The next morning, I put on full-glam makeup to hide the exhaustion from my previous sleepless night.

Xavier was seated at the dining table, in the middle of flipping through the morning paper. The sun cast a radiant glow on him, accentuating his unbelievable good looks.

I approached him and gravely set a stack of documents next to him.

“What’s this?” He gave me a look.

“Some project grants that need your signature. There are also several authorization letters for the family fund.” I avoided his gaze before continuing, “This last one here is a request for some extra expenses on my end.”

“You’re still throwing a tantrum.” He frowned, “When are you going to see reason?”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum. I’ve thought it through, and I’ve decided I want the new custom ring as compensation. It’s the one in the last document.”

Upon hearing this, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

I sneered at his reaction. It seemed to me that he still believed I would still be under his control as long as I continued to obsess over such frivolous things.

“Buy whatever you want,” he said as he signed the documents swiftly.

When the tip of the pen glided across the dotted line on the divorce papers, I held my breath.

After he signed his name next to mine, I took the signed papers and left satisfied.

Then, I drove straight to Saint Mary Hospital to visit Annie, who took a stab at the abdomen to protect me. I had to make sure she was in good condition.

Upon finding out that the surgery was successful and that she was recovering, I heaved a sigh of relief.

When I walked down the hospital corridor, I heard two nurses whispering excitedly between themselves.

“Did you see that patient’s husband? He’s so handsome!”

“Yes! When she came in yesterday and found out she was pregnant, her husband anxiously arranged for her to get the best services!”

I did a double-take and felt a nauseating, ominous feeling wash over me. I couldn’t help myself and snuck a peek.

Through the crack in the door, I spotted Alice.

She was looking down at her phone. I could already make out the maternal affection in her expression.

“Hey Mom, the doctor said I’m six weeks pregnant. The baby is very healthy.”

The person on the other end of the line was both surprised and curious.

“No, I can't marry him anymore,” Alice said while patting her stomach.

The voice on the other end grew louder. Alice paused for a moment before chirping jubilantly, “Who else could it be but Xavier?”

I slumped weakly against the wall and felt my stomach turning.

Xavier kept insisting that he was “allergic to women,” yet he slept with his sister-in-law.

He told me I was “the only woman in his life,” but this whole time, there was someone else in his heart.

I couldn't bear to listen anymore and walked out of the hospital, all drained.

When I reached the entrance of the hospital, I bumped into Xavier of all people.

“What are you doing here?” He reached out to stop me, but suddenly pulled his hand back before I nearly bumped into him.

“I came to see Annie.” I said with a forced smile, “She nearly died protecting me. As Donna, I have a responsibility to visit her.”

Xavier frowned, “I’ll have someone make the arrangements to have her transferred to a private facility on the outskirts of the city in half an hour.”

“Transfer?!” I snapped as I turned toward him.

I glared at him and said, “She just had surgery, and the wound is barely healed! Why are you transferring her now, of all times?”

The answer came to me before I even finished uttering the question.

Because this was the hospital where Alice was conducting her prenatal checkups.

“I’m doing this for her safety.”

Xavier lied without flinching, “Be good and listen to me. Will you head back home to sort out the credentials of that overseas shipment we received?”

I rebutted, “Is it truly for her safety, or are you just worried I’d find out Alice is hospitalized here too?”

Though my tone was calm, I understood that from this point on, the veneer of peace between us was going to be torn down for good.

Xavier’s gray eyes widened in an instant, followed by him taking a deep breath.

I knew him well enough to know he was furious. In the past, the sight of it would make me tremble with fear.

However, now that I had decided I no longer loved him, I could hardly be bothered.

“What did you say?”

“Six. Weeks.” I stared directly into his menacing eyes and spoke word-for-word.

“Xavier, I know you’ve been sleeping with your widowed sister-in-law. Both of you are shameless.”

“Shut up!”

He lunged forward and put his hand tightly around my neck as if he wanted to crush my throat right then and there.

What a sick joke! Our first intimate contact only happened because he was so furious that he wanted to kill me.

“You'd better scram and go home, Grace!”

I forced a sarcastic laugh. The lack of oxygen was causing my vision to blur.

“Xavier Whitmore, I want a divorce.”

The veins on his forehead seemed about to burst. His eyes were filled with stark disbelief and rage.

He suddenly released his grip and turned to issue orders to his men.

“Take the Donna home and have her locked in the bedroom on the top floor. No one is to let her out unless I say so.”

“You can’t illegally hold me!” I cried out while two of his men stoically lifted me off my feet.

He looked down at me from above and stated with a cynical smile, “I’m just disciplining my wife.”

With that, I was forced into the car. Meanwhile, he straightened his suit and strutted into the hospital.

Once taken back to the manor, I was locked in the top-floor bedroom.

The windows were nailed shut while guards were assigned to stand outside the door twenty-four seven.

I was furious and smashed everything inside the room. About three hours later, I heard a round of commotion downstairs.

“Hurry up and change the bedding in the bedroom to silk! Miss Alice has never been a good sleeper…

“Also, move all of the Donna’s belongings from the master bedroom to the room on the top floor.”

Then, I heard a familiar and steady round of footsteps followed by a man's voice.

“Take it easy, Alice. You can rest here. This is your home now.”

“Xavier… I'm allergic to pollen…”

“Alright, uproot all the flowers Grace had planted in the garden!”

I slumped to the floor while tears streamed down my face.

They weren't common flowers. They were champagne roses that I had planted, weeded, fertilized, and nurtured for countless days all by myself.

A few years ago, when we were newly married, he whispered in my ear after getting slightly tipsy from the wine after a dinner party, “Grace, the color of your eyes reminds me of champagne roses.”

That was all it took for me to transform the once barren backyard into the flower garden that it was today.

Not just the flowers, I had also meticulously decorated every nook and cranny of the manor over the last five years.

Because this was his home.

I did all that only for him to bring his true love and a bastard child back home. He was so eager to remove all traces of my existence.

He even intended to imprison me here so no one would find out about his affair.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open with a loud thump.

Several housemaids entered with their heads bowed and were timidly avoiding eye contact with me. They piled my belongings haphazardly in a corner of the room.

“Donna…”

Jakob Roth, the old butler, sighed before reluctantly stating, “Don Whitmore gave orders that the master bedroom belongs to Miss Alice. As for your belongings… We’ll leave them here for now.”

“I understand. You may be excused,” I spoke softly.

After they cautiously retreated, I heard Alice's faint voice coming from outside the door.

“Grace, may I come in?”

Even though I did not respond, she opened the door anyway.

She was dressed in a beige cotton dress and eyed me timidly. Her complexion was pale.

“Grace, I’m sorry…” As soon as she started, her eyes began to turn red as if she had been the one suffering a great injustice.

“I was going to surrender to my fate of being a widow for life. I’ve always refused Xavier and never wanted to take anything from you.

“I don’t think I can handle being the Donna of the family, it’s so much pressure. All I wanted was to give birth to the baby in peace, but… I’m sure you know how Xavier can be, he insisted on giving the child a home…”

I stood amidst the clutter and observed her icily before asking stiffly, “If I may ask, Miss Alice, how do you envision the role I play in your family?”

Alice bit her lower lip and blinked daintily before stating, “I was thinking maybe you could be the baby’s godmother…”

I burst out laughing. I found the entire thing comically absurd.

“You want me, the actual wife, to become the godmother of a bastard child?”

She turned deathly pale at this comment. Then, she began to sway and leaned against the doorframe for support.

“I… I didn't mean that. I just wanted to express how much I care about you, Grace…”

After I flipped her off, she wisely took the hint and left.

Then, I heard the sound of the engine of an excavator roaring downstairs.

All the treasured flowers and various plants I had tended to with my bare hands had been uprooted brutally.

I spent the next two weeks locked in the room, watching the manor transform through the windows that were nailed shut.

Xavier had bulldozed my garden and replaced it with Alice’s favorite plants, which were a carpet of scentless green plants.

My beloved designer furniture was all thrown out as well and replaced with something more child-friendly.

Xavier spoiled Alice rotten. He had been neglecting his duties as the Don, so he could spend his days taking her for walks around the manor.

On a certain evening, half a month into my imprisonment, the door finally opened.

Xavier stepped in expressionlessly with a stylist who was carrying a dress trailing after him.

“There’s going to be a dinner with other dons. Your attendance is compulsory.”

He looked at me icily as if looking at an animal.

“I’m sick. I'm not going.” I rested against the headboard and could not even be bothered to look at him.

The last two weeks of confinement had chipped away at my dignity. It had also taken away the last of my hope for him.

“Grace, don’t force my hand. Don’t forget your duties as the Donna, your job is to keep up the image of a loving relationship with me.”

I turned to him and suddenly felt insulted.

He had shunned me and imprisoned me, yet still had the guts to use me to keep up appearances.

At last, I obliged. I got up and changed into the dress.

Not because I was willing to compromise, but only because I would otherwise be cut off from the outside world if I stayed here.

Tonight’s dinner was my only chance to see Rosalia.

I had already obtained the signed divorce papers. It was only after confirming that the assets were ready that I could have the assurance to leave.

During the dinner, I stayed next to Xavier and presented myself as the respectable Donna in a gorgeous haute couture gown. I laughed merrily during conversations.

Donna Clement took my hand and smiled tenderly, “My dear, I’ve been wondering where you’d been for the past two weeks. Is it just me, or have you lost a lot of weight? Was it because of the pregnancy?”

My smile froze, and my heart nearly stopped.

What was she talking about?

I turned to Xavier, who was elegantly swirling his wine glass. There was a faint, gentle smile hanging on his lips.

Upon noticing my gaze, he candidly put his arm around my waist.

“Donna Clement, I was just about to share the good news.”

With that, he raised his glass and tapped it with his finger.

“Since everyone is here, I would like to share some good news.

“My wife is two months pregnant! The Whitmore family is about to welcome an heir.”

A chorus of thunderous applause, accompanied by congratulations, erupted.

Meanwhile, I could feel my hands and feet trembling and freezing. I felt dizzy and had trouble breathing.

Two months.

Alice had been pregnant for roughly two months as well.

Everything made sense.

He was going to use me to legitimize his bastard child with Alice.

“Are you insane?!” I gritted my teeth and whispered to him, “Why should I be the mother of that bastard?”

“You should feel honored, Grace.” He angled his glass to take a sip of wine before stating calmly, “You will be the mother of the rightful heir. What else could you want?”

“What about Alice? Can she stomach her child calling me mother?” I sneered.

“She's much more understanding than you are.”

The look in his eyes softened at the mention of Alice. “She says that as long as the child is safe and can be made the rightful heir, she does not care about titles.”

I hissed at him, “Xavier, you disgust me.”

He thought nothing of my rage and proceeded to tighten his grip on my waist, “Quit scowling. Don't forget, you're here as the Donna.”

I took a deep breath and excused myself to the restroom to touch up my makeup. There, I finally found Rosalia.

“Donna!” Rosalia was taken aback when she saw me, “You've lost so much weight. I heard they locked you up…”

“No time for catch-ups, Rosalia.” I held her arm tightly and said everything at once in a hushed voice, “Have all my assets been transferred?”

“Everything has been done as you instructed. Donna… Are you trying to get away?

“It’s too risky under these circumstances. They have eyes on you everywhere, there’s no way you can make it out…”

I smiled and gently pinched her nose, scrunched up from worry.

“Don’t underestimate me. I need you to hand this letter to Xavier’s former underboss, Noah Gill. He'll take care of things.”