Chapter 1

One month before my wedding to Vincent Moretti, he told me he wanted to have a child with another woman.

I refused, but he brought it up every single day.

Then, two weeks before the wedding, I received an ultrasound photo.

That's when I found out that his savior, the woman he owed his life to—Serafina—was already nearly a month pregnant.

He never planned on asking for my permission at all.

In that moment, the love I had held for him for years shattered like thin ice on a river.

So, I canceled the wedding. I destroyed every memory we shared, and on the day we were supposed to get married, I walked into a laboratory at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

From that day forward, I was done with him.

…

“I’ve explained this to you a thousand times, Eleanor. Serafina has cancer. She only has a year to live. I owe her my life. If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve died by a rival family’s bullet years ago. Her greatest wish is to leave her family with a child who has Moretti blood. I have to do this for her!”

I had heard those same damn words for a solid month.

The first time Vincent brought up this insane request, I shut it down immediately.

But he was like a predator locked on its prey. He never even considered giving up.

Vincent's attitude shifted from cautiously seeking my understanding to flat-out giving me orders.

It was as if my refusal was a betrayal to the entire Moretti family.

But even if she saved his life, who repays a debt by having a baby with them? This isn't the Middle Ages!

A month of fighting had left me exhausted. I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore. I just looked at the man I had loved for five years, my voice trembling.

“Vince, we’re supposed to be getting married at the Holy Name Cathedral next month. And now you want to have a baby with another woman? What about me? What does that make me?”

It was the first time Vincent had ever seen me so broken, like I was shrouded in the cold mist rolling off Lake Michigan.

His tone softened slightly, shifting into the smooth, controlling gentleness he used when closing a deal.

“Ellie, I know this is hard to accept. But this is a family debt. It’s a matter of honor. I’m the only one who can help Serafina. I can’t let her die with regrets.”

“Besides, we agreed. It’s just IVF. I won’t touch a single hair on her head.”

“You love me. You can understand this, right?”

Hearing that, my heart sank into a bottomless abyss.

I understood. Vincent had already made his decision. Everything he was saying today was a notification, not a negotiation.

My feelings were just a speck of dust in his vast empire, completely insignificant.

Vincent was about to say more, but his phone rang, cutting him off.

He glanced at the screen, then immediately stood up and walked into his soundproof study.

I watched him go, a bitter smile on my lips.

Vincent and I grew up together in Chicago's South Side. From elementary school through college, our lives were intertwined.

I knew I loved him since we were kids—the most dazzling and dangerous boy on the block. I was always there for him, silently, but he never seemed to notice.

Then, on the night of our college graduation, he finally saw me. He asked me to be his girlfriend.

You’d think after knowing each other for over twenty years, we’d be inseparable as a couple.

But in the five years we were together, I never once touched his phone. He always stepped away to take calls.

I remember once he had a gunshot wound and was lying in bed with a high fever. Encrypted messages kept popping up on his phone.

I was worried the sound would bother him, so I just wanted to put it on silent.

The second my finger touched the screen, his eyes flew open. His gray eyes were filled with ice-cold suspicion as he snapped, "What are you doing?"

No matter how I explained, he didn't believe me.

That night, I curled up on the living room couch alone.

I told myself it was just his nature as the Moretti family heir. I believed that one day, I would earn his complete trust.

But five years passed, and nothing changed.

And now, he was having a baby with another woman, without a single thought for me, his future wife.

When Vincent came out of the study, his face was lit up with joy. He grabbed his Armani jacket from the sofa and headed for the door.

“I have to go out for a bit. Think about what I said.”

I listened to his hurried footsteps fade away, my heart a dead, silent weight in my chest.

The only person who could make him move that fast was Serafina.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Serafina’s Instagram story updated.

When I clicked on it and zoomed in, I nearly collapsed.