Chapter 3

Bianca looked down at me, her red lips curling into a nasty smirk.

Inside my head, Cupid erupted a childish scream.

[Bloodline my foot! Who wants to grow in your stinking belly? You dumb woman, let me out!]

Suddenly, a loud thud echoed through the hall.

A wooden cane struck the marble floor.

The crowd instantly parted.

An older woman walked into the light.

It was Rosa Moretti, Dante’s mother.

"You have a lot of mouth for a girl from a minor family!"

Bianca stiffened. "Mrs. Moretti, I am carrying Dante’s heir—"

"You are carrying an attitude," Rosa cut her off sharply.

Rosa turned her sharp gaze away from Bianca and landed directly on me.

She looked at my plain face, my simple dress, and my body.

"What's your name, brave girl?"

"Nina." I tried to keep my voice calm.

Then, Rosa looked at her son.

"Dante, if Nina want, why don't you let her bear you a child?"

Inside my head, Cupid cheered like crazy.

[Yes! The old lady has good eyes! She knows what is up!]

[I'll pack bags, Nina, ready to welcome me!]

Joy rushed through me, followed immediately by cold fear.

Could I really do it?

What if I could never give a baby?

Bianca was shaking with anger.

She hated children. But she could never tolerate losing Dante to another woman.

She pressed her hand firmly against her stomach and raised her chin.

"You think she can replace me?"

"It’s not impossible for me to reluctantly bear this child, but you will meet my terms."

"I want the title of your legal wife."

"I want this child be declared your sole legal heir before the entire family."

"And the most important, I want half of the syndicate’s power in writing "

Gasps broke out across the room.

Several capos slammed their fists on the tables.

"Outrageous! Who does she think she is?"

"A girl asking for half the syndicate? Kill her!"

Bianca did not flinch. She knew none of them dared to pull a trigger while she carried Dante’s child.

She turned her sneer back on me.

"A cheap barmaid dreaming of becoming the Don’s woman. Dreaming of carrying a boss’s child?"

"Tell her, Dante. What do you think of this ridiculous joke?"

My throat went dry. I could not speak.

Then, Cupid’s voice exploded in my head again.

[Ridiculous joke? Look at her big horse teeth! She looks like a plucked chicken in that red dress!]

[If I had my hands right now, I would pull her hair out one strand at a time!]

Cupid’s childish cursing was so absurd that I lost control.

A soft chuckle slipped past my lips.

That smile caught Dante’s attention.

He did not spare Bianca a single glance and stepped towards me.

"Nina, I am coming to you tonight."