I was doted to the bone by the mafia heir, Leonardo — he took bullets for me, endured 99 lashes, and promised to take me to see the Southern Sea that never freezes!

But he let Zoe get pregnant with his child.

He accused me of causing Ella’s pollen allergy, and even gave the only keepsake left by my mother — a bracelet — to Zoe as an apology.

He said, "It’s just a bracelet."

During an argument, he shoved me down, causing my head to bleed, yet he rushed to the hospital with Zoe, not even bothering to look back at me.

I lay in the hospital getting stitches, and his suit still carried Zoe’s perfume. He yelled at me, "You followed me to the hospital to cause trouble!" My heart shattered, yet he still lied to me, "I only love you. After this fake wedding, I’ll take you away!"

(Chloe’s POV)

I dialed Don's number.

I tried to keep my voice steady as I said, "I’m willing to leave Leonardo Ferraro. But I have one condition: I want you to send me to a place where he’ll never find me."

On the other end of the line, Don Liam Ferraro let out a satisfied laugh. "If you had recognized this sooner, things would have been different. After spending a night in Black Gate, you’ve finally realized your place. A girl like you, an orphan, is not worthy of marrying the heir of the Ferraro family."

His voice was full of disdain.

"In five days, at the family banquet, we’ll make all the arrangements for you to leave. At that time, you’d better never show up before Leonardo again."

The phone call suddenly ended, and I leaned against the cold wall of the mansion.

In the hall, Leonardo gently let his daughter, Ella Ferraro, tug at his curly hair.

Zoe leaned against his shoulder, a smile of tenderness and satisfaction on her face.

This perfect family of three looked so happy and complete.

The sight before me felt like a bullet shot straight into my chest.

"Miss Hayes, you’re back?" Zoe Johnson was the first to notice me.

Immediately, she shielded Ella behind her, telling a servant to take the child upstairs.

Their wary gazes pierced through me, sharp as knives.

The man who had once said, "I will only acknowledge the child you carry," now looked at me as if I were a murderer.

Once Ella was taken away, Leonardo approached, reaching out to check on me.

He asked, "You’re back? Did you get hurt in Black Gate?"

Looking at the man who had once taken 99 lashes for me, bitterness welled up in my chest. I avoided his touch.

He furrowed his brow. "Chloe Hayes, you know the situation from last night. The more I protect you, the harsher the punishment from my father. With your background, they might even handle you... secretly."

"We’ll be leaving soon, I don’t want any more complications. And Ella is innocent. Why did you—"

"I told you, I didn’t do it," I shouted, tears welling in my eyes. "Ella is allergic to pollen! How could I use such a thing to harm her?"

Leonardo seemed startled by my intense reaction. He paused for a moment before softening his tone. "Alright, alright, it’s over now. As long as Ella’s fine."

His voice had that indulgent tone, as if I were a naughty child.

He still didn’t believe me.

As we stood there in tense silence, Zoe walked over, gently touching her slightly rounded belly.

"Miss Hayes, I owe you an apology. I was panicking at the time. You don’t understand a mother’s instinct to protect her child."

She lifted a hand to brush back a strand of hair, her gemstone bracelet gleaming with a blue light.

My mind went blank. Instinctively, I grabbed her wrist. "Where did you get that bracelet?"

"I gave her that. Zoe likes classic jewelry," he answered casually, pulling my hand away. "Consider it a peace offering for you. Besides, it’s just a bracelet."

I trembled with anger. "This is the only keepsake my mother left me! How could you just give it away? Do you know how important it is to me?"

I reached out to snatch it back, but Zoe suddenly stumbled back a few steps, clutching her belly and groaning in pain. "My belly..."

Leonardo immediately pushed me away roughly, his eyes turning extremely cold: "Chloe, she's pregnant with my child. Haven't you caused enough trouble?" "

His force was so strong that I plopped down on the ground and hit the back of my head against a corner of the table.

But Leonardo didn’t even glance back at me. He hurriedly picked up Zoe and rushed out, his arms around her.

"Leonardo..." Zoe leaned into his embrace, her voice weak. "Our baby... will be okay, right?"

"Don’t worry, I’m here," he soothed gently, each word feeling like a needle in my ears. "You’ll be fine, and the baby will be fine."

(Chloe's POV)

When Leonardo rushed out of the mansion with Zoe in his arms, I was still sitting on the marble floor, blood dripping from the back of my head down my neck.

I watched him run toward the car fleet, feeling extremely anxious, but he never turned back.

Suddenly, I remembered—he used to be this anxious about me.

Back then, when I had just arrived in the North’s mafia territory, working as a nurse in a private clinic, learning first-aid while making a living, I met Leonardo for the first time when I was surrounded by a few street thugs. He stepped in to save me.

To protect me, he took a bullet in his thigh.

I had learned first aid, and I stayed up for three days and nights to care for him, until his wound stopped inflaming.

From then on, he often appeared at the clinic door.

One night, after working late, he walked in and handed me a bank card. "Leave with me. You don’t need to live this hard anymore."

I pushed the card back to him. "No, sir. I can live on my own, I don’t feel hard."

He silently stared at me for a long time, then handed me a business card. "Leonardo Ferraro. I’ll come back tomorrow."

The next day, he really arrived, driving a black Maybach.

I refused his roses, but he airlifted fresh ones every day, filling the clinic to the point where the door couldn't even open;

I refused to ride in his Maybach, so he walked with me for an hour or two on the muddy roads of the slums.

I refused once, he came back a second, third, and fourth time...

I didn’t have no feeling at all, but I clearly understood the distance between us.

I couldn’t, and didn’t dare to, let myself fall for him.

Until one day, to protect me, he was splashed with acid by a competitor, leaving terrifying scars on his back.

He trembled in pain, but still smiled at me: "Chloe, now I have scars. You have to take responsibility for me."

At that moment, I completely fell.

After agreeing to be with him, he spoiled me like a princess.

I cut my hand, and he called a private doctor in the middle of the night;

I had menstrual pain, and he stayed up all night to rub my belly;

I tripped and scraped my skin, and he carried me to the hospital, his hands trembling the whole way.

I laughed and said, "I’m a doctor myself. Why so exaggerated?"

But he insisted: "A doctor can’t treat themselves. What if it gets infected? What if the bone is injured?"

He even wanted me to get a CT scan.

And now—

I looked down at the blood on the floor and suddenly laughed, bitter and tragic.

Later, I took a taxi to the hospital alone.

The doctor saw that my injury was severe and immediately stitched me up.

By the time I finished, I had lost too much blood to stand steady.

Just as I was leaving the examination room, someone grabbed me roughly.

"Chloe!"

Leonardo shouted, his eyes sharp as knives, "Zoe almost miscarried, and you’re still not giving up? You came to the hospital to cause a scene?"

His suit was soaked in Zoe’s perfume.

"I didn’t come to the hospital for her."

I pointed to the bandaged forehead. "I’m hurt and couldn’t handle it."

He froze.

Finally, he smelled the blood that the disinfectant couldn’t cover, saw the blood still seeping through the thick bandage.

"What happened here?"

He reached out to touch me, but I turned away.

"You pushed me."

I said calmly, "I hit the corner of the table. To you, it’s just a little anger, isn’t it?"

His pupils contracted sharply.

Guiltily, he pulled me into his arms. "Chloe, I’m sorry. I was just afraid something would happen to Zoe. She’s carrying the future of the family. If anything goes wrong, Don won’t let us go, and our plan to leave here will keep getting delayed—"

I had heard these excuses too many times.

"I understand."

I pushed him away. "Go take care of her."

I turned around, but he grabbed my wrist. "Chloe, trust me. I only love you. I’m doing all this to take you away from this cage as soon as possible."

He gently touched my bandages. "I’ll have Kane take you home. Don’t let the wound get wet."

Kane Brown, his most trusted butler.

Leonardo let go of me, and before he left, he said, "I’ll bring your favorite cranberry cupcakes home."

He walked toward the VIP ward where Zoe was receiving the best treatment from the family doctor.

I stood still, watching his figure disappear.

Suddenly, I laughed, but the tears kept flowing.

"I won’t trust you anymore..."

I whispered, as if to the air, or to my heart, which was dying.

"Leonardo, I’ll never believe any of your promises again."

(Chloe’s POV)

When I woke up again, I was met with a sea of white.

My head throbbed with intense pain.

"Chloe!" Leonardo rushed over, his eyes bloodshot, filled with exhaustion. "You’re awake? Does your head still hurt?"

"You suddenly passed out at the hospital."

Looking at his anxious face, I suddenly felt a sense of confusion.

In the past, when I had a common cold, he would always stay by my side, never leaving.

But this time, it was his fault, and he hadn’t regretted it from the beginning to the end.

I silently pulled my hand back, unwilling to look at him.

Leonardo froze for a moment before explaining again. "Zoe, it’s not that I didn’t want to stop Father, but the more I resist, the worse the punishment will be. It won’t just be Black Gate; I must protect your life first."

"So," I said in a hoarse voice, "You also believe that I hurt your child?"

Leonardo’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, but he chose to remain silent.

This moment of silence felt like a dull knife, cruelly slicing through my last bit of hope.

With red eyes, I slowly said, "I only ask you one question: Leonardo Ferraro, do you believe in me, in the name of God?"

Leonardo furrowed his brows, his voice filled with anger. "Chloe, Ella’s allergic reaction, Zoe also pointed fingers at you, how can I believe you?"

"Didn’t I tell you to just wait until it’s all over? Why did you have to provoke Zoe?"

My tears suddenly fell.

I thought I wouldn’t hurt anymore, but my chest still felt like it was being ripped apart. I quickly turned away, not wanting him to see me in such a vulnerable and broken state.

"Let’s go," I whispered so faintly that it was almost inaudible.

"Wait a bit, okay?" His voice softened as he tried to get closer again. "Soon, when Zoe gives birth to this child, we’ll definitely leave. I swear, I’ll take you to see the Southern Sea that never freezes."

Can we go back to the past?

I closed my eyes, my throat tightening. I knew very well that we could never go back. After all, he now had Zoe and two children. For them, he hurt me time and time again, choosing others over me.

I slowly turned my back to him, not wanting to say another word.

Leonardo looked at me, his face filled with pain. In the end, he only reached out and brushed my hair, softly saying, "Sleep. I’ll be here with you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door was pushed open by a maid from Zoe’s side. "Mr. Leonardo, Zoe has been crying and asking for you. The doctor says emotional fluctuations might hurt the baby..."

Leonardo frowned. He glanced at my turned back, hesitated for a moment, then stood up. "Chloe, I..."

I gave a self-mocking laugh and mumbled, "Go."

"Wait for me, I’ll go check on them and come back to take care of you."

Watching him leave, I bitterly smiled. "Leonardo, you’re lying. You won’t come back."

Sure enough, that night, he never came back.

The next day, when I was discharged from the hospital, it was pouring rain outside.

I packed my things and stood at the hospital door. Leonardo texted me, asking me to wait for him.

I waited for a long time, until the rain got heavier, and the sky turned completely dark.

Leonardo had promised to come pick me up, but he never appeared.

My phone died.

Watching the sky darken and the rain showing no signs of stopping, I had no choice but to open the heavy umbrella and start walking home.

The wind nearly snapped the umbrella frame as I staggered forward.

Suddenly, I slipped and fell heavily into a puddle.

The umbrella made a crisp sound, cracked, and rainwater soaked me completely.

By the time I made it home, drenched and miserable, it was already late at night.

I stood in the hallway, hearing Zoe’s crying voice coming from the living room.

Her voice was soft and trembling. "Leonardo, I know you only have Chloe in your heart... but the situation is special now. I... My milk ducts are clogged, it hurts, and Ella has been crying for milk."

She sobbed, "The usual methods don’t work, the doctor said... maybe we need the father of the child... to help. Do it for Ella, please help me. Don’t worry, Chloe will never know..."

I froze at the door, feeling all the blood in my body freeze.

In the living room, I couldn’t see his face, only his tense back.

After a long silence, I saw Leonardo’s left hand slowly raise, his fingertips brushing aside Zoe’s clothes, his right hand caressing her her chest.