn't stopped him, he'd have followed me into the delivery room.

The contractions came in waves, and I gritted my teeth.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I heard a loud cry.

A nurse covered me up and wiped the sweat off my face.

"It's a girl."

I breathed a sigh of relief and let myself drift into darkness.

Noise woke me.

When the nurse saw I was awake, she hurried over with the baby. She hesitated, then asked, "Aurelia, both these men say they're your husband, and they both want to see the baby. Which one is the father?"

Chris scoffed, "I am, obviously! Aurelia and I have been married for seven years. Do you think I don't know my own wife?

"The baby is mine. So is she."

Cassian leaned close, concern filling his eyes.

"You're awake? Does anything still hurt?"

I shook my head and looked at the nurse.

"Cassian is my husband."

Chris's eyes widened. The certainty on his face gave way to shock.