Chapter 1

I was seven months into my pregnancy when a sudden gush of blood sent me into a panic. Lucian drove me to the hospital himself, but by the time we arrived, I was trembling so badly that I could barely think. The baby was far too young to be born, and the bleeding showed no sign of slowing.

“Lucian,” I cried, clutching his hand so tightly that my nails dug into his skin. “Please, you have to save our baby. Please don't let anything happen to our child.”

His expression was tense as he looked down at me, and for one desperate moment, I thought he would reassure me.

Then his phone rang.

The sound seemed strangely loud in the middle of my panic, and when Lucian answered, a familiar voice came through the speaker.

Arabella.

The helpless little orphan I had once taken under my wing. I had paid for her education, filled her wardrobe, brought her into my home, and treated her like the younger sister I had never had.

Now she was crying so hard that she could barely get the words out.

“Lucian, please don't do this to me. I can't leave the country.” Her voice shook with desperation. “You can't just send me away when you know how I feel about you. I love you, Lucian. I've loved you for so long. If you force me onto that plane, I swear I'll do something I'll regret.”

Everything inside me seemed to stop.

Lucian went rigid.

“Arabella, calm down,” he said immediately. “Don't do anything reckless. Just stay where you are.”

“Lucian?” I reached for his sleeve, struggling to breathe through the pain. “Where are you going? I'm bleeding. The doctors are trying to save the baby.”

He didn't even turn toward me.

Instead, he faced the doctor with an expression so detached that I barely recognized the man I had married.

“I have to leave,” he said. “Whatever happens to her isn't my concern right now. Just make sure the baby survives.”

Then he walked away.

He didn't look back once.

The pain became unbearable after that. It swallowed every thought in my mind until the hospital lights blurred above me, and eventually, I slipped into darkness.

When consciousness returned several days later, I found myself alone in a room so quiet that I could hear the faint hum of the machines around me. I stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to summon tears or anger.

There was simply nothing left.

I felt as though someone had scraped everything out of me and left only an empty shell behind.

Lucian didn't come until two days later.

Arabella came with him.

I looked at them standing together beside my hospital bed and felt nothing at all.

There was no confrontation, no screaming, and no desperate plea for him to reconsider.

“I want to end our marriage,” I said quietly.

Lucian's answer came without hesitation.

“Then sign the divorce documents.”

He placed the papers in front of me, his expression utterly indifferent.

“But once you've signed them, don't come looking for us again. You couldn't even protect the child you were carrying, so there's nothing left for me to expect from you. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer useful.”

Something inside me cracked at those words.

I had thought the hospital had already taken everything from me, but Lucian somehow managed to reach the last piece that remained.

Three years passed before I ever expected to see either of them again.

Yet there they were at an exclusive private banquet, standing in the middle of a room filled with people who had no idea what had once happened between us.

I was near the balcony, dressed in an emerald silk gown tailored specifically for me, a glass of sparkling water resting between my fingers as I waited for my husband.

Not Lucian.

The man who had found me when I was little more than a collection of broken pieces.

He had never asked me to forget what happened. Instead, he had stayed while I learned how to live again, patiently helping me rebuild the life I thought I had lost forever. He gave me a new beginning, a new identity, and a love so deep that sometimes it frightened me.

He was upstairs attending a short meeting, and I had no reason to rush him.

Then a familiar voice cut through the music.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

I turned slowly.

Arabella stood only a few steps away.

She was almost unrecognizable from the timid orphan I had once brought into my home. Diamonds glittered against her ears and throat, while an extravagant couture gown emphasized the wealth she now flaunted without shame.

One hand rested possessively over her very pregnant stomach.

Lucian stood beside her in a perfectly fitted tuxedo, looking every bit as self-important as the man who had once walked away while I bled on a hospital bed.

“Alessia,” he said, my name carrying unmistakable disgust. “Didn't we make ourselves clear? You were never supposed to show up in front of us again.”

His gaze traveled over my dress before settling on my face.

“Are you following me now? Did you waste whatever money you received in the divorce settlement and come crawling back because you've run out of cash?”

I met his eyes without flinching.

“I didn't follow you. This is a private event, and I was invited.”

Arabella gave a soft, derisive laugh.

“Invited?” she repeated. “Alessia, look around you. Do you honestly think you belong among these people? You're only here because you want to spoil my evening.”

Her expression suddenly changed.

She moved closer to Lucian, clutching his arm while her other hand went protectively over her stomach.

“Lucian, please get her away from me.” Her voice became small and frightened. “I don't want her anywhere near me or the baby. What if she tries something? You remember how she behaved when you chose me over her.”

The accusation struck deeper than I expected.

For an instant, I was no longer standing beneath the glittering chandeliers.

I was back in that hospital corridor three years ago, gathering the few belongings I had left after signing the divorce papers.

Arabella had cornered me there.

She had leaned close enough for me to smell her perfume and whispered with a smile, “Your child had to die before I could take my place, but at least you don't have to worry anymore. I'll give Lucian the heir you couldn't.”

I had slapped her.

And Lucian had appeared at exactly the wrong moment.

He had shoved me against the wall and called me a jealous, infertile monster who couldn't accept that he had chosen someone better.

The memory still burned.

I could feel anger rushing through me, but before I could answer Arabella's accusation, Lucian stepped closer until there was barely any space between us.

His eyes held nothing but disdain.

“Leave,” he said.

His voice was quiet, but the threat underneath it was unmistakable.

“This event isn't meant for someone like you, and I'm not going to let an unstable woman create unnecessary stress for my pregnant wife. You've embarrassed yourself enough already.”

I lifted my chin.

“I'm not going anywhere. My husband will be here soon.”

For a moment, Lucian simply stared at me.

Then he laughed.

The sound was filled with cruel disbelief.

“Your husband?” He looked me over as though the very idea amused him. “Who exactly would marry a woman her own husband threw away? Stop pretending, Alessia. You're only making yourself look more pathetic.”

He reached inside his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a thick bundle of hundred-dollar bills.

Before I could understand what he intended, he flung the money straight into my face.

The wad struck my cheek, and the bills scattered across the polished marble floor around me.

Lucian looked down at the money, then at me, with the same contempt someone might reserve for something unpleasant beneath their shoe.

“Take it and leave,” he said coldly. “Consider it enough to keep you quiet for tonight. Pick up your money, get out of here, and stay away from my family from now on.”