Chapter 4

“The alcohol upset my stomach. I didn’t want to disturb your rest, so I went to the hospital myself. This morning, Elizabeth said she had plans to meet you here, so I thought I’d bring her over and pick you up on the way.”

A nearly perfect lie. I had underestimated the mafia don’s ability to respond.

I stayed silent and followed behind them. When we reached my parents’ graves, I placed the roses for them.

The only two people in the world who ever loved me lie here forever. I stared at the headstone, tears gathering in my eyes.

Elizabeth walked over and gently patted my back. “Emily, I know they left you early, but now you have Paul. And you’re about to welcome a new life. They’ll always be with you, starting a new life together.”

Her tone was certain, as if she were making a promise on Paul’s behalf.

“We’ll always be with you. We’ll start a new life together.”

Paul placed his hand on my shoulder as well, but it felt like he was only repeating Elizabeth’s words.

Promising to take care of me, just to reassure the woman he loved.

I took a deep breath, swallowing all the negativity. Then I gently removed his hand from my shoulder, looked at my parents’ photos, and said with a smile, “That’s right. I’ll start over.”

This time, it would have nothing to do with Paul.

After leaving the cemetery, Paul opened the front passenger door for Elizabeth, a seat that used to belong to me.

Then, he said to me without changing his expression, “The seat behind the driver is the safest. You’re pregnant, sit there.”

My eyelashes trembled, but I got in without hesitation.

For a long stretch, the car was filled with heavy silence. Then Elizabeth started a conversation.

“I heard there’s a newly opened Francian restaurant nearby. They have foie gras and truffles flown in.”

“Really? When I was in Perisa…”

Just like that, the two of them went from foie gras and truffles to Monet and Van Gogh.

I had never been to Francia, so I couldn’t join the conversation.

They shared the same interests, the same memories.

No matter what one said, the other could immediately respond. They were perfectly in sync, truly soulmates.

And I, the substitute, had to roll down the window just to breathe.

At the restaurant, they sat facing each other by the floor-to-ceiling window. I had no choice but to sit on the outer side.

Paul snapped his fingers, and a waiter came at once.

“Elizabeth, what would you like to eat?”

He asked it instinctively.

Elizabeth picked up the menu, about to say something, then smiled and looked at me instead.

“Let the pregnant woman order first.”

I pointed at a few dishes at random, then handed the menu back to the waiter.

When the food I ordered was served, Paul’s brows gradually furrowed.

“You can’t eat raw food. Did you forget the doctor’s instructions?”

Elizabeth turned to look at my stomach, surprise flashing in her eyes.

“Emily, you’re so thin. Why aren’t you showing at all?”

Paul also sensed something was off. He suddenly stood up, reaching toward my abdomen.

At that moment, someone at a corner table stood up along with Paul and walked straight toward us, his right hand moving toward his coat.

Paul immediately sensed danger.

At the first gunshot, he instinctively lunged toward Elizabeth. The bullet grazed past his ear.

Guests in the restaurant began screaming and fleeing.

Amid the chaos, the second gunshot rang out.

The bullet pierced through my shoulder, and the force drove me backward as my back slammed into the edge of the table.

In an instant, burning heat and sharp pain surged into my mind, and sweat rolled down my forehead.

The bodyguards pinned the attacker to the ground.

Paul picked up Elizabeth and rushed out without even looking at me.

Blood soaked half my chest. Every breath felt like someone was tearing at the muscles in my shoulder.

However, for a moment, I couldn’t tell which hurt more—my body or my heart.

Other bodyguards rushed over to treat my wound and called an ambulance.

To stop the bleeding, they pressed gauze hard against my shoulder. Pain spread through my entire body.

I turned my head and saw Paul and Elizabeth arguing at the restaurant entrance.

“I told you I’m fine! Go back and check if Emily is hurt!”

Elizabeth shook off Paul’s hand angrily, but he grabbed her again.

“Be good. Let me check you again.”

“Paul, Emily is your legal wife. She’s the donna of the Garcia family, and she’s carrying your heir! The one you should care about is her!”

My head began to spin. I didn’t know if it was from the gunshot wound, the chill from last night, or the blows of everything that had happened these past days.

“So what? She will never be more important than you. I can replace my donna at any time. Who would dare object?”

Paul was still pulling at Elizabeth when the ambulance arrived and lifted me onto a stretcher.

Elizabeth was the first to react when she saw me on the verge of passing out.

“Emily! Oh my God, how did this happen?”