Chapter 2

Cleo completely snapped.

She grabbed a steak knife from the table and lunged at me.

"Do you really want to fucking die?!"

Flynn and his men turned pale. They lunged forward to stop her.

But I was faster.

A second before the tip of the knife could pierce my throat, my gun barrel was pressed perfectly against her slightly rounded belly. The cold metal rested right against the thin fabric.

"Take one more step." My voice was as calm as if I were talking about the weather. "And I guarantee this baby will not live past tonight."

Cleo froze completely. The knife dropped to the ground with a clatter.

Cold sweat dripped down her cheeks, and her hands were shaking.

Looking at her face, I could not help but want to laugh.

With her hair slightly damp, she actually did look a bit like a deranged beauty.

This replacement really did look a lot like me before the accident.

But a fake is a fake. She did not even have the guts to risk her life.

For these past five years, I had played the harmless little bird by Flynn's side for so long that he forgot exactly what kind of monster he had married.

"Audrey!"

Flynn let out a low growl and pulled Cleo behind him in one swift motion.

His hand covered her belly in an almost instinctive protective posture.

"Put the gun down. Stop causing a scene."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who is causing a scene?"

"Did you not let her come right to my face and provoke me?"

"She challenged me in front of the entire family. Should she not pay the price?"

After a long silence, Flynn let out a heavy sigh, as if he had no choice. His voice softened.

"She is carrying the family's heir." He spoke in a low voice. "I will pay the price for her."

I did not expect him to say that.

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked forward, pressing himself right up against the gun barrel.

He grabbed the barrel firmly, aimed it at his left shoulder, and pressed down on my finger to pull the trigger.

A muffled bang echoed. The bullet tore through his shoulder, and blood instantly soaked his white shirt.

I stared at the rapidly spreading red stain, my eyes burning.

But he did not even flinch.

Instead, he used his bloody fingers to affectionately rub my lips.

"Are you satisfied, my queen? Are you calm now?"

"Flynn! Are you crazy?!"

Cleo screamed and lunged forward, her face covered in tears.

Flynn pushed me away. Frowning through the pain, he pulled her into his arms and rushed out of the banquet hall without looking back.

The girl struggled the whole way. Tearful curses drifted faintly from the end of the hallway.

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down.

Downstairs, Cleo was screaming hysterically that she was going to kill me while crying and holding Flynn's bleeding shoulder.

And Flynn, from beginning to end, used his good hand to carefully protect her waist and belly.

The two of them got into the armored sedan, clinging to each other.

I was left standing there, gripping the gun barrel that still held his body heat. I was frozen for a long time.

Men and their feelings are truly cheap and pathetic.

Once upon a time, Flynn and I were huge rivals who fought to the death on the streets. Today he would hijack my shipments, and tomorrow I would torch his club.

I thought he wanted nothing more than to chop me up and feed me to the dogs.

But strangely enough, he later fell in love with me. And now he turned around and slept with someone else.

I pressed my hand to my chest, fighting down that dull ache.

This was the part that left me even more speechless. During these past five years, I had actually loved him, too.

That afternoon, I sat in my dim bedroom, holding my phone and staring at the screen.

My real lover, Riccardo, had been searching the whole world for me for these past five years.

But Flynn had planted false clues to lure him to Europe.

He also used the excuse of "protecting me from my enemies" to put GPS trackers in all my personal belongings.

Every one of my calls was monitored, and every message I sent was intercepted.

For five whole years, Flynn had kept me trapped on this isolated estate, making me the only caged bird here.

As I was lost in thought, the screen lit up with an anonymous encrypted message.

It was a set of photos.

In the photos, Cleo was lying on the bed in her private villa. Flynn sat on the edge of the bed, pouring stretch mark cream into his palm.

His eyes were full of tenderness as he carefully rubbed it in circles on Cleo's rounded belly.

The next photo was in the kitchen. With his shoulder wound barely bandaged, he was making a healthy meal for her at the stove with one hand.

Next came a voice memo. Cleo's triumphant voice rang out.

"The old men in the family said he used to worship you. They said you were his untouchable angel."

"So what? Men only like fresh, young bodies."

"I do not care about titles at all. Whoever holds his leash wins."

"By the way, I sent you a big gift. I hope you enjoy it."

Just as she finished speaking, my door was pushed open.

The family lawyer awkwardly forced himself to walk in, handing me a manila envelope.

Inside were divorce papers with a generous financial settlement.

In the signature spot for the husband, Flynn's name was already signed.

The strokes were sharp and aggressive. It was definitely his handwriting.

I stared at that familiar handwriting for a long time. This time, I genuinely laughed out loud.

Did Cleo think I would hold onto the papers, refuse to sign them, and desperately cling to him?

But this was exactly what I wanted. I could not wait to leave this cage.

I neatly signed my name, took a picture, and sent it to Flynn.

With the caption, "Enjoy your marriage."

Less than half a second later, my phone started vibrating wildly.