[Elena's POV]

Giuliano only came downstairs once everything upstairs had finally gone quiet, looking completely satisfied. There was a hint of guilt on his face as he said, "Elena, don't overthink it. You're the only one in my heart. Everything I'm doing now is just to get back at Eva."

I'd heard enough of that disgusting nonsense in my previous life. I swallowed down my mockery. Before I could say anything, he noticed the suitcase by my feet.

His eyes widened, and he grabbed my wrist in a crushing grip, like he meant to grind my bones to dust. "Elena, why have you packed your things?"

I gently pulled my hand free, my expression calm and unreadable. "Eva's going to be living here, isn't she? I'll move my things to the servants' room. It'll be more convenient."

The tension in Giuliano's shoulders visibly eased. He followed me as I walked into the cramped, narrow servants' room.

While I folded a few simple changes of clothes, I said evenly, "Tomorrow, let's go see the Don and the council and dissolve our engagement."

Giuliano frowned deeply. After a moment of silence, he softened his tone and said, "Elena, if you don't want to end things, we can still go ahead with the wedding. Publicly, you'll still be my wife. I'm only registering my marriage with Eva to control her and get revenge on her."

I straightened up and gave him a faint smile. "That won't be necessary. I believe you, Giuliano."

With a numb, practiced familiarity, I repeated the lines he'd fed me over and over. "You hate Eva to the core. She's the one who killed your mother. She's also the one who spread rumors and slander, who made my mother so angry she's been bedridden ever since. You won't let her off the hook, right?"

Having his own words thrown back at him made his face twist with embarrassment. He could only give me a stiff nod.

Maybe it was because of the weight of his guilt, but before he left, he transferred a large sum of money into my account. It was enough to pay for all of my mother's medical expenses.

That worked just fine for me. Once my mother was in stable condition, I would take her far away from this filthy, godforsaken city and never come back.

It wasn't long before Eva's imperious voice sounded again, ordering me upstairs to tidy up the bedroom for her.

The moment I pushed open the door, the thick, cloying haze of sex hit me in the face. I'd already made up my mind to let go, but my heart still twisted in my chest, completely beyond my control.

I forced down the sting in my nose, kept my gaze straight ahead, and grabbed the tangled, dirty sheets and duvet. Then, I turned to leave.

Eva suddenly stuck out a foot, deliberately blocking my path.

"How pathetic," she drawled, her contempt utterly undisguised as a lazy smile played on her lips. "The man you've given your whole heart to is nothing more than a well-trained dog groveling at my feet.

"Oh, right." She deliberately stretched out the words, gloating like a victor flaunting her spoils. "I sent that text that told you to get an abortion on a whim. Giuliano knew about it from the very beginning. Do you wanna know why he keeps letting me do what I want?"

I stared straight at her, my eyes turning to ice.

Eva's smile widened, her every word a knife to my heart. "Because I'm pregnant. To Giuliano, only my baby is a true symbol of love. As for that child of yours who never made it into this world, it was nothing but a worthless piece of trash."

A tidal wave of rage crashed over me, burning everything in its path. Eva had ruined my life and destroyed my family. Now, she was trampling on the memory of my dead child.

I raised my hand high, ready to slap her as hard as I could. Before my palm could even land, her eyes instantly reddened. Her expression flipped in a heartbeat as she let out a broken, tearful wail.

"Exactly! What does my fight with my family have to do with you? With your background, do you really think you can boss me around and tell me what to do?"

I was taken aback. The very next second, a tremendous force slammed into me, sending me flying backward. I stumbled, crashed to the floor, and smashed my lower back against the edge of the coffee table. White-hot pain ripped through my body. All the color drained from my face.

I looked up and met Giuliano's eyes. They were bloodshot, furious, and almost feral.

"Elena, how can you be so vicious? How dare you bully her the second I'm not around!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he seemed to notice something off about my expression and hesitated, as if he might apologize.

Eva immediately clutched at his shirt, curling in on herself like she was in agony, her voice weak and pitiful. "Giuliano, my stomach hurts… Our baby… I don't think our baby is going to make it…"

In an instant, Giuliano pushed all thoughts of me out of his mind. He scooped Eva into his arms, cradling her like she was the most fragile treasure on earth. Then, he bolted for the door like a madman.

"Elena, if anything happens to her or the baby, I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death!" he roared.

A fate worse than death, huh? In my previous life, he'd kept his word.

I stared at Giuliano's back as he left without looking back. At long last, the tears I'd been holding back slipped free, silently soaking my face.

My phone suddenly rang, the sharp sound slicing through the air. It was a call from the hospital. A suffocating sense of dread surged up from the depths of my chest, threatening to swallow me whole.

[Elena's POV]

My hands were shaking as I answered the call. On the other end, the nurse's voice was rushed and panicked. "Ms. Romano, you need to come to the hospital right away! Mrs. Romano has taken a sudden turn for the worse. She needs emergency surgery!"

I broke out in a cold sweat and practically tumbled my way out of the estate, rushing to the hospital like a madwoman. Once all the paperwork was done, the nurse told me I needed to pay the surgery fees immediately.

I relaxed a little. Thankfully, Giuliano had transferred a large sum of money to me.

But a second later, I froze in place, the color draining from my face. My voice trembled, and I could barely stand upright. "What did you say? My card doesn't work?"

The nurse gave me a pitying look and gently repeated, "I'm sorry, miss. Your account has been frozen."

This was Giuliano's doing. He'd personally frozen the money I was going to use to save my mother.

My hands were shaking as I called him over and over like a lunatic. On the other end, his lazy, indifferent voice came through the receiver. "You found out? Don't blame me for this, Elena.

"You knew Eva was pregnant, yet you still deliberately provoked her. I'm only teaching you a tiny lesson this time so you'll stop causing trouble."

None of his excuses registered in my mind anymore. All I knew was the despair that washed over me and that I had to plead with him.

"Giuliano, my mother needs surgery. She's dying! Please, transfer some money to me. She's your mother's best friend. She treated you so well back then—she saved your life!" I begged, my voice cracking.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then, Eva's mocking laugh came through the phone. "You're the only one dumb enough to fall for such a pathetic trick. I think she's just jealous of how well you treat me and wants to scam you for sympathy."

Giuliano's tone instantly became cold and hard. "If you want my money, Elena, then you can start by begging Eva to forgive you."

With that, he tossed his phone to Eva. She picked it up and aimed the camera at herself, tapping the screen with a slender finger, drawing out her words on purpose. "Oh, you poor thing. Go on, beg me. Maybe if you're sincere enough, I'll take pity on you and help you out."

I didn't hesitate for even a second. I dropped to my knees with a heavy thud before the phone, slapping myself again and again. "Please, I'm begging you."

As long as I could save my mother, my pride was worthless.

Eva laughed so hard she almost doubled over. "That's nowhere near sincere enough. I checked—there's only about six miles between us. If you kneel your way over here and beg me in person, maybe I'll say yes then."

She didn't hang up. I understood every ounce of her malice. Holding the phone, I started forward, falling to my knees and prostrating myself with each step, dragging myself along the ground.

Six miles wasn't a long distance, but it felt like my knees were shattering with every step. Blood slowly seeped through my pants, the red stain spreading to form a horrible sight.

I kneeled my way through the entire night. By the time the sky started to pale with the first light of dawn, I finally crawled to the private hospital where Eva was.

My throat felt scorched and raw, like it had been burned from the inside out. I forced each word out, hoarse and broken. "I'm begging you… Please, save my mother… She's the only family I have left…"

Eva held up the phone and waved it in front of Giuliano, her face twisted in disgust. "Look at your fiancee. For money, she's thrown away every ounce of dignity. She's kneeling outside and refuses to get up."

Giuliano didn't spare me a single glance. His voice was low and ice-cold as he said, "Since you like kneeling so much, Elena, you can stay on your knees. You almost caused Eva to miscarry. I'm not giving you a single cent."

My vision went dark around the edges, and my heart plummeted into a bottomless abyss.

Just then, my phone rang again. My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely hold it; I was too afraid to answer the call.

It soon cut off. A second later, a text from the hospital popped up on my screen. "Ms. Romano, our condolences. Mrs. Romano has passed away."

A roaring filled my head, and everything went blank. A metallic taste rushed up my throat, and I suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

My only family, the last light I'd had in this world, was gone.

With the very last bit of strength I had left, I pushed myself up from the ground and staggered back toward the hospital where my mother was.

A white sheet had been pulled over her body. Her face was ashen, and she was utterly still. I threw myself onto her, clutching her cold body.

So this was what grief at its extreme felt like—so deep and all-consuming that not a single tear would come.

People around me were talking, but I couldn't hear any of it. All I could do was hold on to my mother, because it felt like the moment I let go, my soul would die with her.

I numbly finished all the procedures, sent her body to be cremated, then carried the cold urn of ashes back to that disgusting estate.

I gently stroked the urn, my voice as soft as a sigh. "Mom, I'm taking you away from here."

I quickly packed what few belongings I had and left a signed declaration on the table, formally dissolving my engagement with Giuliano.

Then, I walked out the door without another look back.

Goodbye, Giuliano. From this moment on, we would be strangers for the rest of our lives.