Chapter 2

I wiped the tears from my face and gazed out at the gloomy sky.

Perhaps the only thing worth being grateful for was that Alexander and I were finally going to end this ridiculous marriage.

Just as I was lost in thought, my phone suddenly rang.

Alexander's name flashed across the screen.

The moment I answered, his furious voice came through.

"Elena, did you go running to my grandfather to complain about me again?"

"Do you have any idea how badly you've ruined my precious time alone with Isabella?"

He paused briefly, and his voice turned even colder.

"I'm warning you. Stop playing these little games. Otherwise, I'll cut off your mother's medical expenses immediately!"

Under different circumstances, I would have panicked and rushed to explain myself. I might even have lowered my voice and apologized.

To keep my mother's treatment from being interrupted, I'd always done everything I could to calm his temper.

But this time, I simply replied in an even voice.

"Do whatever you want."

Silence fell over the other end of the line for several seconds.

Clearly, Alexander hadn't expected that reaction.

Soon, he let out a cold laugh.

"What? Having a baby made you brave?"

"Don't forget, I'm the future heir of the Moretti family. As long as you're still on my territory, I have countless ways to make you regret crossing me."

I closed my eyes.

I'd already experienced all the so-called ways he could punish me.

The first time I discovered he was cheating on me, I'd naively gone to Vito, hoping the family Don would stand up for me and give me justice.

But instead of receiving fairness, I'd only provoked Alexander into taking his revenge even further.

He used my mother's medical expenses to threaten me, forcing me to cross several rival-controlled territories alone in the middle of the night just to retrieve a document he'd left at a private club.

I was already pregnant at the time. My body could barely withstand such physical strain.

Yet he forbade me from using any of the family's vehicles and wouldn't allow the security personnel to help me.

It was snowing heavily that night. My shoes had rubbed my feet raw until they were covered in blood. Frost clung to my hair, and my body had grown so cold that I could barely feel anything.

Meanwhile, Alexander spent the entire night enjoying himself at a luxury hotel with his mistress.

By the time I finally returned to the estate with the document, he didn't even spare me a glance.

He was sitting in the hotel's top-floor restaurant, enjoying an elaborate breakfast with his lover.

That was when I learned to stay silent.

No matter how many women he brought home or how cruelly he humiliated me, I pretended not to notice.

I desperately maintained the dignity expected of the future heir's wife, doing everything I could to play the part of a respectable lady of the family.

But now, my mother was dead.

My baby hadn't survived either.

I had nothing left to make me endure this any longer.

"Alexander, there's nothing left for us to talk about."

With that, I hung up and set my phone aside.

Then I contacted an acquaintance at a funeral home to arrange my mother's cremation.

When I returned to my hospital room, I found Alexander standing at the door.

He frowned as he looked me over, his eyes filled with mockery.

"What happened? Not pretending to be pitiful anymore?"

"You just gave birth, yet you're already running around everywhere. Looks like you're recovering quite well."

He walked toward me as he spoke.

"I've decided to let Isabella move into the estate. She's been spoiled her entire life and doesn't know how to do any housework."

"Get your discharge papers as soon as possible and go back to take care of her."

He stopped in front of me, wearing a malicious smile.

"Aren't you so good at serving people? Then you can put that talent to use again."

He seemed to be looking forward to seeing me break down.

"Besides, I find your miserable expressions incredibly entertaining."

I simply stared at him in silence.

Gradually, the smile disappeared from Alexander's face.

Apparently dissatisfied with my indifference, he suddenly turned and stopped a passing nurse.

"Where's the baby? Is it a boy or a girl? Bring him here."

The nurse froze, looking uncertain.

I explained softly.

"Mr. Vito has already taken the baby."

Alexander was about to ask another question when his phone rang.

He answered it, but within seconds, his expression changed dramatically.

The next moment, he spun around and slapped me hard across the face.

"Elena! What the hell did you do to Isabella?"

"If anything happens to her, I swear I'll never forgive you!"

I was already terribly weak. The slap sent me stumbling backward, and my back slammed hard against the bed rail.

The nurse rushed forward to catch me.

"Mr. Moretti! She just barely survived! You can't treat her like this!"

But Alexander wasn't listening.

All he could think about was Isabella.

He turned and hurried out of the room without even looking back at me.

The nurse stared at me with sympathy.

I simply lowered my head and straightened my disheveled clothes.

I'd been through scenes like this far too many times over the past seven years.

The things that had once shattered my heart could no longer stir even the slightest emotion in me.

My love, my anger, and my expectations had all been worn away by one betrayal after another.