All Chapters of A Crown Left Behind: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I went back to my room alone.The private line Adrian had installed for me was still lit on the bedside table. Months ago, he had told me that as long as I pressed that silver button, he would come no matter where he was. I pressed it. The light blinked quietly in the dark, but no one answered.Cold air slipped through the half-open window, and I sneezed into my hand. In the past, all I had to do was frown, and one of them would notice. Dante would call me spoiled while handing me whatever I needed. Matteo would tear into the guards, then carry me away himself. Adrian was always the gentle one, brushing my hair back and telling me not to cry.Tonight, the room stayed empty.I stared at that unanswered light until the silence became unbearable. Then I grabbed my coat and ran out.The rain had not stopped. The stone path behind the estate was slick, and I crossed the back corridor too quickly, scraping my knee on the steps and tearing my skirt on the iron railing. By the time I reached

Matteo’s hatred had not come from nowhere.After I cried to Lorenzo that time, Vittori’s internal meeting nearly sent Serena away. Her background was unclear, and she had brought a child with her. Many in the family had never wanted her to stay.The next morning, Matteo volunteered for the northern weapons transfer.That route crossed the buffer zone between two rival families. Winter blocked the roads, ambushes were constant, and even Lorenzo rarely sent core men there. Matteo went himself, using a near-death assignment to buy Serena and her child a place in Vittori.Before he left, he looked at me with eyes cold enough to burn.“Aria, I must have been blind to ever put you first.”I could not understand it then. They had left me first, broken every promise first, yet somehow they looked at me as if I were the unforgivable one.Now his hand was locked around my throat.My chest tightened from the lack of air, and the lights began to blur. I stopped struggling and looked directly at hi

Vittori EstateThe next morning, Vittori’s main conference hall was full.The Vescari exchange list would be announced there. Everyone knew the program was more than study and cooperation. Any woman chosen would leave for Blackharbor with the Vescari convoy, and no one could say when she would return.Serena stood near the back. When Dante, Matteo, and Adrian entered, she looked at them at once.Matteo moved to her side. “They won’t take you.”Dante said nothing. Adrian watched the sealed file in Lorenzo’s hand.Last night, all three had believed Aria had submitted Serena’s name.Lorenzo waited for the butler to break the seal, then opened the document.“The exchange member selected by Vescari is Aria Vittori.”Matteo stopped mid-step.Dante lifted his head. Adrian’s hand tightened around the back of a chair.Matteo crossed the room and took the list from the table.“Who changed it?”“No one.” Lorenzo pulled the paper back. “Aria signed it herself.”“Where is she?”“The convoy left bef

Vittori EstateThree days after Aria left, Dante entered her room.The curtains were closed, and the white roses in the crystal vase had long since withered. Once, the three of them used to compete over who would replace them first. Later, all their attention shifted to Serena, and no one noticed how empty the room had become.Only a few old invitations remained in the wooden box. Dante picked one up and recognized the auction he had abandoned at the last minute. Serena had been injured at the training ground, so he left Aria and rushed to her. When he returned, he even accused Aria of being unreasonable.On the back of the invitation, Aria had written:A birthday gift for Lorenzo.Dante folded it and slipped it into his pocket.At the same time, Adrian had the private line beside Aria’s bed inspected. The technician quickly found the final call record.“She pressed it once before she left, but your number never answered.”The time matched the night Aria ran through the rain to the gue

The rain had just stopped when the Vescari convoy entered the Vittori estate.Black sedans pulled up in front of the main house, where Dante was waiting with the security team. Matteo and Adrian stood behind him, neither moving forward.Roman stepped out first. After checking the guards and the surrounding grounds, he turned and offered me his hand. I took it and used his arm for support as I left the car.Dante had already approached the door, but he stopped when Roman placed a hand around my waist.Five months had passed, yet when he looked at me, he could not seem to find a single word.I wore a loose black dress beneath my coat, hiding most of the change in my body. Roman’s hand, however, remained near my stomach. Adrian noticed almost immediately.“You’re pregnant?”“A little over two months.”Roman pulled my coat closed, shielding me from the cold air left behind by the rain.Matteo stepped forward.“Was the journey difficult? I’ll have someone take you to your room.”When he rea