Chapter 3

"Ella, you have to believe that you're the only one that I love. Everything I'm doing now is for my family to accept you so that I can marry you." Adrian touched the bandage around my head tenderly. "I'll get the drive to take you home. Don't let your injury come in contact with water."

He pulled his hand away when I remained silent. Before he left, he added, "I'll bring home your favorite dessert later."

With that, Adrian turned away and headed to the end of the corridor, where Cecelia's VIP room was. She had the care of the best private doctors of the Colombo family there.

All I could do was stand where I was as I watched him walk away. I suddenly burst out laughing as tears streamed down my face. "I don't believe you anymore…" I said softly into the air. Those words were also a reminder to myself, as I had given up on him. "I'll never believe any of your promises again, Adrian."

Adrian was gone three days after that, and during those three days, I received taunting videos from Cecelia every day. The videos showed Adrian cajoling his daughter softly with toys, and Cecelia leaning against Adrian's shoulder intimately as she smiled sweetly while watching father and daughter having fun together.

Those videos hurt, but I still finished all of them. I watched as he stayed by Cecelia's bed throughout the night, tenderly feeding her soup and carrying their daughter in his arms with the Manor City skyline behind them.

Every video showed Adrian with love in his eyes, and every time I finished a video, it felt like a million daggers to my heart. I continued to get hurt each time, until one day, I suddenly realized my heart no longer hurt. Could it be that my love for Adrian had died a year ago, the moment he turned his back on me?

Just as I was about to block Cecelia's number, my phone vibrated. I received a photo of Cecelia playing around with my Cartier watch in her hands. [Do you want your mother's watch back? If you do, come over and beg me for it.]

I jumped from my seat, and I suddenly felt woozy from the side effects of losing too much blood, but I had no time to care about my condition as I grabbed my coat and ran out the door.

Cecelia was carrying her daughter in her arms in the room, while humming a bedtime song. She looked up at me with a wide smile.

"You're here. Did you know Adrian put aside his work all this time while I have been admitted into the hospital just to take care of me? He used his connections to get all the best doctors in Neopolis just to make sure our baby is safe."

She emphasized the words 'our baby'.

My fingers dug deep into my palms as I asked coldly, "Where's my watch?"

Cecelia slowly picked up the out-of-fashion Cartier watch from the end of her bed and swung it in front of me.

"Are you talking about this?" She smiled cruelly. "If you kneel at my feet and lick my shoe as a show of respect to the future Donna of the Colombo family, I'll consider returning it to you."

I trembled with anger. "Don't push it."

"So what if I'm pushing it?" Cecelia threw me a look of disdain; her arrogance as a member of the Mafia was apparent to see. "You're just a lowly commoner, Ella, while I possess the purest Imano bloodline. My father is the Don of the Gambino family! Who do you think you are to fight me for Adrian Colombo's love? You should consider it an honor to kneel at my feet and lick my shoe!"

She pretended to let go of the watch. "I'm counting to three. If you refuse, I'll fling it to the ground. One two…"

I bit my lip so hard that it was almost bleeding. My knees felt heavy as I knelt with a loud thud to the ground. I held back my humiliation as I bent over with tears in my eyes to lick her heels.

Cecelia laughed. "Look at you. You're just like a pitiful dog. She stood up and looked down at me superiorly, "If you want the watch so bad, you can have it." She raised her hand, and I reached out for the watch, but just as I was inches away, she let go of it.

The watch smashed to the ground, and a huge crack appeared on the surface of the watch.

Cecelia stepped hard on the watch with her heels and pretended to look shocked, "Oh, aren't you careless? Why didn't you catch it?"

I trembled as I lunged toward the watch to grab it, but Cecelia suddenly screamed and fell backward, leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down to the ground. That was when someone slammed the door open.

Adrian and Salvatori were standing at the door, looking extremely grim. Several committee members were behind them.

"What are you doing?!" Salvatori accused sternly with the intimidation of an experienced mafia Don. I felt suffocated.

Cecelia jumped into Adrian's arms. "Adrian! My… My belly hurts so much! Please check on our daughter! I saw Ella pinching and beating her! I tried to stop Ella, but she pushed me…"

Adrian quickly went to his daughter and carried her in his arms. He started checking her condition, and when he opened up her little shirt, he saw the child's tender skin filled with bruises. I was in complete disbelief.

"It wasn't me! I never touched her!" I kept shaking my head as Salvatori strode over to me with a sharp look in his eye.