Sofia's point of view.

Wearing a fake sad smile, I shook my head as I turned to face him. "No. I guess my stomach is just having a hard time digesting the new diet," I played it off coolly, silently praying he believes me.

"Oh." He sounded and looked disappointed at my response, but quickly wore a smile as he took my hand and led me back to our bed. "There's been a change of plans, my love. You know, since my dad's the celebrant of tomorrow's occasion, we're expected to be there today. It wouldn't look good if we went there tomorrow, so you're going to pack up a few things, and we'll hit the road."

Obviously, he's just using his father as an excuse. He's definitely going there early because his mistress wants him to be there.

"Come on, pack up. We're leaving in fifteen minutes." He said, planted a kiss on my forehead, and exited the room almost immediately – I saw an irritated look on his face before he left. I should be the one getting irritated – I screamed mentally.

Anyways, I dragged my tired feet towards the closet and began taking out a few clothes. My plan for tomorrow is to leave the celebration midway and go for my scheduled doctor's appointment. So, I packed up everything I needed.

*****

It was a forty-minute drive from our house to my in-laws' – well, soon-to-be ex-in-laws – home. The atmosphere was a bit rowdy, as everyone was busy with one thing or another, and I could already feel a burden on my shoulder because I knew my mother-in-law would start screaming my name to come help out with the chores – after all, she only knows me as her son's personal maid.

"Mom!" Vincenzo's voice boomed excitedly as soon as he set eyes on his mother, who was talking with some women.

"Oh, my baby boy is here," she exclaimed, equally as happy as her son. Vincenzo pulled – maybe I should say dragged – me along, as he rushed to give his mother a hug.

"My baby, I've missed you so much."

"Me too," he replied. They soon pulled away from the hug.

"Come on, Viola is here too." She said, leading us towards a big hall. "You know, Viola's such a good girl. She has been here since yesterday."

"Oh, really?" His mother gave him a playful, scolding look. "Oh, really? As if you don't know she's here." She chuckled.

We only took a few steps away from the entrance when we saw Viola laughing heartily with Vincenzo's father. I took a glance at Vincenzo and saw him smiling so passionately at their direction; it was obvious that he loves and approves of the scene before him.

"Honey, look who's here." His mother called out to his father, who instantly looked towards us.

"Son." He signaled Vincenzo to come over for a hug. "You're early. Is it because Viola's here?" He teased Vincenzo.

"Dad, no!" Vincenzo suddenly became shy – I guess that's the effect Viola has on him.

His mother faced me. "Hey, you. Come with me, I'll take you to the kitchen so you can help out."

"Don't worry, aunt, I'll take her." Viola volunteered.

"Aww, such a sweet girl." Viola smiled shyly and ordered me to follow her. I looked at Vincenzo; he simply nodded in approval. I took a deep breath and followed her without saying a word.

****

"So, you're the other woman?" Viola suddenly asked.

"I'm his mate." I answered.

She scoffed. "You're deceiving yourself," she paused briefly. "You think I'm truly sick and needed your kid's blood to survive?" She let out a mocking laugh. "I'm very much healthy. In fact, way healthier than you, but I hate you, I hate the fact that you're fertile, that your womb is perfectly fine to carry his children, and I can't because my womb is too weak."

Hearing her cruel words, hot tears flowed down my cheeks. I couldn't believe she's legitimately blaming her barrenness on me. I mean, I don't even know she existed until recently, so why would she blame me for not being able to carry a pregnancy?

"I hate your entire existence in his life, and you must pay a price for your selfishness. I'll continue being sick; I'll make sure he kills each and every child you conceive. I'll make sure you don't have any child for him."

Her words were bullets shooting right through my heart. Why is her hatred for me so great? It wasn't my fault that Vincenzo and I are mates – I'm not the moon goddess, for crying out loud.

"And you know what," she paused, scrolled through her phone for a brief moment, and then showed it to me. "We're already making arrangements for our wedding, and it's happening in three days!" She snatched the phone away from my face. "Our wedding is going to make the headlines; everyone's going to be there. Make sure to be our guest, darling."

Not wanting to hear anymore of her taunting words, I gently pushed her aside and was about to leave. But she suddenly grabbed my right hand, slapped herself loudly, and fell down, then burst out crying.

I speechlessly stared at her superior acting skill.

"Viola!" Vincenzo's mother exclaimed, rushing over with Vincenzo hot on her heels. "Vincenzo," Viola cried intensely as he caressed her cheek; genuine worry washed over his face immediately. "It hurts."

Vincenzo quickly snapped his head towards me with an annoyed look on. "Why did you hit her?" he queried me.

"No. I didn't hit..." My words were left unfinished as Vincenzo's mother landed a resounding slap on my face.

Sofia's point of view.

My brows furrowed as the tears I was fighting to hold back flowed down my face, and I stared speechlessly at Vincenzo, who was trying to comfort Viola.

"I swear, I did not touch her," I tried defending myself, but that only earned me another slap from Vincenzo's mother.

"Shut up!" she snapped. "You think we're all blind and can't see that you have selfish intentions towards my son?"

She turned back to Viola and quickly helped her up. "You are staying by Vincenzo's side, hoping you'd get a chance with him, but listen, let me break it to you: I will not accept any other girl but Viola. She is the only one fit to be Vincenzo's wife!"

She's the only one fit to be Vincenzo's wife. What about his soulmate? Does his soulmate have no place in his life? Like, they could just pick a random girl and make her his wife? Oh, I forgot, Viola is not a random girl; she and Vincenzo have known each other since childhood, and besides, her father is Alpha Micah's younger brother.

"A cheap girl like you can never be accepted into our family!" Vincenzo's mother stated, her words firm and final.

Vincenzo took a glance at me, and for a split second, I saw remorse in his eyes, but it disappeared immediately.

"I'm feeling lightheaded, Aunt," Viola whispered. "Let's go sit over there." She said, nodding towards a table surrounded by chairs.

"Yes, yes, let's go," Vincenzo's mother agreed quickly, but she glared at me before they left.

"Carry your wretched self out of my sight; go help with the cleaning or something."

Not wanting to argue or even see their faces anymore, I nodded and rushed off. While I was leaving, I heard Vincenzo telling his mother that he'd be right back as he rushed after me.

*****

Instead of going to help as I had been told, I sat in a quiet corner and watched everyone work, also thinking about how foolish and blind I'd been all these years.

Just then, Vincenzo appeared before me. He sat in the space next to me, reached out for my hands, and squeezed them gently in his.

"Are you still mad at me for not defending you before my mom?" he asked.

We could still see his parents and Viola from where we sat, but they couldn't see us.

I withdrew my hands from his, then nodded towards his parents, who were laughing heartily at whatever Viola was saying.

"Happy, aren't they?" I asked him.

"Huh?" He sounded confused; his eyes followed mine, and he realized I was talking about his parents and Viola.

"They have nothing to do with us. Whatever makes them happy is none of my business; you're my own happiness," he said reassuringly.

If it were my former self, I'd believe him and wouldn't stop smiling like a fool. Anyway, I'm glad I finally get to see his true colors.

I took a deep breath and forced a sweet smile at him.

"We'll talk more later; I should go help with some things."

He smiled at my words. "I know you'd understand me, my love," he planted a kiss on my forehead. "I'll come check on you later."

With that, he rushed back to join his happy family.

Immediately he left, I pulled out my phone and dialed Lisa's number. Thankfully, she picked up after a few rings.

"Hey, Lisa," my voice hoarsed from crying so much.

"Are you good?" she asked after hearing my voice. "It seems you've been crying."

I shook my head, but remembered she couldn't see me. "I'm good," I assured her. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure. What's that?"

"I want to fake my death, and I need your help with it."

"What?" She screamed from the other end.

"Yes. Vincenzo isn't worth wasting my time; I should have listened to you earlier." Lisa had warned me about Vincenzo and Viola, but I didn't believe her then.

"Thank goodness you've finally realized he's not good for you," she said; I could sense the happiness in her voice.

"I'll send you the details; then you'll come pick me up immediately after the news is released."

"Okay."

After our conclusion, we ended the call.

My fingers became busy as I typed furiously on my phone. After typing for a while, I sent the message to Lisa and waited patiently for her to execute the plan.

*****

Guests who lived far away were coming in today, since they might not make it to the party tomorrow if they didn't arrive today. Vincenzo's mother, his father, Viola, and he were warmly receiving and greeting the guests. I stood at a corner, patiently waiting for Lisa to execute our plan.

As if the moon goddess was listening to me, everyone's head instantly whipped towards the big screen in the hall as a reporter's voice boomed loudly.

"[Breaking News: Sofia Matteo, 24 years old, was found dead by the Ironclaw pack after allegedly attempting to abort a pregnancy...]"

The reporter's words were interrupted as a woman screamed agonizingly. "No, she can't be dead!" she cried, grabbing everyone's attention.

My brows furrowed as I wondered why she was taking it personally. It's not like she's familiar with me. She faced Vincenzo's father. "You mustn't let her die; she is your real child, Alpha."

"What?!" Everyone gasped at the shocking revelation.

My legs froze, my eyes widened, and I couldn't believe the woman's confession. What is going on? Who is this woman? Why would she claim that I am the alpha's real child?