Ava leaned against Bruno, her voice sickeningly sweet.

"Bruno, should we call the family doctor to take a look?"

Bruno glanced at me with a frown. After a moment's hesitation, he said impatiently, "It's just a scratch. Stop making a scene."

"Liliana, can't you do anything without making a mess?"

He turned and led Ava and Carla upstairs to rest.

I didn't answer. I went to find the first-aid kit to treat the wound myself.

The woman in the mirror was pale, the blood on her forehead having clotted into a dark red line.

Outside, the nannies' undisguised mockery cut through the door. "A fallen princess from a ruined family, still putting on airs. She's worse than a maid!"

I curled up on my narrow single bed, the cut on my forehead still throbbing dully.

Yes, the last princess of the Rossi family. The same woman Bruno had sworn to love for the rest of his life ten years ago, his eyes red with emotion.

Now, it all seemed like a joke.

At three in the morning, the door was roughly shoved open.

Bruno's tall frame filled the doorway, the family doctor trailing behind him.

Before I could react, he yanked me up so forcefully it made me wince.

"Sit still. Don't move."

"It's bleeding, and you don't even have the sense to clean it?"

He gestured for the doctor to come forward and examine my cut.

"Tomorrow night is the family gala. You're not planning on letting the Don see you in this pathetic state so he'll take your side, are you?"

"I'm telling you, you'd better act like a proper Mrs. Marino and stay out of trouble."

The doctor silently cleaned my wound while Bruno stood by, watching over me like a prison guard.

"Bruno," my voice was quiet, but I suddenly had to ask, "Why did you marry me?"

He froze for a second, then mockingly gripped my chin.

"Because the Rossi family came to us begging for a hundred million dollars."

In the darkness, I laughed silently as tears streamed down my face. I should have known long ago I would never get the answer I wanted.

He might have had many reasons for marrying me, but love was not one of them.

For ten years, he's resented my parents for breaking us up, never knowing that I was the one who left because I was misdiagnosed with a terminal illness.

By the time I could have told him the truth, he already hated me to the bone, and he had someone else by his side.

Or maybe, I was never the only one for him.

After the doctor left, I pulled the signed divorce papers from under my pillow and placed them on the bed.

It wasn't the first time I had brought up divorce, but it never worked.

With the Rossi family bankrupt, I was little more than a prisoner in Bruno's estate, forced to care for his child.

I had no way to come up with the hundred million dollars he demanded for my freedom.

He knew that perfectly well and had never taken my request seriously.

He was also certain that I could never leave him.

This time was no different.

Bruno looked at me impatiently. "Liliana, are you ever going to stop this?"

"This time it's for real," I said, my voice firmer than I felt.

"As for the hundred million, I'll find a way to get the money and pay you back. Even if you don't believe me, I won't..."

Before I could finish, Ava's coquettish whine drifted down from upstairs.

"Bruno, where did you put my silk nightgown?"

Bruno immediately let go of me. Without even a glance at the papers, he ripped them to shreds. "Stop daydreaming. Just be a good Mrs. Marino."

"Who do you think would give you a hundred million dollars, besides me?"

The door slammed shut.

The scraps of paper on the marble floor looked like pieces of my shattered life.

The next day, I forced myself to put on makeup, covering the cut on my forehead before arriving at the family gala, only to be seated in a corner in the very last row by Bruno's assistant.

The men at my table were all low-level soldati, and there were even a few new recruits.

This was a blatant humiliation.

"Well, if it isn't Mrs. Marino."

A Capo's wife tittered as she passed, her hand covering her mouth.

"What are you doing at the soldati table?"

I sat down in silence as the whispers started behind me.

"I hear Bruno's about to have another kid. A boy this time. That Ava is really something, no wonder he dotes on her."

"I know, right? The actual wife is stuck at the soldati table. It's pathetic."

I clenched the napkin in my lap, my knuckles turning white.

Bruno walked over from the main table, his expression dark.

"Who arranged this seating?"

"Miss Ava said that since the madam has been feeling unwell lately, it might be better for her to sit farther away, so as not to upset the Don," a steward replied respectfully.

Bruno frowned, seeming like he was about to say something, but just then Ava linked her arm through his.

"Darling, the Don is looking for you."

For a moment, panic flickered in Ava's eyes, but she quickly recovered her polite smile.

When she looked at me, her gaze was openly triumphant.

Bruno glanced at me once more, but in the end, he didn't change the seating arrangement.

I followed Bruno to pay my respects to the Don. After a few words of kind concern for me, he turned and saw Ava. His eyes instantly turned cold.

"Not just any woman can step through the doors of the Marino family. Next time, don't bring women with no standing here."

Ava's face went pale. Just then, Carla threw herself at her, calling out sweetly, "Mama."

Ava's expression softened considerably. After all, she had given Bruno a child, and was now carrying his first son and heir. No matter how much the Don disliked her, he would tolerate her for the child's sake.

The Don shot Ava a cold, warning glare before calling Bruno away to discuss family business.

I was about to leave as well when Ava's hand pressed down on my shoulder, her voice a low sneer.

She leaned in, speaking in a whisper only I could hear.

"A woman who can't produce an heir doesn't deserve to stand by Bruno's side."

"Liliana, how about we make a bet and see who gets the last laugh?"

I ignored her. I'd lost count of how many times she'd tried to provoke me over the years.

After the gala ended, I walked alone toward the lake behind the estate.

The night wind was cold, and the lake's surface shimmered black under the moonlight.

From a distance, I saw Ava take breadcrumbs from her purse and lead Carla toward the lake at the back of the estate.

"My sweet girl," she said, gently stroking her head, "Mama is going to teach you a brave girl's game."

She knelt down and pointed to the swans gliding on the water. "See those white swans? Only a truly brave little girl can be friends with them."

Carla clapped her hands excitedly.

"I want to play! I want to be a brave little girl!"

She had paid her little attention since her birth, but today she was suddenly taking her out to play.

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

I hurried toward them. Just as I reached them and opened my mouth to call out, Ava suddenly shoved Carla from behind.

"Ah!"

The six-year-old was completely unprepared and tumbled into the icy water.

The lake instantly swallowed her small body.

And Ava was already pointing a finger at me.

"Help! Help me!" she started screaming like a madwoman. "Liliana pushed Carla! She pushed my daughter!"

I didn't have time to think. I jumped straight into the lake.

The bone-chilling cold enveloped me instantly. Water rushed into my nose, and I choked, struggling to breathe.

I swam desperately toward Carla. She was thrashing in the water, her small face turning red.

"Carla! Grab on to me!"

I used all my strength to lift her above the water and swim toward the shore.

On the bank, Ava was still crying hysterically. "Mrs. Marino, no matter how much you hate me, you can't take it out on Carla! She's Bruno's firstborn child!"

Footsteps rushed in from all directions as the gala guests were drawn by the commotion.

Bruno was the first to arrive. When he saw me and Carla, both soaking wet, his face turned to stone.

"What happened?"

I froze completely. I couldn't believe she would do something so depraved just to frame me, even using her own son.

"Bruno!" Ava sobbed, throwing herself into his arms. "Liliana pushed Carla! She pushed her into the lake!"

The crowd grew larger, and Ava's cries were heart-wrenching.

I was splayed on the cold stone steps, struggling to push myself up. I reached a trembling hand toward Carla.

"Carla, sweetie, don't be scared... You tell Papa what just happened..."

Before I could finish, Carla scrambled behind Bruno in terror, her voice thick with tears.

"It was her! She pushed me in! I'm so scared!"

I froze, my outstretched hand falling limply to my side.

I wanted to say something, but Bruno lunged forward and slapped me across the face.

"You dare lay a hand on my firstborn child? Are you even human?"

"Just because I brought Ava to the family gala, you get so jealous you try to kill my daughter? The very girl you raised with your own hands!"

I opened my mouth, but the taste of blood was overwhelming. The words dissolved into a silent, bitter laugh.

I looked into Bruno's furious eyes.

"Bruno, do you really believe that?"

"She's only six years old! Would she dare lie in front of the whole family?"

The family members around us were muttering amongst themselves.

A soldato pointed at me and called me "vicious." The head of another family sneered, "No wonder she can't produce an heir. With a heart that cruel, this is all just karma."

Their accusations washed over me like a tide, but what hurt more was Bruno's hateful gaze, a dagger plunging into my heart. In his mind, I was nothing but a jealous, vicious woman.

Ava, nestled in Bruno's arms, looked at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"Madam, if you have a problem, take it up with me. How could you be so cruel to a child?"

Carla's crying grew louder. She said she was afraid just looking at me.

Bruno pointed a finger at me and roared.

"Liliana, get out of my sight! And don't you ever appear in front of me again!"

"The Marino family has no place for a woman like you."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and staggered to my feet. I pulled a fresh copy of the divorce papers from my bag, a bitter smile on my lips.

"It's time I got out... Just sign it. I'll disappear for good."

The murderous intent in Bruno's eyes flared. He shot to his feet and slapped the papers against my face.

"Without a hundred million dollars, don't even think about leaving! You remember this, Liliana. For the rest of your life, you are the Marino family's property!"

A torrential rain began to fall outside. I stumbled toward the parking lot, the cold rain mixing with my tears.

Ten years of marriage, of blood, sweat, and humiliation. When I got that money tomorrow, it would all finally be over, wouldn't it?

I yanked open my car door, started the engine in the downpour, and sped recklessly away from the estate.

At a sharp turn just outside the gates, my vision blurred by tears, I didn't see the road clearly.

The car spun out of control and crashed into the guardrail. The hood crumpled, and the windshield spiderwebbed with cracks.

I slumped over the steering wheel, my body aching, my consciousness fading.

Through the sound of the rain, I heard the engine of another car.

Footsteps grew closer. Someone tapped gently on my shattered car window.

A man's voice, low and unhurried, held a trace of concern.

"I'm only a few minutes late, and you've already made such a mess of yourself, haven't you?"

When I woke up, I was in a private clinic.

"Be careful. The doctor said you're pregnant. Eight weeks."

My whole body went rigid.

The timing... it had to be from that night Bruno came home drunk. We hadn't been intimate in a long time, and he had been incredibly rough.

Lorenzo Vitale's gaze settled on me, his expression unexpectedly gentle.

"Interesting. The Marino family's underboss throws his wife out, not even knowing she's pregnant with his child."

Then he smiled, but let out a cold laugh.

"So that's how cruelly he's treated you. But not for much longer."

"The hundred-million-dollar wire transfer has been sent to the Marino family."

"You are free."