Chapter 2

That night, a message from Ginetta suddenly popped up on my phone.

It was a digital wedding invitation from her and Carlo. The cover showed their wedding photo. Carlo held her in his arms and kissed her passionately.

I stared at their photo on my phone, unable to sleep until late into the night.

Carlo still hadn't come home.

I couldn't stop thinking about what he was doing and why he was still out so late.

The clock on the wall seemed to move slowly. Every tick made me feel worse.

It wasn't until 2:00 am that the bedroom door finally opened.

In the dim light, I saw Carlo sit down on the edge of the bed. When our eyes met, he seemed surprised to find me still awake.

"Alessia, I didn't know you were waiting for me. I'm sorry I got back so late."

Before I could speak, I noticed the red mark on his neck.

I knew exactly what it meant.

Carlo quickly covered his neck. His voice was filled with guilt.

"Alessia, don't get the wrong idea. Some bug bit me earlier."

My eyes began to sting. I turned away, unwilling to watch him put on such a poor act.

The baby I was carrying was his, too, yet he was going to start a family with someone else behind my back.

Carlo seemed sure I would never leave him, so he never considered how much he might hurt me. He never thought about how I would face everyone after he married Ginetta, either.

With my back facing him, I let my tears soak into the pillow.

We met five years ago at Moretti Private Medical Center. Later, I was hired as his personal doctor.

We fell in love at first sight. To stay with him, I even turned down Francesca's offer to join a research project. All I wanted was to stay by Carlo's side and care for him.

But I learned from Ginetta's messages that someone had betrayed the Mandelli family's arms-smuggling routes, causing heavy losses.

Carlo's father wanted him to marry Ginetta to secure an alliance between their families.

As long as Carlo and Ginetta had a child to become the next heir to the Mandelli family, Ginetta's family would give them their support.

Carlo seemed to notice my tears. He let out a soft sigh.

"Alessia, don't cry. Once the family alliance is settled, we'll have a grand wedding of our own."

To him, a wedding meant to celebrate our love was just an empty promise he could make whenever he wanted.

-

Early the next morning, I went out for a walk and ran straight into Ginetta, who was wearing sunglasses.

She took them off and glared at me.

"Why are you still here, you bitch? Did you come back to seduce Carlo while I was away? You've chased after Carlo for years, and now he's marrying me instead. Do you still think you can be his mistress, you whore?"

She stopped in front of me and studied me with open hostility.

"I didn't…"

I wanted to explain that I wasn't the other woman. Carlo and I had been together for five years.

But before I could finish, Ginetta cut me off.

She gave me a scornful look. "I'm pregnant. The baby's Carlo's."

The words I had wanted to say caught in my throat. I stumbled back a step and nearly fell.

For a moment, I couldn't tell whether the pain was in my stomach or in my chest.

Ginetta's words hit me harder than I could bear.

At that moment, I realized I should give up on Carlo for good.