For five years, I was the secret lover and chief advisor to New York Mafia Don, Julian Thorne. I thought our love could transcend all rules.

Then, I found out I was pregnant. Overjoyed, I planned to tell him the news, hoping we could finally build a real family.

But when I tried to surprise him through the security monitor, I saw him kissing another woman, Isabella.

"I've waited ten years for the woman I'm destined for, but she never came," he growled. "Isabella. You will be my wife. My only wife."

Her answering moan shattered my soul.

The pain of his betrayal was so intense, a sharp, stabbing cramp tore through my abdomen.

Then, blood.

I lost our baby.

When I woke up in the hospital, I dialed an encrypted number I hadn't called in five years.

"Ronan," I choked out, my voice raw. "That marriage contract… with Cassian Valerius, the Chairman of the Council? I'll sign it."

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1

"You're very weak right now, Scarlett."

The doctor sighed, his gaze sympathetic.

I stared down at the report. The words blurred into a crimson haze.

My baby was gone.

Just like that. Vanished from my body.

"You'll need at least three months to recover."

I nodded, my voice hoarse. "I know."

A terrible emptiness hollowed me out.

I could no longer feel the flutter of anticipation. It felt as if my soul was being ripped in two, and a silent scream clawed at my throat.

But I was too tired. I just wanted to go home.

Back to the gilded cage Julian had built for me.

I had just pushed open the door to the penthouse when I heard his familiar footsteps.

He was back.

He smelled of expensive perfume—a scent that wasn't mine.

My stomach churned.

"Baby, did you miss me?"

Julian leaned in to kiss me. I instinctively recoiled.

"I did," I forced a smile, the words tasting like acid.

"What's wrong? You're so pale." He frowned, but a smile quickly returned to his face. "I booked a table at Empire Steak House. I'm taking you out to celebrate tonight."

Empire Steak House?

Confusion cut through my exhaustion.

I didn't eat steak there. He had invited me last year to celebrate annexing a rival family's territory, and I had refused.

I remembered clearly—Julian hated the steak there too.

He said the sauce was so greasy it made him want to gag.

So… who liked to eat there?

The cloying scent, mixed with the lingering weakness from my miscarriage, made my stomach heave.

I gently pushed him away. "I'm a little tired..."

"Not feeling well?" He immediately leaned closer, his hands already starting to unbutton my coat. "Let me take care of you."

Care.

The word was a dagger twisting in my heart.

I grabbed his hand with surprising strength. "Julian, if we truly love each other, when are you going to make me your wife?"

He froze.

"When will you make me your wife?"

In an instant, his expression went cold as ice.

He pushed me away, taking two steps back. "The time isn't right, Scarlett. The family needs stability."

The same damn excuse.

I stared at his distant expression, and a storm of doubt brewed inside me.

"A wedding won't change anything between us," he said, his tone becoming light and sharp. "Besides, you handle all the important family affairs. You're practically the Mamma of this family already."

A bitter smile twisted my lips, more painful than a sob.

Practically the Mamma? A shadow partner.

No one crowns a secret. They crown a queen.

"I'm going to take a shower." Julian put his fake, gentle mask back on. "I'll come back to 'take care' of you later."

I watched him disappear behind the bathroom door.

A thought took root in my mind.

Wasn't one day of screwing his little plaything enough for him?

The sound of the shower started.

Something drew me to his study, to the safe he had always forbidden me to touch.

Today, I was going to see what he was really hiding.

Inside was a dusty rosewood box.

I opened it with trembling hands. Photos scattered to the floor.

Golden hair, green eyes, and that familiar smile.

She looked... exactly like me.

I picked up a letter in Julian's familiar handwriting:

"Isabella, my love. Scarlett is just a stand-in. When you return, you will be my one and only wife."

My world collapsed.

I remembered the supposed surprise in his eyes when we first admitted our feelings for each other.

I remembered the "rewards" he gave me after every completed mission.

I remembered his "gentle" caresses for five long years.

It was all because I looked like her.

I was a substitute.

My fingers trembled so much I could barely hold the letter. I forced myself to put everything back, erasing any trace I had been there.

I had just returned to the bedroom when the bathroom door opened.

Julian walked out with a towel around his waist, exuding the raw, absolute authority of a Don.

"Come here, baby." He held out his hand, his smile full of desire. "You're the only one who can calm me down."

I watched his performance, each word a new cut in my already shattered heart.

I wanted to expose him. To scream at him.

But I was too tired. The pain was too much.

He pulled me onto the bed, only then noticing my numb expression.

"Your body is so cold." He frowned, feigning concern. "Are you really sick? Should I call a doctor?"

I opened my mouth to say something.

Suddenly, his expression changed. It was the focused look he got when reading an encrypted message.

I caught a glimpse of the notification on his screen.

A text from a woman, the words cloyingly sweet and seductive: "Julian... I miss you, my love."

It was the woman who'd been beneath him today.

It was her.

Isabella.

"There's urgent family business." Julian immediately got up and started dressing, not even sparing me a glance. "You're not feeling well, so get some rest."

He didn't even bother inventing a new lie.

The door slammed shut.

Gritting my teeth, I forced my weak body to move, hacking into the city's traffic surveillance system.

My fingertips were numb, my typing clumsy, but desperation fueled me.

I tracked his car all the way to a private pier on the Hudson River, our special place.

From a distance, I saw Julian standing by the water.

A blonde woman stepped out of the shadows and threw herself into his arms.

"Julian, my love."

Her voice, carried on the night wind, was triumphant and possessive.

"I'm ready to bear you an heir."

An explosion of joy illuminated Julian's face.

He lifted Isabella high, spinning her around like a child.

That pure, unguarded joy was a knife twisting in my gut.

"Isabella! My love!" his voice trembled in the night. "I promise, you will have everything you want!"

I had never seen him so unguarded.

So... happy.

He wrapped his arm around Isabella's waist and kissed her deeply.

They sped off in the direction of the family headquarters.

I collapsed in the driver's seat.

The tears finally broke through.

Five years.

For five whole years, I thought I was the love of his life.

But I wasn't even worth a single, happy spin in his arms.

A tearing pain shot through my chest—the last emotional thread between us snapping.

The emptiness of losing my child and the agony of his betrayal crashed over me at the same time.

I cried until my throat was raw.

Until I had no more tears to shed.

I remembered the encrypted phone I hadn't touched in years.

They had been trying to contact me.

With a trembling hand, I dialed the number.

"Scarlett?" A familiar voice answered immediately, full of surprise and concern. "You finally called."

"Ronan," my voice was a shattered whisper. "I'll do it. That marriage contract you mentioned... with that man."

There was a moment of silence.

Then, an urgent question. "Did he hurt you? What did that bastard Julian do to you?"

I closed my eyes as fresh tears streamed down my face.

"I told you he wasn't good enough for you," Ronan snarled. "Not when you insisted on running off with that minor-league player in New York. The heiress of the O'Malley family should never be humiliated like this!"

"But I thought it was love..." I choked out.

"Love?" he scoffed. "The man destiny has chosen for you is a thousand times more powerful than that piece of garbage."

His voice softened. "I chose Cassian for you. He is the undisputed Chairman of the Council. He will never let you suffer."

I nodded through my sobs. "Okay."

"In three days," I announced, my voice trembling but firm. "I agree to fulfill the marriage contract."

After ending the call, I dragged my exhausted body back to the apartment.

I began to pack my few belongings.

In five years, I had accumulated almost nothing of my own.

Finally, I took out the custom P226 pistol.

It was the gift I had prepared for him when I found out I was pregnant, a symbol of our future.

Now it was cold and lifeless, a grim monument to my lost child.

I placed it on Julian's pillow, along with the medical report from my miscarriage.

A silent farewell.

He didn't come home all night.

The next morning, I dragged my suitcase toward the family headquarters.

I had to apply to the Elders for a formal departure from the family.

I had just reached the main hall when a sight stopped my heart cold.

Julian and Isabella stood on the raised platform, hand in hand, a picture-perfect couple.

All the core family members were whispering among themselves.

"Finally! The Don is choosing a wife?"

"She's gorgeous!"

"They're a match made in heaven!"

I stood in the corner, feeling like the whole world was mocking me.

A Capo who had once fought alongside me, Nico, strode over.

"Scarlett!" he said in a low voice. "Do you know when the Don got with her?"

My heart was pounding in my chest.

"The Don has always favored you. You were the closest to him," Nico whispered conspiratorially. "We all thought he'd choose you!"

My face turned pale.

"So it was that obvious."

"Of course!" Nico laughed. "But it looks like we were all wrong."

Yeah. Even I was wrong.

Just then, my eyes met Julian's on the platform.

He immediately looked away, his gaze evasive.

"Scarlett?"

A sweet voice sounded behind me.

I turned to see Isabella walking toward me, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"I heard there was an advisor in the family who looks a lot like me," she said, eyeing me up and down. "Seeing you today, it's really true."

Every word was like a knife.

"Thank you for taking care of Julian all these years." Her tone was sickeningly false.

Then, she deliberately touched the brooch pinned to her chest.

It was the Thorne family's heirloom emerald brooch, the one Julian had promised me.

The symbol of the family's Mamma.

"Oh!" Isabella suddenly pointed to my arm. "You have a scar there too? What a coincidence!"

I froze, staring at the spot she indicated—the very scar Julian told everyone I’d gotten taking a bullet for him. How could she know about it?

"Julian tells that story all the time. Proof of your bravery, he says," she purred with false sincerity. "Frankly, I'm sick of hearing it."

My mind raced, connecting the dots. Her scar, my scar… It wasn't bravery. It was a brand. A mark he’d insisted I get after our first firefight, saying he wanted to put his own special seal on me. He said he wanted to remember the blood I’d shed for him.

So... even that was a lie. He had marked me to match her.

He had never loved me.

I looked at Julian on the platform, my eyes burning.

He avoided my gaze and pulled Isabella into his arms.

"Alright!" his voice boomed through the hall. "Now that we've announced our upcoming marriage, you should get to know the family better."

He glanced at me, his eyes cold. "Scarlett is a capable advisor, nothing more. Pay her no mind."

Isabella's smile widened. "Of course. Anyone can tell the difference between the real Donna and a stand-in."

She tilted her head up and kissed Julian on the lips.

Claiming him in front of everyone.

After the kiss, a flushed Julian addressed the crowd.

"Everyone! I'd like to introduce you to my future wife—Isabella! We will be married soon. From now on, she will be in charge of all matters concerning the port smuggling operations."

In that moment, everyone in the room turned to look at me.

My blood ran cold.

The port smuggling operations? That was a responsibility Julian had handed to me four years ago.

I had planned the routes, negotiated the deals, led the men to carve out new channels.

I had bled for every dollar of profit from that dark enterprise.

And now, in front of everyone, he was handing all the credit to Isabella?

The Made Men shot me looks of confusion and pity. They knew who had actually bled for this family.

I swallowed the feeling of my heart being torn apart and nodded. "Of course."

My voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Excellent!" Julian said with a brittle smile. "Tonight, we'll throw a party to celebrate!"

I never made it to see the Elders.

At the party, I was seated in the furthest corner. Like a piece of trash he'd tossed aside.

I watched Julian dote on Isabella, carefully serving her food, gently wiping the corner of her mouth.

I had never received that kind of tenderness from him.

"The Don is so attentive to the future Donna!"

"They're a match made in heaven!"

"The Donna will surely bear us a powerful heir!"

Every compliment was a knife in my heart.

I chewed my food mechanically. Every bite was like swallowing broken glass.

Suddenly, Julian cornered me on the balcony.

"Scarlett, don't look at me like that," his voice slid into my ear. "This is purely political. Isabella's family brings an alliance. You know you're the only one I truly want."

His shamelessness almost made me gag.

A political alliance?

Was the ecstatic expression on his face at the pier last night an act too?

"I know you're hurt, but please understand my position," his voice was laced with false tenderness. "Once the family is stable, I'll give you a proper place."

Lies.

All of it. Utter lies.

I pushed him away, stood up, and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going, Scarlett?" a familiar member asked with concern.

"I'm tired. Going to rest."

In reality, I walked straight to the Elders' office.

I pushed open the door to find the three white-haired Elders mid-discussion.

"Scarlett? So late..."

"I'm applying to leave the Thorne family."

I slapped the documents on the table.

The three Elders looked at me in shock. "Child, what happened..."

Before I could explain, an alarm blared throughout the headquarters.

"We're under attack from a rival family!"

"All Soldato, to arms!"

I looked at my departure application, then at the panicked Elders.

"I'll handle it."

One last time.

In the war room, all the Capos had already gathered.

I walked straight to the seat at the Don's right hand. My seat for the past four years.

"Hold it." Isabella walked in, her heels clicking, and sat directly in my chair. "The future Donna belongs here, doesn't she?"

She looked at me with open provocation.

Nico immediately jumped to his feet. "Scarlett has always sat there!"

"Think of how much blood she's shed for this family!"

"Why should she give it up for an outsider!"

Several other Capos chimed in with their agreement.

Isabella's eyes welled with tears. She looked at Julian, her expression crumbling into one of pitiful weakness.

"Did I do something wrong? They all hate me... Did Scarlett say bad things about me behind my back because she's jealous?"

She covered her face and sobbed, her acting impeccable.

Julian's face darkened. He glared at me, and the absolute authority of the Don settled over the room, heavy and suffocating.

"Scarlett!"

The pressure pressed down on me like a mountain. My knees nearly buckled.