Chapter 3

After that, Severin's attitude toward Vivian changed completely.

We never made her work again.

We treated her like a real daughter of the Voss family.

But Vivian couldn't sit still.

She still helped out in the garden, picking fresh flowers every morning and arranging them in a vase beside our bed.

She insisted it was the least she could do to repay our kindness.

Otherwise, she'd feel guilty accepting everything we'd given her.

Back then, I just thought I'd been right about her.

Then one day, my phone died, and I borrowed Severin's to look something up.

His search history looked clean, but his browsing history was full of pages that had no business being there.

How to grow double-petaled roses.

Choosing plant food for cut flowers.

The Best Flowers to Give a Woman.

I opened Photos and found a hidden, password-protected album.

The password was the same as always.

My birthday.

His album was filled with photos of flowers, none of which had anything to do with me.

Now and then, two hands appeared at the edge of a photo.

One was Vivian's.

The other was Severin's.

Suddenly, a lot of little things that used to puzzle me made sense.

Why Severin touched the flowers by our bed so tenderly every day.

Why Severin, who knew nothing about gardening, could suddenly name so many kinds of flowers.

Why I so often saw Severin coming from the direction of the garden.

They'd been growing those flowers together behind my back.

As the Don of the Voss family, Severin had always thought flowers were soft, useless things.

On our first anniversary, I'd asked him for another bouquet. He'd refused.

He'd told me there was no room for such sentimentality in the Voss family.

The roses he'd given me when he proposed were already an exception.

I didn't want to believe Severin could be unfaithful.

But once the suspicion took hold, I couldn't help watching them closely.

Yet nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Severin still kissed me good morning and brought home my favorite chestnut cake every evening.

When my father was hospitalized, Severin even put all his work aside and stayed at his bedside.

Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, I couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Severin was so good to me. How could I suspect him of having an affair over a few photos?

So I went to the kitchen, cooked his favorite steak, and took it to his office.

But before I reached the door, I heard a familiar voice inside.

Vivian's voice was soft and sorrowful. "The Donna's been giving us strange looks lately.

I think she's onto us.

Maybe we shouldn't be alone together anymore."

Severin looked as though he wanted to stroke her hair, but he stopped himself.

"Don't worry. We haven't done anything.

"From the moment the Voss family crest was tattooed on you, I swore I'd protect you for the rest of your life. Don't leave me, okay?"

Vivian threw herself into his arms.

"I don't need anything from you. I just want to stay by your side. Even if I'm nothing more than a pet who amuses you, seeing you happy is enough for me.

"I'd never dream of taking the Donna's place. I just want a little corner of your life to call my own. Is that okay?"

Severin pulled her close, holding her tenderly.

"I know how you feel.

"I've lost count of how many times I've imagined holding you in my arms and kissing you."

I couldn't listen to them talk like lovers anymore.

I stormed in and slapped Severin hard across the face.

"You shameless bastard!"

Severin had been raised from boyhood to be the next Don.

Nobody had ever dared slap him.

He froze for a second, and his face darkened.

"Flora, have you lost your mind?"

Before marrying Severin, I'd worked hard to master the etiquette expected of a Donna.

Everyone praised me for my grace and composure.

But now, I was acting like a woman who'd completely lost her mind.

I pointed at Vivian, tears streaming down my face.

"Am I the crazy one, or are you? You betrayed me for her!"

Severin sighed, pulled me into his arms, and gently wiped away my tears.

"Don't cry.

"Vivian and I haven't done anything.

"You'll always be the Donna of the Voss family. Nobody can ever take that from you."

I slapped his hand away and said hoarsely,

"Then get rid of her right now!"

Severin's brow furrowed.

"Vivian saved my life. I can't do that.

"I'll admit I have feelings for her, but I would never betray you because of them.

"I swear on the Voss family name, you'll always come first. So please, stop making a scene."

With that, he took Vivian's hand and walked past me.

I tried again and again to throw Vivian out, but Severin stopped me every time.

Our fights got so bad that even the other Mafia families heard about the scandal.

The Don and Donna of the Voss family were at each other's throats over his lover.

But Severin kept protecting her.

I fired Vivian, and Severin hired her back as his assistant.

I had someone destroy the flowers Vivian had grown, and Severin opened a flower shop just for her.

The day the shop opened, Severin came to see me with an armful of roses.

"Flora, you'll always have my money, my power, my name, and your place as Donna.

You'll always be the woman I love most.

"Vivian will never have any of that. She's like these flowers, Flora. She just makes my life a little brighter. I wish you could see her that way too."

He even sent Vivian to talk me into accepting their relationship.

She wore an extravagant dress and priceless jewelry.

I had always favored simple clothes. Beside her, I looked less like the Donna of the Voss family than she did.

"I really love him. I love him so much I'm willing to give up my pride.

"Please don't send me away. You can treat me like a servant or even a pretty ornament. I don't care, as long as I can stay by his side.

"You took me in when I had nowhere else to go. I'll never forget what you've done for me. I would never dream of taking your place as Donna."

She acted so humble, but the sight of her made me sick.

Then everything went black.

When I woke up, Severin was holding my hand, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.

The moment I opened my eyes, concern flashed across his face.

"Flora, you're finally awake."

But a second later, as if remembering something, he lowered his gaze.

He was quiet for a few seconds before he said,

"Don't worry. You're fine.

"You're... pregnant."