Chapter 2

Five years ago, Dante proposed to me.

"Ana, I'm sorry. Because of who I am and what my family does, I can't make our relationship public and I can't give you a grand wedding. But I'll give you my heart and all of my love. This agreement is the last protection I can give you. If I ever betray you, I'll give you everything I own."

Then he signed his name with a flourish.

"Marry me, Ana."

I was moved to tears. I threw my arms around him and kissed him.

For five years, I kept that agreement safe and never once took it out.

I even imagined that years from now, when our hair had turned white, I would show it to our children or grandchildren and tell them about the love between Dante and me when we were young.

Back then, their father had risked so much to be with their mother.

The agreement would stand as proof of our love.

Now it mocked my helplessness and grief.

After I signed it, I contacted the legal team that handled the family's affairs and sent it to them.

Once that was done, I took a hot shower.

The pain in my belly eased.

I lay down, uneasy.

My poor baby must have sensed that Dante didn't love him enough and reacted to it somehow.

Just as I was drifting off, a message alert woke me.

It was from Vivienne.

"Ana, your husband really is something. Handsome, with plenty of stamina. Though... what a shame. He's lying next to me right now."

Then a photo came through.

There was Dante, eyes half closed, sleeping peacefully with Vivienne in his arms.

I could picture exactly what Vivienne looked like at that moment.

She must have expected me to react the way I always did—call her like a madwoman, scream at her, and make a scene, only for the whole farce to end with Dante taking her side.

But this time, I was completely calm.

"If you like my leftovers, you can have him."

I sent the reply and blocked her immediately.

All at once, the world seemed to go quiet.

The next day, I went to the family's company to hand in my resignation.

I had just stepped out of the elevator when I saw Dante sweep a woman up into his arms and carry her into his office.

Seeing them behave so brazenly in front of me still made my chest ache.

When he saw me, Dante set Vivienne down on the sofa and explained, "Vivi just twisted her ankle. She can't walk."

I murmured an acknowledgment and asked no questions.

After all these years, I should have been used to it.

In five years, apart from a few people at the very top of the family, nobody knew we were married.

I served publicly as the finance director, laundering money for the Greco family, balancing the books, and handling audits.

Although Dante depended on me at work, he deliberately kept his distance and treated me coldly in front of everyone.

Once, my anemia flared up, and I nearly collapsed in the elevator.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety in front of the company's middle managers, Dante shoved me aside with a look of disgust and had a bodyguard take me to the hospital.

Yet time after time, I watched him carry Vivienne in his arms over something as minor as a headache or a fever.

"Of course. She's a Sarti. Look how the Don dotes on her."

"Well, of course. They grew up together."

I saw the tenderness and affection in his eyes, and my heart ached too much to speak.

I walked up to Dante and put my resignation on the desk.

He picked it up and frowned.

Then, without so much as reading it, he dropped it straight in the bin.

"Resign? Are you joking? I don't like you mixing personal matters with business."

When I refused to back down, he changed tactics.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind, his tone gentle.

"Still angry with me? All right, I'll make it up to you. At tonight's charity gala, I'll buy you that jewelry set you like so much. Come with me."

An unfamiliar feeling stirred in me.

My body instinctively recoiled from his touch.

"I'm meeting with a headhunter tonight. I can't go. Besides, you've got Vivienne. That's enough. How would it look if you brought two women?"

My voice was cold.

Dante often attended important events, but as his secret wife, I had never once accompanied him to one.

At first, I was disappointed and hurt.

After a while, I got used to it.

I stopped expecting anything from him.

Dante thought I'd be overwhelmed with gratitude for this rare favor.

My cold response made his expression darken at once.

"Anna Reid, don't think that just because you control all of this company's accounts, you can do whatever you please. You know the family's rules. Nobody resigns. The only way out is by death."

My heart sank. I looked up and found myself staring into Dante's bloodshot eyes.