He spoke with such sincerity that if I hadn't overheard his conversation in the study, I might have believed him.

I fought back the bile rising in my throat and knelt, taking his hand.

"Please, see a doctor. For my sake?"

"Or maybe we could try. Really try. Unless… is it just that you can't perform with me?"

My words made his expression harden. His eyes darkened, and his grip on my shoulders tightened punishingly.

"Elara, has someone been talking to you? Or have you just been on edge lately, getting paranoid?"

"I'm a man. How could I joke about something like this? I want to have a child with you, too, but my body just won't cooperate."

As he spoke, his eyelids drooped in a show of sorrow, and he continued in a self-deprecating tone.

"Elara, I'm so tired. I love you so much. I thought you were the only one who could understand me. I never thought you'd betray me like that."

"I didn't want to hurt you, but the thought of you carrying another man's child... The jealousy eats me alive!"

My face remained a mask of calm, but inside, I was sneering. What a performance. It was a shame he wasn't in Hollywood.

A sudden weariness washed over me. No matter how I asked, he would never tell the truth. He was determined to play me for a fool.

"Lorenzo, I want a divorce."

I slowly stood up, looking down at him.

Scenes from our years together flashed through my mind, and for a moment, I couldn't tell what was real and what was a performance.

If he had just told me from the start that his heart belonged to someone else, I would never have forced myself into his life.

The very act of marrying me for an alliance while his heart belonged to someone else… it was disgusting.

Lorenzo was stunned for only a few seconds before instinctively refusing.

"Impossible. A divorce is out of the question!"

"Elara, I handle family business all day, and I'm exhausted when I come home. Can't you just give it a rest?"

"I love you, which is why I can forgive your betrayal. If you really want a child to secure your position, and you think I'm incapable, if you want to find someone else... I can look the other way. Alright?"

"As long as you don't leave me, don't end our marriage, I can pretend none of it ever happened."

He could pretend it never happened, but I couldn't.

That innocent child had been in my womb for months, only to become a mass of blood and tissue, erased from this world.

My hand drifted to my lower abdomen. In that moment, a wave of sorrow hit me.

Better that the child was never born. They would only have been an unwelcome soul in this world.

"Have you forgotten how you've treated me? Have I really been your wife these past years? Or just a toy for you to break?"

Back then, I had truly believed I was the one who had acted immorally, so my heart was filled with an immense guilt.

I couldn't look Lorenzo in the eye. Every word I spoke was laced with trepidation.

I had been trapped in a spiral of self-blame, while the true perpetrator—him—had been watching from the sidelines all these years.

Seeing my resolute attitude, Lorenzo abandoned his usual disgust and began to shower me with pleasantries.

He even brought up sweet memories from our past, attempting to move me.

Finally, he brought up my father.

"If you want to end the marriage, your father will never agree."

"He's an old man. Do you really want to watch him worry himself sick over you?"

"Or has that old lover of yours come back to find you?"

I couldn't help but clench my jaw. Even now, he was still trying to drag my name through the mud.

I looked at Lorenzo with icy eyes, my body trembling slightly.

I thought of all the indignation and grievances I had endured, how even my father had lost face before the Moretti family.

Our families were supposed to be allies, but over the years, because my father believed I had been unfaithful and had disgraced our family honor, he'd made countless concessions in our business dealings and profit splits.

The more I thought about it, the more resentful I became. I had wanted an amicable split, but since Lorenzo refused, he'd only have himself to blame for what I was about to do.

"I know I've let you down all these years, which is why I want to leave. Do you really forgive what I did back then?"

Hearing this, he nodded eagerly, assuring me again and again that he would never bring up the past.

He reached out, opening his arms for an embrace, a gentle smile on his face.

I pushed against his chest, rejecting the hug, and continued to state my terms.

"I remember we had an agreement when we got married. You promised me control of the Brooklyn docklands as my dowry. I want you to honor that promise now."

Lorenzo's promise to give me control of the docklands was only a verbal one.

He had said he would handle the official transfer of rights immediately after the wedding.

But on our wedding day, I was too shocked by the news of his "impotence" to think of anything else.

Afterward, I was so focused on trying to salvage our relationship that the docklands never crossed my mind.

Besides, as a Romano, it wasn't as if I were starved for power.

By the time our relationship had grown cold, he had orchestrated the masquerade ball and deliberately sullied my name, claiming I'd been with another man.

This series of events left me feeling so guilty that I didn't dare bring up the matter of the docklands.

Now was the perfect opportunity.

Lorenzo hesitated, offering a placating excuse.

"Elara, I will of course keep my promise. We're husband and wife; it doesn't matter whose name is on the deed."

"Besides, you don't know the first thing about the family business. It's better left in my hands."

Without another word, I took out the prepared dissolution agreement and handed it to him.

"You say the past is behind us, but you're unwilling to give me what I'm owed. It makes me feel insecure."

"Since you still hold a grudge, then you should sign this."

"I thought possessing some authority of my own would allow me to help you with family affairs. Give me something to do besides sit at home and let my mind wander all day."

I lowered my eyes, hiding the fire within them.

To get my revenge, I had no choice but to play his game.

I knew Lorenzo couldn't afford a divorce right now.

The joint project between our two families had reached a critical stage. If Lorenzo caused a scene with me now, his losses would be immense.

Under duress, he called the family lawyer that very night and had him bring over the property rights transfer agreement.

Only when both our names were signed on the document did I finally draw a steady breath.

Lorenzo sidled up to me again, his words dripping with false intimacy.

His attempt to placate me was sickeningly obvious.

Sensing the reek of hypocrisy coming from him, the nausea in my stomach intensified.

I took a deep breath and made a quick excuse.

"I'm not feeling well. I'm going upstairs to rest."