LOGIN“Wake up, sleepyhead. You need to eat.”I was already awake, but I still couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes.My body felt heavy as Steffano started covering my entire face with kisses.“Come on,” he murmured. “I know you’re awake.”I slowly opened my eyes and forced a small smile at him. He gently brushed his fingers against my cheek.“I hate waking you up,” he whispered, “but you need to eat.”“What time is it?”“A little past seven.”My eyes widened slightly.“I slept the whole day again?” I said as I slowly sat up. “I couldn’t even visit Stephie again…”I honestly didn’t know how many days I’d been like this already.Waking up in the morning.Forcing myself to eat.Telling Steffano I was going to the hospital afterward.Only to end up falling asleep all over again.Then he’d wake me up at night and gently force me to eat so I could take my medication.I was starting to hate myself for being this weak.Steffano already had too many problems and responsibilities on his shoulders,
FERDIE“Why did you have to bring her here, Dad?”I quietly closed the bedroom door where Caroline was sleeping before turning to face my son, Michael.“Where else am I supposed to take her?”“Hasn’t it been enough already? You took care of her and spent a fortune on her while she was bedridden for months!”“Michael, enough,” Darius interrupted. “You’ve had a drink. Go get some sleep.”“Your brother’s right,” I added calmly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”“No. We’re talking now.” His voice rose sharply. “This is simple, Dad. I want that woman out of our house.”“She’s still your mother. And if Rebecca were here, I know this is exactly what she would want me to do. Take care of her mother—”“No!” Michael snapped. “That’s bullshit! Take care of the woman who already destroyed our family once and still dragged our sister into her mess?”I swallowed hard and looked away from him.The photos the police showed us suddenly flashed through my mind again—the ones that made Rebecca look even guiltier i
“You’re a failure! No one’s ever going to love you, Rebecca! He’s going to cheat on you too!”I woke up to that voice screaming inside my head.I glanced at Steffano, who still had his arm wrapped around my waist, and carefully moved it away before slipping out of bed.My hand slowly reached for his face.I gently caressed his cheek.“He loves me,” I whispered shakily, shaking my head as if trying to convince myself. “He would never cheat on me. He’s not like you. He’s not like my father.”But then my hand froze against his skin.A memory flashed inside my mind.That day in his office.The sound.The look Giselle gave him.The way they talked to each other.Stephie’s doctor.My hand started trembling violently.I pulled away from him and hurried downstairs.To the bar.It had been a long time since I touched alcohol.Maybe this would help.Without thinking further, I grabbed a bottle of wine from the shelf, uncorked it, and drank straight from the bottle.No glass.No hesitation.I le
“And they lived happily ever after…”I closed the storybook I had just finished reading to Stephie and Savvy, both already asleep beside each other.I adjusted their blankets and kissed them on the forehead before moving to the extra bed inside the room.I smiled as I watched them sleep peacefully.After Steffano dropped me off and spent a little time playing with Stephie, he left again because of something “important” he had to handle.I knew exactly what it was.Revenge.And even though I was worried, I also knew I couldn’t stop him.The medicine was finally making my eyelids heavy when I suddenly heard a commotion outside the room.My heart immediately started pounding.“Ma’am, you can’t go in there! Our boss doesn’t know you!”“I-I’m not even asking to go inside! Just call her and tell her I need to speak with her!”“Ma’am, how did you even get up here? This is a VIP floor—”“I don’t care! Just let me talk to Olivia…!”“Geraldine, let’s go—”“No, Ferdie! I need to talk to her righ
“Yes, I like it. Talk to the seller. I’ll take it.”Still drying my hair with a towel, I walked over to Steffano, who was sitting on the couch in our bedroom, busy talking on the phone.After visiting Alexa, we stopped by the mansion first because I’d forgotten to bring some of my things earlier.“Who was that?” I asked curiously as I sat beside him.I rested my head against his shoulder and glanced at the laptop on his lap.A picture of a three-storey house filled the screen.But it wasn’t just the elegant design that caught my attention.It was the sakura tree standing beside it.Unlike Davidson Place, the house wasn’t overly grand or palace-like… but somehow, I found myself wanting to live there more.Something about it felt like home.“Do you like it?” he asked.I looked up at him.“Where is this?”“Japan,” he answered. “I’m buying it.”He wrapped an arm around me.“My father already left me a house there, but I wanted to find one for us instead. Once Stephie fully recovers, once
Nathalia’s face kept replaying in my head over and over again.The anger in her eyes when I saw her that night.The strength she had while trying to kill me.Even after the memories came back… even after the evidence Boston recovered confirmed the truth that Nathalia really was behind the crime…I still couldn’t fully process it.I kept digging through every memory I had of us, trying desperately to understand why she would do something like that.We were best friends.And I’d seen the way Timothy got along with her, too.They were friends as well…Or was it more than that?I immediately shook the thought away, refusing to add more pain to what I was already feeling.She could’ve killed me, too, that night.If I hadn’t escaped, I’d probably be buried underground by now, rotting beside Timothy.“Ready to go?”I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Steffano standing in front of me.I set down the tea I’d been holding inside the private lounge where we’d stayed after Boston showed us the e
“W-what are those?” I asked, my voice trembling as I stared at the wall.Even though it felt like knives were stabbing into my chest, I couldn’t look away—especially from the photos of Tim.“That’s the crime scene,” Steffano said evenly. &ld
“WHY aren’t you guys wearing your pajamas?” Stephie complained the moment we stepped inside the theater room.The three of us—Steffano, Savvy, and I—looked at each other.“I forgot,” I said quickly, pinching Stephie’s cheek. “I’ll go change very quickly, sweetheart.”Stephie placed her hands on her
“What’s going on? Why does someone look so grumpy this morning?” I said as soon as I entered Stephie's room.Her hair was a mess, and she kept avoiding the maid from brushing it.“Mommy! You’re here!” Stephie rushed toward me and snatched the brush from the maid’s hand. “Kitty said she could do a F
“You know, Mommy?” Stephie said while I was fixing her hair. “I met a lady at the hospital during one of my check-ups. She looked just like you. I even had an attack because I was so sad when she told me she wasn’t my mommy. But that wasn’t really you, right?”My hands paused for a second before I







