Frankie’s voice shook badly when he saw me. Not noticing Frankie’s distress, Dominick uttered in annoyance, “Just approve everything. You can sign the expenses off for me.”

“You shouldn’t do that, Dominick. The papers need your signature.” I took the document from Frankie.

Dominick paused, but only for a beat. Before long, he took a pen and signed each sheet without taking the time to review the content.

It wasn’t until Dominick flipped past the divorce papers that I finally let out a sigh of relief.

The moment Frankie left with the signed papers, Dominick eagerly pressed me onto the bed and planted light kisses across my neck.

However, I pushed him away and straightened my collar nonchalantly. I muttered, “I’m feeling tired today. Rain check?”

Though frustration flickered in Dominick’s eyes, he held his tongue.

Once I was out of the room, Dominick got back into his car and drove away.

Half an hour later, my phone chimed with a text message from Gia like clockwork.

“Well, aren’t you pathetic, Luna? You can’t even hold onto your own man.

“You’re not a wife to him. Why else would he call me his other half?”

Cool as a cucumber, I closed the chat and booked a flight to Averia, departing in a week.

Averia was my home country.

In fact, my family rivaled the Costas in standing. At that time, my parents were firmly against me marrying Dominick.

Being a Don, Dominick had far too many enemies. My parents feared the dangers that came with marrying him.

Young as I was, I got down to my knees and pleaded with my parents, “I want to take the chance. Dominick loves me. He won’t let me down.”

My parents looked at me, their faces etched with disappointment. Subsequently, they froze all my bank accounts and hadn’t been in touch even once in the last three years.

Sadness clouded over me for a long time. With each passing Christmas, I would cry my eyes out over the silence from their side.

Back then, Dominick would pull me close and say tenderly, “It’s alright. All that matters is that I love you.”

Alas, he was the very man who betrayed me, and I lost anyway.

In that case, it was time for me to head home.

With shaky hands, I sent the screenshot of my flight itinerary to my parents and left a sobbing voice note. “Mom, Dad, Dominick has abandoned me. Will you have me back?”

I didn’t hold out much hope since my parents had long been disappointed in me.

In a shocking twist, then came my mother’s response in less than a minute.

“Come back. Your father and I miss you very much.”

All the emotions I’d been holding in spilled over as I clutched my phone and wept uncontrollably.

I wallowed in tears all night, my swollen eyes and aching throat the aftermath of my breakdown.

Dominick was taken aback when he saw me. “What happened to you?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

The question ended there. Before, Dominick would summon the staff for a round of grilling as to why I was crying.

Yet now, he simply got into the car indifferently, likely sulking over my rejection last night.

We sat in the back of the vehicle, bound for the mall, in silence like strangers.

Suddenly, there was a notification on his phone. I caught a glimpse of the caller ID—G.

He edged toward the window and spoke in a hushed tone, “What is it?”

After a brief exchange, Dominick tapped on the driver’s shoulder. “Turn this car around and head to the hospital.”

Surprised, the driver glanced at me. “What about the Donna? It’s a chilly day out. Donna—”

Dominick’s patience ran out.

“You don’t get a say in this.”

He then turned to me. “We have run into some problems in the family, Luna. I need to leave now.

“You can catch a ride to get a gift. Here’s a card with unlimited funds. Spend it however you like.”

Dominick opened the car door and gestured for me to exit.

I stepped out of the vehicle with a grin and watched as the car sped away.

The driver was right about the cold. I was kicked out of the vehicle before getting the chance to grab a coat.

The mall was two miles away, and the snow was already up to my shins.

Since it was impossible to hail a cab in this weather, I trekked my way to the mall. Just steps away from my destination, I dropped limp into the snow.

Through my haze, I saw a man in a black trench coat running toward me. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

When I came to, the man was seated at my bedside. “You’re awake.

“You gave me quite a scare. The doctor said that if you’d arrived any later, neither you nor the baby would have made it.”

I paused for a moment, but my eyes quickly widened. “A baby?”

The man was more surprised than I was. “Didn’t you know? You’re three months along.”

I had no idea.

It was a moment I couldn’t describe. It felt as if fate was playing a cruel joke on me.

I walked out in a daze and stopped short because I saw Dominick, holding Gia in his arms, heading in my direction.

Working with agility, I ducked around the bend of the hallway to avoid detection.

“Dom, what are we going to do about the baby?” Gia sounded hurt.

Without a word, Dominick helped Gia into a ward.

Gia stopped in her tracks, her voice choked with sobs, “Do you not want the baby? I can terminate the pregnancy.”

She whirled around to run off, but Dominick was quick to catch her and held her tight in his arms.

“I do.

“I want the baby.”

He murmured, “The timing just isn’t right. You can have the baby, and as compensation, I can promise you one thing. Anything you want.”

Gia’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Okay. I want you to marry me. I don’t care if it’s a small ceremony. I want to be yours.”

Dominick fell silent for a moment before giving a nod. “Alright. I can do that for you. I’ll give you the most lavish wedding in the world in a week. This is just between us, all right?”

The pair strolled into the ward hand-in-hand as I hid in the corner of the hall, my tears rolling down my cheeks and my hand clutched against my lips.

I stumbled back into my ward, only to find the guy who’d saved me still around.

It then occurred to me to thank him. As a show of gratitude, I handed Dominick’s black card to him.

The man refused the card. “I don’t need the money. Thank you.”

He excused himself and walked to the door. Out of the blue, he turned on his heel and slipped a business card in my hand before making an exit.

I looked down at the card, which simply read a name—Cesare Lombardi.

For some reason, the name sounded familiar. Nevertheless, I dismissed the thought, knowing I had better things to deal with.

The plan was to be discharged immediately, but I had to extend my stay at the hospital on the doctor’s orders.

While I was there, friends reached out to show concern and came to visit. Wrecked with anxiety, my parents were just one step away from taking the trip over.

My husband was the exception, though. All he did was leave a brief and frosty text message.

“I’m away on business. Contact Frankie for anything.”

Dominick wasn’t with family. Instead, he was on an island, planning his wedding with Gia.

I must admit that he was clever to set the island as the wedding venue.

Without his permission, nobody could set foot there, including me.

Somehow, as if by telepathy, we had set the countdown to the wedding for seven days later.

It was probably because seven was Dominick’s lucky number. There was a time when he would never be found without a pendant in the shape of the number seven. It was a keepsake from his late mother, with the word “Lucky” etched on the back.

Dominick passed the necklace to me on the day of our wedding. “More than myself, I hope this necklace keeps you safe.”

No words were ever more beautiful.

With that in mind, I teared up, my hand reaching for the jewelry piece around my neck.

I looked down and froze.

The engraved letters on the back were missing.

The necklace had been swapped.

Having suspicions of my own, I grabbed my phone and scrolled past the chat log until my gaze zeroed in on a personal photo.

There, Gia’s bare body was adorned with a bronze necklace, the back engraved with the word “Lucky”.

It all became clear to me. I ran my hand across my belly and whispered to the baby, “No wonder neither one of us is lucky anymore.”

I was hesitating whether to keep the baby, but now, my mind was made up.

Like Gia’s, my child came at the wrong time. Dominick would never favor my baby.

Having come to a decision, I knocked on the door of an office.

“Hello there, I’d like to schedule an abortion.”

I believed the wedding gift could not be more fitting.

Since I hadn’t heard from Dominick for days, it was clear that his dedication was to the wedding.

Before, he was never one to take initiative unless the matter was of urgency. Gia was his one and only exception.

Gia bombarded me with photos of a wedding gown inlaid with hundreds of Miranth Gulf pearls and a one-of-a-kind diamond ring.

With a blank expression, I quietly saved every one of the photos she’d flaunted in my face.

“Archibald, print these out and place them in a box together with the divorce papers,” I instructed the butler.

Not one of Dominick’s men, Archibald, the butler, came from my family, who raised me from a child. He never left my side when I parted ways with my family.

He had been my constant companion over the years. In a way, he was a father to me.

Dominick’s call came in shortly after Archibald took off. He sounded pretty amused.

“Luna, I’m really sorry for ditching you the other day. I’ve set up a trip for you five days from now to make it up to you. What do you say?”

His wedding to Gia would take place five days later.

I stayed silent for a long time before murmuring, “Will you be coming along?”

Dominick sighed. “I can’t. I have critical business to attend to, but I’ll head straight to you once I’m done.”

I chuckled. “Critical business? Define ‘critical’.”

My line of questioning tested Dominick’s patience, and his tone changed. “You should know that I can’t stand women who ask too many questions, Luna.

“The matter is final. Get some early rest.”

Without giving me a chance to respond, Dominick hung up.

The trip was no treat or request for my input. It was a direct notice and an order filled with betrayal and lies.

I looked out the window. The snow piled up outside, blurring my view.

The heavy silence in the ward amplified the faint throbbing of the heartbeat in my belly.

I caressed my small bump, an indescribable pang of sorrow overwhelming me.

‘As you wish, I will be gone in five days, Dominick, and I’m never coming back.’

Three days later, I was discharged to make my way to my residence. By then, Dominick’s wedding was two days away.

As the wedding approached, Gia’s excitement spilled over, and it was evident in her endless calls to brag.

Unable to stand the harassment, I blocked her number.

From this point forward, I wanted nothing to do with Dominick or Gia, or anything related to them.

Clearly, my indifference didn’t sit well with Gia, so she started a rumor that I’d ripped into her for taking up too much of Dominick’s time.

When Dominick called to confront me, I was packing my bags.

“Gia could use a vacation, so I brought her along for the ride. Why are you being so petty?

“Luna, apologize to Gia for your rude behavior right now!”

“Apologize?” I paused as if I’d heard the most absurd joke ever.

“Why should I?”

“Because she’s in tears!” His angry growl boomed on the other end of the line.

In all honesty, I barely ever saw Dominick losing his marbles. Though his methods were brutal, he had always gotten his point across without raising his voice. Besides, he had always treated me with respect.

Pushing back the resentment, I tried to keep my voice steady. “I don’t care if you believe me or not, Dominick, but I have never said anything insulting to her. She won’t get an apology out of me.

“It’s ridiculous to say that I’m jealous of her hogging your time. It’s one thing if you’re with another woman, but Gia is your sister. Why should I be jealous?

“Are you trying to tell me that you’re more than a brother to her or that she’s not a sister to you?”

“What are you talking about?” Dominick yelled.

For once, I called him out on his relationship with Gia, and it rattled him.

The typically cool-headed Don lost his reason.

He snapped, “Luna, don’t play games with me. I know that you can’t stand Gia.

“You’re jealous of her.

“If you don’t make things right with her, I won’t be as forgiving.”

Was that so?

In the past, whenever I was crossed, no matter how trivial the incident, Dominick would swear, “Nobody gets to upset you and gets away with it.”

He was true to his word back then. Those who spoke ill of me had their tongues ripped out, and the touchy-feely ones had their hands cut off.

Dominick once considered me his most prized possession. Yet now, he threatened to use his methods on me.

I laughed bitterly at myself. Love sure was fleeting, with the line between a lover and an enemy so thin.

Despite knowing his cruel ways, I would never bow down to Gia.

However, I had never expected Dominick to throw a low blow. Instead of punishing me himself, he gave the power to the household staff.

The next day, I got up without a wake-up call and was not served any breakfast.

“Where’s breakfast?” I uttered coldly while staring at the empty table.

“Don Costa made it clear that Ms. Gia Costa is the Donna of the household. Only she is entitled to preferential treatment,” the maid stood there, announcing smugly.

As I kept my head low in silence, the staff snickered, their eyes reflecting none of the fear they had held for me.

“Oh, we bet that you’d stay in favor for at least a decade, but Don Costa got tired of you in just three years. You’re pretty useless.”

“Right? Had we known, we would’ve wasted our time sucking up to you. Don Costa’s going to get rid of you in no time.”

“That’s enough. Ms. Costa will be back any minute. We need to hurry and tidy up the place for her. Don’t forget to tell the kitchen to make all her favorite food.”

The maids bustled around me. One of them even bumped hard into my shoulder while brushing past.

I grabbed her arm and slammed her hard against the wall.

“W-What are you trying to do?” Startled by my retaliation, the maid cried out.

Instead of replying to her, I lifted my hand to slap her.

“As you can see, I’m putting the staff in place.”

With my payback catching the maids off guard, they hung their heads low and bit their tongues.

Just as I was about to turn away, I spotted Dominick standing at the door, his arm linking Gia’s.

His expression was stiff, and he stared at me, clearly unamused.

“Don Costa, you’re back.”

The maid I’d slapped pushed me aside and rushed toward Dominick. She held her swollen cheek and cried dramatically.

“We followed your instructions not to prepare breakfast for Donna Costa, but she came down hard on us a-and hit me.”

The others chimed in. “That’s right. She started smashing things. We tried reasoning with her, but she threatened to hurt us unless we put poison in Ms. Costa’s food.”

“Poison?”

Dominick and I widened our eyes in shock.

He could not believe my alleged malice, and I was appalled by the sheer cruelty of the staff who had addressed me so sweetly before.

I refuted, my head cocked in the direction of Dominick, “That’s not what happened. They are lying. I have said nothing of that matter. They were the ones who insulted me—”

My words came to a halt as Dominick narrowed his eyes at me dangerously.

It was a look I’d never seen before.

“You don’t trust me?” My eyes welled up.

Averting my gaze, Dominick uttered, “I’m not an idiot, Luna.

“I know my staff better than anyone. They wouldn’t dream of insulting you, much less raising their voices at you.”

I stared at him in stunned silence before bursting out in laughter.

‘You’re as cocky and self-assured as always, Dominick.

‘That was the case before when you loved me. Now that everybody in the family is speculating on your relationship with Gia, I’m no longer a Donna to the staff.’

I turned on my heel with a sigh when Gia said, her voice full of fragility, “Luna, are you still upset that I went with Dom on his business trip? I’ve assured you repeatedly that there is nothing between Dom and me. Why won’t you believe me?

“After the fuss you’ve caused, I dare not imagine what everyone thinks of me or Dom as the Don. We have done absolutely nothing.”

With the subject brought up, Dominick furrowed his brows. “I only intended to give you a little punishment. I didn’t expect you to take things so far, to the point of harming my sister.

“In that case, you can reflect on your behavior in the sub-basement. You’re free to go when you stop imagining things.”

I stopped in my tracks, unable to believe my ears.

Was he holding me captive all because of Gia?

No.

I snapped back to reality, realizing that he was trying to stop me from finding out about the wedding two days later.

The imprisonment was a better way to keep things on the down low than sending me away on a trip.

Dominick’s intention was lost on the staff, though. Assuming that Dominick had given up on me, the maids looked at me with greater disdain.

Also missing the plot, Gia said pretentiously, “Isn’t that too harsh on Luna, Dom?”

Dominick ignored Gia’s plea and summoned the men to take me away.

I stood there without putting up a fight, my eyes zeroing in on Dominick callously.

“I have one last question for you. I’ll go once I get an answer.”

Dominick was taken aback, possibly due to my overly flat tone.

“Speak.”

“Is Gia a family member or a lover to you?”