Chapter 1

A year had passed.

The first thing I did after being released from the convent was call Salvatori Colombo on the phone. "I can leave Adrian, Don Colombo, but on one condition. I hope we'll never see each other again. I don't want Adrian to ever find me."

Salvatori laughed approvingly from the other end of the phone. "No problem, Ella. I've told you before that Adrian and you are not suited for each other. You're just a commoner, and you should know your place by staying in the kitchen and having your prayers there. Only a woman who can bring us an army is worthy of the position of Mrs. Colombo.

"I'll make arrangements for you to leave at midnight in ten days."

Salvatori sounded condescending. "You will disappear forever from Adrian's world after that. Remember, if you dare make a return, your surname will appear on a tombstone."

I walked home slowly after hanging up. The moment I got home, I saw Adrian Colombo lovingly carrying his daughter on his shoulders through the window. Cecelia was lying in his arms, smiling softly and happily. They looked like a real family, while I was the third party who was tearing their family apart.

It felt like a bullet had shot through my heart when I saw this sight.

"Ella, you're back." Cecelia Gambino was the first to spot me. She sat up straight right away in alarm, while shielding her daughter behind her back. Adrian sprang from his seat right away and passed the child to the nanny behind them so that she could take his daughter upstairs. It hurt me to see how wary they were of me.

The man who once claimed that he would love only me in his entire life was putting his guard up against me like I was a murderer.

Adrian came to me only after his daughter was taken away. He reached out to touch my face, "It's good that you're home. Keeping you in the convent was for your own good… How have you been the past year?"

I felt a pang of sadness as I watched the man who once got slapped a hundred times because of me, and I turned my head away to avoid his touch. He frowned. "Are you mad at me, Ella? Did you know that if I had tried to protect you, the committee would have been harder on you? You're just a commoner, and they might have executed you…

"Isn't it enough that you're about to marry me? My daughter was innocent. Why did you have to…"

"I told you it wasn't me." I started to tear up. "Cyanide is lethal. Why would I use something like that to hurt another?!"

Adrian was stunned by my agitation. It took him a while before he softened his tone. "Alright, alright. That isn't important anymore. My daughter is fine now, and it doesn't matter if you were the one who did it. I've forgiven you."

Not important? His words were like a dagger to my heart. He still did not believe me, and I lost the will to explain myself.

As the air got increasingly tense, Cecelia walked toward us while caressing the little bump on her belly. "I have to apologize to you too, Ella. I had been rash then. You haven't been pregnant before and have no idea what it's like to be a mother. You won't be able to understand how protective parents can be to their children…"

Cecelia brushed her hair with her hands, and the exquisite Cartier watch on her wrist reflected in the light. My eyes widened as I grabbed her wrist. "Where did you get that watch?!"

"I gave it to Cecelia because she liked the design," Adrian said matter-of-factly as he pulled my hand away from her. "It's just a watch. Just think of it as an apology gift from you."

"That's the only thing left behind by my mom!" My voice was trembling. "How could you give it to someone else? You know how much it means to me!" I reached out to grab the watch, but Cecelia suddenly stumbled backward and fell, and she hugged her belly while moaning with pain.

"Argh… My belly…"

"Ella!" Adrian pushed me away right away with a chilling look in his eye. "She's pregnant with my baby! Haven't you done enough?!"

He pushed me so hard that I smacked hard into the shelf behind me. The back of my head suffered a heavy blow, and blood instantly gushed from the wound. However, Adrian did not even look back as he carried Cecelia in his arms and ran out the door.

"Adrian…" Cecelia leaned into his arms as she cried weakly. "Our baby… Will it be alright…"

"Don't be afraid. I'm right here," he said tenderly, but it sounded grating to my ear. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Our baby will be alright."