Chapter 3

Such a vile betrayal, yet he tried to wash it away with a flood of righteous, hollow words.

After packing a small bag, I went to the private study to retrieve a rare, out-of-print medical book.

As I pushed open the door, I found the Donna directing her men to move things.

She glanced at the travel bag at my feet, her face a mask of contempt.

"I've had this room cleared for Bianca. I told the staff to throw out all those useless, dusty medical books. She just gave birth and needs the space. This room is perfect for her things."

Looking inside, I saw my treasured volumes tossed carelessly in a corner, replaced by boxes of imported diapers and a stroller embossed with the family crest.

But she wasn't finished. "Also, you'll sleep in the first floor guest room tonight. If that's not to your liking, feel free to pick any of the cottages behind the main house."

I had no energy to argue. The fatigue from my long journey, combined with the day's relentless blows, had drained me completely.

The severe morning sickness from the twin pregnancy was making my stomach churn constantly, and all I wanted to do was lie down.

I just nodded numbly, picked up my bag, and went downstairs.

But late that night, the loud cries of a baby erupted from the master bedroom.

I rolled over, reaching for my earplugs, when I heard Bianca's tearful, coquettish voice.

"Luca, hurry and take this little one away. He's making my wound hurt, I can't sleep at all."

Luca's low chuckle followed, so gentle it was chilling.

"You're what's most important. I'll give the little rascal to the nanny. Let him cry. The doctor said it's good for his lungs."

His casual tone held an undisguised favoritism and indulgence I had never known from him.

That raw pain in my chest surged back. I could only pull the covers over my head, trying desperately to shut out their intimate whispers.

I had to rest, for my babies.

But as soon as I closed my eyes, the memory of him on one knee, proposing to me for the first time, filled my mind.

He had just solidified his position as the Lupo family's Underboss, one of the most feared men in the city, but he only had eyes for me.

Before the family's old priest, he had sworn an oath to spend his life with me.

But now, the man who only had eyes for me was gone. Or perhaps, he was dead.

I tossed and turned in the guest room, unable to sleep. Before the morning mist had even cleared, I left the estate with my luggage.

I went straight to the law firm, swiftly signed the property division and divorce papers, and collected the overseas travel permit that had been prepared for me long ago.

I resigned my position as the family's exclusive doctor, and the process was surprisingly smooth.

The old foxes on the family council, knowing I held so many of their medical secrets, were relieved to have me willingly give up my access and didn't try to stop me.

As I left the building, a young caregiver whose life I had once saved from a gunshot wound pressed a small cross into my hand for luck.

"Dr. Stella, no matter where you go, may the Holy Mother watch over you."

I gave her a grateful smile. It was one of the few moments of warmth I had felt from this family.

I drove out of the city and checked into a motel on a remote highway in the suburbs.

After dropping my bag in the room, I walked along the town's cobblestone path to the ancient church at its end.

I knelt before the altar, lit two white candles for the two little lives growing inside me, and received a string of olivewood prayer beads and a small silver Virgin Mary pendant from the priest.

They were said to protect an infant until birth if worn.

Just as I stepped out of the church's heavy oak doors, I was hit by an overpowering cloud of perfume.

My stomach lurched, and I leaned against a worn stone pillar by the entrance, unable to stop myself from dry heaving.

"Well, well, Stella. Is this your new tactic? Making a scene in the street?"

It was Bianca's voice. A whole convoy of bulletproof cars bearing the Lupo family crest was parked at the bottom of the church steps. The entire family was there.

She was leaning lazily against a car window, the black diamond necklace symbolizing the future Donna, a gift passed down from Luca's mother, was heavy on her neck. Her face was flushed with health, showing no sign of a terminally ill patient.

Luca glanced at me but didn't approach, keeping an awkward distance between us.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so terrible? Vomiting in the street isn't very fitting for the mistress of the Lupo house."

His sharp eyes scanned the olivewood beads and silver pendant in my hand, which I hadn't yet put in my pocket. His expression changed, his gaze suspicious.

"What's this? Praying for a child? Are you really that desperate? Trying every superstitious trick in the book. If it's not in the cards, don't force it."

"Stella, I can't believe you're still holding a grudge against me over a child. You've disappointed me so much."

I looked quietly at his face, so familiar and yet so strange it chilled me to the bone.

I remembered clearly when I lost our first child saving him. I had fallen into a deep depression, my hands trembling so much I couldn't even hold a scalpel.

Back then, Luca, ignoring the gunshot wound in his own back, had pulled me into his arms, his breath warming me through my shivers as he whispered in my ear again and again:

"We're a family with or without a child. No matter what, I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

"You are my only wife. No one will ever threaten your position."

But now, he stood on his moral high ground, coldly watching another woman trample my dignity in the street.

He had forgotten every word of his vows.

The Donna in the car lowered her window and rolled her eyes without bothering to hide it.

"Stella, you're a woman who can't even continue the bloodline, and you spend all your time flying overseas for those medical conferences. How can you compare to Bianca, who risked her life to give the family its heir?"

"With that sour face of yours, it's no wonder Luca chose someone else. If you have someone to blame, blame yourself for not holding onto your man!"

Their insults echoed through the street, drawing smirks from the armed men standing around.

My hands at my sides clenched into fists, my nails digging so deep into my palms they almost drew blood as I forced myself to maintain the last shred of my dignity.

I wiped my mouth with a tissue and put the prayer items in my bag.

"This has nothing to do with any of you."

"How could it not?"

Bianca leaned delicately on Luca's arm, deliberately touching the heavy diamond necklace on her throat.

"Luca felt bad that I was wronged, so he's decided to hold the grandest baptism for our son in the banquet hall tomorrow. All the allied families will be there. It's the biggest event of the year. As the 'mother' in name, shouldn't you at least come and offer your blessing?"

A baptism? My eyes shot to Luca.

In the strict code of the mafia, only the family's officially recognized matriarch could stand beside the father at the baptismal font to receive the priest's blessing.

For him to appear with her was more than just acknowledging the child. It was establishing Bianca as his woman in front of all the allied families.

So what was our three-year marriage, forged in blood and fire, then? A joke to be discarded when it was no longer useful?

My cold stare seemed to make him feel a flicker of guilt. He instinctively straightened his shoulders.

"What's with that look?" He paused, his tone softening slightly.

"Bianca risked her life to give me a son. She deserves this respect. As for you, as long as you're willing to put aside your prejudice today, I never intended to take the title of Underboss's wife from you."

"Show up tomorrow and act your part. Save some face for me and the family. Don't act like the sky is falling, and don't fake being sick in front of our guests. I trust you know better."

So, he had already accepted this public humiliation for me.

I gently touched my abdomen through my coat.

Whatever lingering attachment I had for this man completely turned to ash in that moment.

"Don't worry," I said, my voice calm.

"The 'gift' I've prepared for you both will arrive right on time."