Chapter 2

I did not want any complications before my lawyer formally filed the divorce papers, so I stepped forward and blocked Lucian's view.

“It's getting late.”

“Since Bianca is officially entering the compound today, she should complete the proper formalities first.”

“We wouldn't want to delay your celebration tonight.”

Only then did Lucian look away from the folder.

His expression softened with approval.

“As always, the Donna thinks of everything.”

Bianca rested one hand on her swollen belly and called Lucian's name in a soft, coaxing voice.

Lucian understood what she wanted immediately.

Under the rules of the DeLuca compound, a mistress meeting the Donna for the first time after receiving the Don's public protection was expected to kneel on one knee and offer her a glass.

The gesture acknowledged the Donna's authority within the family.

Lucian picked up the wine from the table, replaced it with alcohol-free sparkling wine, and placed the glass in Bianca's hand himself.

Then he spoke in a tone that allowed no argument.

“Bianca is carrying my child. She isn't steady on her feet.”

“She doesn't need to kneel. She can offer the toast while standing.”

A mistress who refused to kneel was refusing to acknowledge the Donna's position.

By allowing Bianca to remain standing, Lucian was showing everyone that the Don himself had given her permission to challenge my authority.

When Lucian's mother was still alive, I had also been pregnant.

She disliked me and refused to acknowledge everything the Valenti family had done for her son.

Every night, she forced me to kneel on the cold stone floor of the family chapel and pray. She also made me copy the entire Book of Psalms by hand.

My legs became so swollen that I could barely stand.

I begged Lucian to help me.

He told me that respecting his mother was part of my duty as his wife.

No matter how exhausted I was, I was expected to endure it.

Eventually, I lost consciousness inside the chapel.

When I woke, I had already lost our child.

It was not that Lucian was incapable of tenderness.

He simply had none for me.

I accepted the sparkling wine Bianca offered and dismissed them soon afterward.

The moment Bianca stepped through the doorway, she complained that her legs hurt.

Lucian immediately bent down and lifted her into his arms.

He held her securely and walked with measured steps so she would not feel the slightest jolt.

After I lost our child, Lucian had taken me to a Catholic chapel to light a memorial candle.

He had held my hand then, walking with the same steady steps.

When Mara returned from the lawyer's office, she could not stop smiling.

She stood beside me and repeatedly assured me that the lawyer had accepted the papers and that the formal proceedings were underway.

In my last life, after Lucian shot me, he left my body inside the room and ordered his men to guard Mara.

Mara escaped through a maintenance passage behind the compound, intending to reach the Valenti family and ask for help.

Lucian caught her before she could get away.

He ordered his soldiers to take her to the basement for questioning. Afterward, she was executed.

By the time I learned what had happened, she was already dead.

Looking at Mara now, alive and standing in front of me, I could not stop my eyes from filling with tears.

She assumed I was upset about the divorce.

Mara pulled me into her arms and gently patted my back.

“New York is full of heirs and young capos.”

“Don Valenti will have no trouble finding you someone far better than Lucian.”

She made me laugh, and I reached for her hand.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the room.

A flushed maid rushed toward Bianca's rooms in the east wing, carrying a stack of fresh sheets and towels.

Mara looked away in disgust.

“She has barely entered the compound, and she's already determined to make sure everyone knows.”

Something suddenly returned to me.

In my last life, I had not left Lucian's side immediately after my death.

During that strange period, I had seen the child Bianca delivered.

The boy looked nothing like Lucian.

I turned to Mara.

“Find out which men Bianca had contact with before she entered the compound.”

“I also want the name of every doctor who has examined her during this pregnancy.”

Bianca did not come to my room until almost noon the following day.

She made no attempt to hide the marks on her neck. She merely rubbed her forehead as though exhausted.

“Donna Vivienne, I hope you'll forgive me for coming so late.”

“Lucian was so passionate last night that the servants had to change the sheets five times. I could barely get out of bed this morning.”

I took Bianca's hand with an expression of concern and turned to Mara.

“A pregnancy this far along should not be put under that kind of strain.”

“Mara, bring in the doctor. Bianca should be examined.”

Bianca smiled smugly and ran a hand over her belly.

Then she saw Dr. Elias Hart hurrying into the room.

Every trace of color vanished from her face.