Chapter 2

In the video, Damian was kneeling by Alice’s feet and letting the woman step on his shoulder with a high-heel-clad foot.

In his hands was a milk bottle, and he was patiently feeding one of the twins.

“That woman is also pregnant, Damian. What are you going to do?” Alice’s charming voice came through the speaker.

Without even looking up, Damian answered in a voice as cold as ice, “She’s just a scapegoat. Someone needs to become the Morrety family’s donna, and she can only be a puppet. She doesn’t have a powerful family that can support her, so she can be easily controlled. As for the baby, if she manages to give birth to it, I’ll get rid of the parasite myself.”

Alice’s lips curled upward for a moment. Then, she wiped the smile off her face. In fake concern, she asked, “Isn’t that too cruel?”

“No. You’re the only one who is allowed to give birth to the Morrety family’s heir,” Damian said.

How very romantic.

I turned off the video and squatted down on the cold floor. My heart hurt so much that I could not breathe. Then, I started stuffing cold pizza into my mouth.

This was an eating disorder I had had since I was a child.

Whenever I was in extreme fear or pain, I would start binge eating. Only when my stomach felt bloated would I feel that I was still alive.

Tears ran down my face, and I only stopped when my stomach started cramping in such pain that I knew it could only be from pancreatitis. I collapsed on the floor. With trembling hands, I called Damian.

“Damian… My stomach hurts… Help me…”

However, I heard a lot of noise from the background, along with Alice’s suppressed moans.

“Annie, be good. I’m in an important meeting. Let the doctor check on you first. I’ll be back in a bit.” Damian sounded a little breathless.

He hung up.

As I lay on the freezing floor, I stared at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling, and I started laughing.

‘Damian, you told me before that mafia members never cried. They only shed blood,’ I thought.

Since he wanted a perfect puppet, I would prepare a perfect funeral for myself.

…

When I woke up in the hospital, Chester was sitting beside me.

“You almost died. Did you know that you have severe pancreatitis? Where’s Damian? He didn’t even come to sign the papers.” He tossed a medical report in front of me.

“He’s busy.”

He was sleeping with his childhood friend, obviously.

I pushed myself up, even though that ended with my face as white as a sheet. “Chester, we need to move the plan forward. I want to ‘die’ on my wedding anniversary.”

“Are you sure? Once the plan is put into motion, you can’t turn back anymore.”

“I don’t need it. I just want his life to turn into a living hell.” I looked outside.

…

The next day, Damian came back exhausted.

In his hands, he held a beautiful jewelry box. In it was an expensive ruby necklace worth millions.

“Sorry, Annie, the meeting yesterday was just too important.”

He knelt by my bed and kissed the back of my hand. When he saw the IV needle attached to it, pity shone in his eyes. “I heard from the doctor just how bad your illness is, and my heart hurts so badly for you.”

Suddenly, I thought that he was a really bad actor.

So, I changed the topic and whispered, “Damian, I want to attend the alumni party tomorrow. I want to meet my university friends.”

Damian frowned at that before nodding. “Alright. I’ll go with you. You can do whatever you want if it makes you happy.”

The alumni party was held at the most luxurious private club in the city.

Like a loyal knight, Damian stayed close to my side. He prepared expensive gifts for all of my friends and even draped a shawl over my shoulders.

“Annie, you’re seriously so lucky.” One of my friends watched me with great longing. “Don Damian really treats you like a princess.”

I smiled politely while counting down the minutes until my staged death.

Just then, the door to the club flung open, and Alice strode in with a fiery red backless dress. She looked like a ball of flames.

The entire place fell silent.