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.”

When I returned to the manor, the security level was increased.

Xavier must have realized there was no way I would continue to stomach the humiliation and settle for being a sitting duck.

To prevent me from going completely insane, he performed an unusually noble gesture. He had allowed Annie to send me a gift to console me.

It was a ragdoll cat Annie had raised since the cat was a kitten. The cat was named Rosy, which probably originated as a joke at her twin sister Rosalia.

Her handwriting on the letter was shaky: [Donna, may Rosy keep you company in place of my sister and me.]

Annie was gravely injured while protecting me. The stab wound she suffered in her abdomen was very close to claiming her life. Despite all that, she was still thinking about me.

Meanwhile, my husband treated me as if I didn't exist. He was too occupied with his lover and their soon-to-be-born child.

Thankfully, I had Rosy.

Just like its previous owner, Rosy was a lively and affectionate cat. She loved to rub her wet nose against my fingertips.

Whenever I woke up from a nightmare, I would find Rosy purring over me. She would bump against my palm with her furry forehead.

Then, I would hold it tightly and cry. That was how I endured countless dark and silent nights. I vowed to Rosy that I would make it out of this living hell.

We would settle on some remote island where we could live freely with Annie and Rosalia.

One afternoon, Alice opened the door and invited herself inside.

“The cat’s name is Rosy? What a beautiful name.”

“Get out.” I hugged Rosy tightly and snarled at her. I was not interested in being friendly.

“I just wanted to say hello, after all… Rosy will grow up with my child, too.”

She brushed aside my warning and proceeded to bend over to reach for Rosy.

When she tried to grab Rosy by the scruff of her neck, I seized her hand.

“No. Don’t touch her. She doesn’t like being touched by strangers.”

“Well, she'd better get used to it since she’s living here now.”

With that, Alice ignored my protests and grabbed Rosy with her other hand before forcefully hugging her.

The usually docile Rosy sharply yelped a few times before starting to twist and turn violently. At one point, she dug her claws into Alice’s arm and left fresh red claw marks.

“Ah!” Alice cried out and clutched her arm. Soon, she began to cry.

“What are you doing?!”

The door was kicked open at the same time.

Xavier rushed in and protectively pulled Alice into his arms.

“It’s okay, Xavier, the cat scratched me, that’s all.”

Alice burrowed into his arms and let the tears fall. Her fingertips were trembling as she pointed at Rosy.

Xavier fixed a tender look on frail little Alice for a while before turning sharply to me.

“Can’t you discipline your cat?”

“I warned her not to touch Rosy! She wouldn’t listen!” I almost screamed.

Alice continued to nestle in his arms and seemed like she was convulsing at this point, “It’s my fault. I just wanted to get along with Grace…”

Her acting was laughably poor, yet Xavier was a complete sucker and fell for it.

He kissed her hair before turning to Rosy, who was hiding in the corner and shaking.

“Kill this beast right now! Immediately!”

“No! Xavier, no!” I lunged forward frantically to protect Rosy, but his men rushed forward and pinned me to the ground.

“It’s Annie’s darling cat! Please! You can give her away if you want, just don’t kill her!” I pleaded desperately, even resorting to kowtowing on the floor.

All I heard was Xavier’s ruthless voice coming from above me. His tone was devoid of pity and contained only hostility.

“Don’t forget that you are the reason Annie lost her cat.”

With that, he gestured irritably at his men.

The fluffy cat struggled desperately in their arms before letting out at last a terrible cry.

Then, the door slammed shut.

Xavier pinned the blame on me. It was my fault for not listening to him the way I once did. It was my fault for not obeying his lover.

I was lying on the floor before I started to chuckle. Eventually, it turned into a howling laughter that sounded as if I had lost my mind.

I refused to eat anything for the next three days.

I felt like I was going mad from the extended isolation. I spent my days curled up against the corner of the empty room, oscillating between laughing maniacally and crying.

I had lost count of how many times the door opened. However, it was not Jakob who showed up this time but Xavier instead.

“Grace, eat something.” His voice was calm, but I could sense a hint of irritation underneath it that he must not have realized.

I did not react at all. I hardly blinked at the sight of him.

At last, he lost his patience. He bent over and seized my chin with his monstrously large hand and forced me to look at him.

Upon noticing how haggard I looked, his tone softened slightly.

“It’s just a cat. Why are you ruining yourself? I’ll have someone bring you a few ragdoll cats tomorrow.

“As long as you behave and listen to me, I’ll let you have anything. I’d even get you a tiger if you want.”

I sneered, “Did you think everything in the world could be solved with money?”

“What do you want then?” He frowned sharply while his eyes darkened, “Alice is pregnant! She can’t handle being upset. I have to make sure she is safe.”

“I want you to die.” I felt like my hatred for him had reached a tipping point. “You can go ahead and off yourself with your scandalous mistress and that bastard kid.”

Smack!

The sharp sound of a slap echoed in the room. Half of my face swelled up in an instant while blood seeped out of the corner of my mouth.

Then, his hand that had struck me clenched tightly into a fist. He seemed immeasurably disappointed.

“I’ve given you all the wealth, luxury, and status as the Donna for the last five years. What more could you want? Why must you challenge me over something so trivial?”

“Trivial?”

I wiped the blood from my mouth and retorted with a dead look in my eyes, “Yes, as far as you are concerned, all the love I have for you, along with my pride and feelings, are trivial. You only care about your Alice.”

When he looked at me, I recognized a complex pool of emotions in his eyes. There was anger and what seemed like a hint of panic.

However, it did not take long before he regained his icy demeanor.

“You'd better put yourself together.” He straightened his cuffs, “There’s going to be an annual charity auction held in Zurosh three days later. You’re attending with me.”

The door slammed shut.

It was only after hearing the footsteps in the corridor fade away that I tremblingly reached for a mini communication device I tucked away.

“Rosalia…”

“Donna! Thank God, you finally contacted me!” Her voice was excited.

“Rosy is dead. After she scratched Alice, Xavier… He killed her.”

There was a few seconds of overbearing silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came the sound of her holding back tears and sniffling.

“I’m so sorry, Rosalia. I’ll apologize to Annie myself.”

“Please don’t say that, Donna. I couldn’t possibly blame you.” Her voice was choked up as she said, “Annie is still in the sanatorium, waiting for her cat. If she finds out how you and Rosy were treated…”

“I can’t wait any longer, Rosalia. Has Noah seen the letter yet?”

“Mr. Gill has already given his word that he would make the arrangements. All you need to do is show up at the auction in three days, then he’ll have someone ferry you away.”

Noah used to be Xavier’s Underboss. However, he retired three years ago because he couldn’t see eye to eye with Xavier.

Before retiring, he assured me that if I ever wanted to cut ties with the Whitmores, I could go to him.

At the time, I hardly took it to heart because I was dedicated to Xavier. I thought it was a joke.

Little did I know that this supposed joke would be my lifeline.

“Alright.” I gripped the device tightly, “Tell him I'll be there.”

Three days.

Just three more days until I got out of this disgusting hellhole.

I would avenge you, Rosy.