Chapter 3

By the time we reached Sicily, I was so drained I could barely stand. I had just made it inside when I saw a simple meal waiting on the dining table. Everything was light and easy on the stomach.

Raphael's name lit up my phone. "Sofia, I had the cook prepare something light for you ahead of time. Consider the boat ride your punishment for slandering Lia. You know how important it is for a pregnant woman to stay calm."

I gripped the phone. "Raphael, if no one had told me there was a wedding ceremony, why would I have rushed to Lipari by boat? You know I could have taken a helicopter. The only reason I'd take a boat is if it was urgent."

Raphael grew impatient. "Sofia, I used to think you were weak, but at least you were kind. Why do you keep slandering Lia? If you still can't see what you did wrong, you won't be using the plane or helicopter anytime soon."

I could hear Aurelia talking sweetly to him in the background. Raphael hung up before I could say another word. I clutched my phone and bit my lip, but I couldn't hold back the tears.

When I was six, a group of boys came to our family estate. My father told me to choose one of them to stay with me. They all tried their hardest to impress me. All except Raphael. He stood alone in a corner, his green eyes dull and empty. Something about him caught my attention, so I pointed at him and told my father, "I want that one."

When I was eight, my father died. I hid under my blanket and cried. Raphael crawled under it with me and wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay. I'm going to be Princess Sofia's only knight from now on!"

But Raphael, you're the one hurting me the most now. I sat at the table and watched my food slowly grow cold. Whatever love and patience he'd once had for me was almost gone. The thought made my tears fall even harder.

Aurelia was different. She was the orphaned daughter of a man who had been like a brother to my father and uncle. She came to live with us when she was six. My father always said she had lost both her parents, so I should let her have her way. After he died, my uncle spoiled her even more.

Raphael was the only one who ever stood up for me. Aurelia knew I was terrified of bugs and snakes, so she'd throw them at me and call it a joke. Whenever she did, Raphael would pick them up and angrily shove them down the back of her dress. Aurelia would run crying to my uncle, and Raphael would always be punished.

Back then, I was the only one Raphael saw. Now, I'd lost both the family I loved and the man I thought would always be mine.

I choked back tears. I locked myself in the bathroom and sobbed until I had no tears left. Completely exhausted, I eventually cried myself to sleep. Even then, a faint, nagging ache remained low in my stomach.

A shrill phone call woke me the next day. Vincenzo's angry voice blasted through the phone. "How could my brother have had a daughter like you? There's a video of you all over the internet, covered in your own filth on that boat and threatening a crewman. You'd better pray this doesn't hurt the family reputation. We won't accept an heiress with a scandal like this hanging over her head."

I grabbed my phone and opened social media. My name was at the top of the trending list. I clicked on it and was hit with a flood of vicious comments. I could barely stand to read them.

I immediately called Raphael. "Have the media take my name off the trending list. Now."

Raphael sounded exhausted when he answered. "Sofia, I started dealing with it as soon as the video blew up yesterday, but it spread too fast. You shouldn't have threatened that crewman. Even our men have a problem with you now."

My voice shook with anger. "That crewman insulted me first! And someone deliberately edited that video to make me look bad. You know that, Raphael!"

Raphael fell silent for a moment. "The underboss is furious. He wants you to make a public statement. Once your seasickness is under control, you'll film it on the yacht. Tell everyone the woman in the video was an impostor trying to smear the Ferraro family."

I stared at the phone in disbelief. "What did you say? You know exactly how bad my seasickness is!"

Raphael's voice softened as he tried to reassure me. "It's fine, Sofia. The underboss is sending Lia to help you with the treatment. You'll get through it. I have business to deal with. You caused this mess, so you need to fix it."

He hung up before I could answer. A moment later, the doorbell started ringing nonstop.