Chapter 1

Aria walked out of the clinic with the test envelope squeezed in her hand so tightly the paper bent. The doctor’s words still echoed in her mind.

“You’re pregnant… but it’s high-risk. No stress, no emotional shock. Please take care of yourself.”

Pregnant.

After three years of trying, three years of hoping.

She reached her car and sat for a moment, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She covered her stomach with a trembling palm.

“Gabriel… we did it,” she whispered. “You’re going to be a father.”

A soft, hopeful smile tugged at her lips as she imagined him lifting her off the ground, kissing her forehead, thanking her for not giving up on them. She imagined calling him later, asking him to come home early so she could tell him properly.

She took a breath, started the car, and drove toward the mansion.

But when she reached the Blackstone gate, it stood wide open. It was never open. Not even for delivery men.

Her smile faltered.

Inside the house, voices carried from upstairs were sharp, loud, and nothing like the usual chatter. Aria hurried up the stairs, gripping the railing, her heart beating strangely fast.

She reached the bedroom doorway and froze.

Gabriel’s sisters, Helena and Viola, along with their mother, Margaret.

All three of them were standing in the middle of the room, dragging her clothes off hangers and shoving them into bags.

“What… what are you doing?” Aria asked, stepping inside.

Helena didn’t even turn. “Oh please, drop the act.”

“What act?” Aria moved closer. “This is my room-”

“Not anymore,” Viola cut her off.

Margaret finally faced her, her eyes cold. “Sienna is in the hospital.”

Aria blinked, confused. “Hospital? Why? What happened to her? Is she ok?”

Sienna had been Gabriel’s close friend long before their marriage, she's someone his family openly adored.

Aria never liked how often Sienna appeared at family dinners, how Margaret called her “the daughter I chose,” or how Helena teased about Sienna being “better suited for Gabriel.”

Still, Sienna had always smiled sweetly at Aria, pretending to be harmless.

Until now, Aria never imagined she would hear her name in a moment like this.

Helena threw a handful of her clothes into a suitcase. “She’s pregnant, Aria. Pregnant with Gabriel’s child.”

The words hit her like a punch. Her lips parted, but nothing came out at first. She stared at them, struggling to breathe.

“W-What?” she whispered. “No… no, that’s not possible. Gabriel would never-”

Viola cut her off sharply. “You confronted her today.”

“I didn’t,” Aria argued immediately. “I wasn’t even near her, I…”

“You pushed her,” Margaret said. “You almost made her lose the baby.”

“That’s a lie!” Aria’s voice cracked. “I haven’t seen Sienna in months!”

But none of them cared. None of them heard her.

“You’re barren,” Margaret said, her voice rising. “And now you’re jealous of the woman carrying my grandchild?”

Aria’s throat tightened painfully. “Please… don’t say that. I… I just came from the clinic, I…”

“She’s pretending again,” Helena said with a scoff. “Just like always.”

Aria felt a small ache start low in her stomach. She pressed a hand there, trying to stay calm.

“Why are you doing this?” she whispered. “I have done nothing to any of you.”

“You tried to ruin Gabriel’s life,” Margaret said. “But not anymore.”

Before Aria could respond, footsteps sounded from the hallway.

Gabriel walked in, still wearing a hospital wristband. His shirt was stained with blood. His face was tight, angry, exhausted. But when he looked at Aria, something in his eyes changed into something cold.

Aria’s breath caught.

“Gabriel… what happened?” she asked softly. “Is it true? Is Sienna pregnant for you?”

He didn’t answer right away, he just stared at her like she was someone he had never seen before.

She stepped closer. “Gabriel, please. I need you to say something.”

He swallowed hard. “She said you pushed her.”

“That’s not true,” Aria said immediately. “I wasn’t even there. I swear to you…”

“She said you tried to give her pills,” he continued. “Pills to make her lose the baby.”

“Gabriel!” Aria cried. “Why would I ever do that? You think I’m lying? Is that why you want to kill me with your words?”

His jaw tightened. “I can’t ignore what she told me.”

“Then ignore her and ask me!” Aria shouted. “I came home to tell you something important, and all you can do is believe lies?”

He stared at her without blinking.

Her heart broke a little.

“Gabriel… look at me,” she whispered. “If Sienna is pregnant, just tell me the truth. Did you… did you cheat on me?”

He looked away, and the silence was louder than anything he could have said.

The pain in Aria’s stomach twisted sharply.

“You’re lying by not answering,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Gabriel let out a bitter breath. “I won’t tolerate violence around a pregnant woman. Aria, if you can do something like this, I don’t know who you are anymore.”

“I didn’t do anything!” she cried. “Why won’t you listen to me?!”

“You need to leave,” he said quietly.

“I’m not leaving,” Aria whispered. “I still believe in us. I believe in you. I won't let some baseless lies destroy what we've built over the years!”

Gabriel’s expression changed. Something darker settled there.

“If you don’t leave now,” he said slowly, “I will ruin your entire family. Every single one of them. Don’t test me tonight, you know what I am capable of.”

Aria froze. The pain in her stomach pulsed again… sharper this time. Her fingers trembled at her side.

“Gabriel…” she whispered. “You’re scaring me.”

He didn’t respond.

He simply grabbed an envelope from his brief case, opened it, and threw the divorce papers toward her. The pages scattered on the floor.

“Sign it. And get out.”

Aria shook her head, tears falling freely now. “No… Gabriel, please. Don’t do this. Don’t end us over a baseless lies.”

Margaret snapped her fingers. “Helena. Viola. Get her things out.”

Helena grabbed Aria’s arm roughly.

Aria gasped as another sharp pain hit her stomach. “Let… let go… please… let me talk please, hear what I have to say!”

She bent slightly, holding her abdomen, but Helena and Viola dragged her toward the stairs as if she were weightless.

“Gabriel!” she screamed. “Gabriel, look at me!”

He didn’t, his phone rang, and he answered.

“Sienna is awake,” the nurse said.

Without a single glance toward Aria, Gabriel walked out of the house.

And he left her behind.

Aria grabbed her bag with trembling hands and stumbled toward her car. Her breath was uneven, her stomach tightening again and again. She tried to drive, tried to stay calm, tried to remember the doctor’s warning.

But a few kilometers away, the pain tore through her so violently she almost screamed. A warm liquid slid down her leg.

She touched it.

Blood.

“No… oh God… no…”

She pulled the car to the side of the road. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold her phone. The screen blurred in front of her.

Her vision dimmed.

She opened the door and tried to step out, but her knees gave way instantly. She collapsed beside the car, the cold ground hitting her cheek.

“Help…” she whispered weakly. “Please…”

Her voice barely came out.

Blood spread beneath her.

Her breath grew shallow.

Not my baby.

“Please… not my baby…”

A voice shouted somewhere in the distance. Footsteps pounded toward her.

“Hey! Are you okay? Hey!”

Aria tried to lift her head, but her body refused.

“Aria!” the voice called again, closer.

She tried to reach out, but her arm barely moved.

Someone knelt beside her.

And the world went black before she could see who it was.