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.

On the evening of the auction, Xavier came to pick me up in person.

When he opened the door, I was sitting at my vanity table, in the middle of applying a bright red lipstick.

After having been confined for so long, I had lost a lot of weight. I could hardly recognize the woman in the mirror.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”

He stood behind me and looked at my reflection with a smug, self-satisfied smile.

Then, he reached out to touch my shoulder, but I deftly avoided his touch a split second before he could graze against me.

“Yes, I will do my duty.” I turned to him and flashed a bright smile.

He frowned instantly, almost on instinct. Then, he scoffed dismissively before tossing an exquisite jewelry box onto the table.

“I had the designer customize this for you.”

“Thank you.” I picked up the box and took the necklace to put it on.

When we boarded the private jet, I saw Alice already waiting inside. She had a cashmere shawl draped around her.

“Grace, I’m glad you finally came to your senses,” she remarked softly while subconsciously rubbing her stomach. “We have to get along from now on for my child and for Xavier’s sake.”

I ignored her and settled down on the seat across from her. Then, I stared blankly out the window.

The manor on the ground slowly shrank into a tiny dot. In my mind, I said goodbye to it and made my peace with five years gone by.

When we arrived in Zurosh, it was snowing heavily.

Xavier took my hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world and led me onto the red carpet.

Meanwhile, his beloved Alice attended as his stylist. She entered through a side door with her staff.

The moment I stepped into the hall, I felt two pairs of eyes fixed on me.

Hidden deep within the crowd was Noah, who was dressed in a dark gray suit and casually swirling a wineglass.

Only a short distance behind him stood a woman also dressed handsomely in a suit. Her expression was composed and stoic.

She was my personal assistant, Rosalia.

My breath caught in my throat while I unconsciously loosened my grip around Xavier’s hands.

“Watch yourself, Grace.” Xavier leaned into my ear and whispered a warning.

“I know.” I forced a smile.

That was when Noah, who had been hovering some distance away, parted the crowd and walked straight toward us.

“Hey, long time no see.” He stopped in front of us and greeted us. The entire time, he hardly paid notice to Xavier and was focused on me instead.

“Grace, you’ve lost weight since the last time we met. I take it that the cooking of Don Whitmore’s chef isn’t to your liking.”

Then, he casually put a hand out to receive my hand for a kiss.

“Noah, back off from my wife.” Xavier asserted his dominance by pulling me away from him.

Noah was not deterred by Xavier’s brazen hostility. He withdrew his hand, then traced the rim of his wine glass with his fingers before remarking with a rather audacious smile.

“Don’t be so uptight, Xavier.”

He spoke candidly, making sure to keep his volume just loud enough for the surrounding guests to hear him, “I was just worried you’d be too focused on others and end up neglecting your pregnant wife.

“By the way, I heard you brought your widowed sister-in-law to live with you, didn’t you? Sam must be glad to have a good brother like you.”

Upon hearing this remark, the celebrities around us stopped to listen in. A deep look of intrigue appeared in their eyes.

Everyone knew that coveting a deceased brother’s widow was a gravely shameful and scandalous act in the mafia world.

Xavier sneered, “It is my responsibility to take care of my brother’s widow. You don’t have to worry about what goes on in my family, Noah.

“Let’s go, Grace,” Xavier hissed through clenched teeth while forcefully dragging me away to the other side of the hall.

I turned to glance at Noah and Rosalia just in time to spot them flashing victorious smiles at me.

Everything was ready. It was time to pull the trigger.