Chapter 2

When I woke up again, the sharp smell of disinfectant reached me before my senses fully returned. My head throbbed as if it might split open. I opened my eyes and realized I was lying in a hospital bed, an IV needle inserted into the back of my hand.

"You're awake?"

Enzo's voice came from beside me.

He was sitting in a chair by the bed, and his gaze toward me was complicated. There was exhaustion in his eyes, mixed with disappointment and something else I couldn't quite understand.

"The doctor said you have a mild concussion. The baby is fine and very healthy," he said.

I didn't respond.

After a few seconds of silence, he let out a sigh.

"Valentina, what exactly do you want?"

I looked at him.

"Because of you, Rosa's coming-of-age party was completely ruined," he said, rubbing his temples. "You're her sister. You're older than her. Can't you be more sensible? Did it really have to come to this?"

I opened my mouth, struggling past the tightness in my throat. "I told you I was kidnapped."

He cut me off impatiently. "Enough. Why would kidnappers come after you specifically, and why on Rosa's birthday? Valentina, I know you're not happy with how I treat her, but this isn't something you should take this far—"

He paused, then added, "You're my wife, the Donna. No one would dare touch you."

"You don't believe me?" I asked.

He didn't answer. He just looked at me in silence. But that silence felt more cruel than any words.

I closed my eyes. My chest tightened as though something had clenched around my heart, making it hard to breathe.

I had loved Enzo for 12 years. When I was 12, Mama died while saving me on a rainy night. From that day on, my family turned against me.

I was forced out of the house and nearly lost my life in a car accident. Enzo was the one who saved me. He told me that it didn't matter if I had no family, because he would always love me and stay with me.

When he proposed three years ago, I thought I had finally found true love. But now, his love for me had gradually become divided, slowly shifting toward Rosa instead.

The door opened, and Rosa stepped inside, carrying a bottle of prenatal vitamins with a soft, gentle smile.

"Valentina, you're awake? You really scared me," she said as she approached the bed and set the bottle on the nightstand.

"Don't blame Papa and Rafael. It's all my fault. If I hadn't celebrated my birthday, none of this would have happened. I brought you the best prenatal vitamins from overseas. Enzo, the doctor asked you to go sign some documents."

Enzo stood up. "I'll handle it. Don't cause any more trouble."

As soon as he left, the smile on Rosa's face shifted.

She looked down at me with undisguised mockery. "You've got a tough life, Valentina."

I stared at her.

"Those perverts didn't even manage to get rid of your baby," she said, leaning in close to my ear.

My eyes widened.

I had thought that her giving me that dress was a gesture of reconciliation and that things between us might finally improve.

I never thought it was all a trap she set to have those men torment me.

"I've heard that no woman caught by that kind of group ever escapes alive. You're the first," Rosa whispered.

Tears slipped down my face.

She let out a chuckle. "It's a pity you survived, and an even bigger pity that the baby did too."

She straightened, looking down at me again.

"But it doesn't matter."

She gave me a look full of contempt. "Even if you give birth to this baby, Enzo won't love you for much longer. You saw how good he is to me, didn't you?"

I clenched the bedsheet beneath me.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned.

Rosa reacted faster than the sound.

She took two steps back, grabbed the vase on the nightstand, and smashed it hard onto the floor.

Shards scattered everywhere. She fell on top of them, picked up a piece, and dragged it across her wrist.

Blood began to flow at the exact moment the door opened.

"Rosa!"

Enzo rushed in and scooped her into his arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she trembled against him.

"Enzo, Valentina said I stole Rafael's and Papa's love, so she tried to kill me…" she sobbed.

Enzo looked up at me with a level of disappointment I had never seen before. "What did you say to her?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Rosa clung to him and cried even harder. "I'm so scared… Enzo, I'm really scared…"

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

He tightened his hold on her, then stood up and carried her out, disappearing down the hallway.

I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. A red dot stood out to me. There was a surveillance camera in the room. If he had just looked up, he would have seen everything that happened. However, he didn't.

I sat up and reached for the phone on the nightstand. I called my only friend, Isabella Romano. "Help me prepare a divorce agreement."

She went silent for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Are you sure? Weren't you completely devoted to Enzo?"

"Yes," I said, looking out at the night beyond the window. "I need one that takes effect immediately upon signing. I don't want to love him anymore."

"Alright," she replied at once. "Don't worry. I'll always support your decision."