Chapter 2

I didn't sleep that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I woke up in tears. I just lay there, curled up, staring into the darkness until the first light crept in.

In the early morning, Ryan came in. He took off his cold coat and waited until he warmed up before pulling me into his arms.

"Amelia, look," he opened his tablet, "I just bought this estate for you."

On the screen was an estate with stunning views.

"It's a gift for you," his tone carried a childlike pride. "When we're old, we'll spend the rest of our lives there."

His fingers brushed against my cheek, his eyes full of affection. "Amelia, don't take what the doctor said to heart. Whether we can have kids or not, it doesn't change anything. You're all I've ever wanted. I'll love you forever. Even if the Morrison family name ends with me, you're the only one I want."

His eyes were full of hopes for the future, but I knew it would never come.

He went on and on planning our future. A full minute passed before he realized the person in his arms was unusually quiet.

Only soft, muffled sobs broke the silence. He panicked.

"What's wrong? Is your wound hurting again?"

This Mafia boss, a man who could strike fear into anyone in Sicily, who never flinched in the face of danger—right now, he was shaking, completely lost because of my tears.

If I felt even a bit of pain, he'd wish he could bear it a hundred times over for me. As long as someone was "his own," he'd give them everything—or at least, that's the Ryan I used to think I knew.

I forced out a pale smile and lifted my hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of my eyes.

"It's nothing," I lied, my voice hoarse. "Just the wound hurting a bit. I had a nightmare. Dreamed that you didn't want me anymore."

He visibly relaxed, a doting smile playing at his lips. "Silly girl, that's something that will never happen. No one in this world can take you away from me."

He cupped my face and wiped away my tears: "I won't go to the council meeting today. I'll stay here with you."

I shook my head, struggling to suppress the churning in my stomach. "No need, the doctor said I need rest. And... my family is coming to see me and Susan later. You should go do your work. If you're here, my parents will feel awkward."

Ryan hesitated, but he never liked going against my wishes, especially when I was hurt.

"Alright, I'll come back later then." He kissed my forehead and left the room.

Not long after he left, familiar footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Through the crack in the door, I saw my parents carrying boxes of supplements.

I was the one lying here, hurt and weak after losing so much blood, but they didn't even look my way. Instead, they headed straight to Susan's room next door.

Through the half-open door, their conversation carried clearly to my sharp ears.

"Susan, you've suffered so much." That was my mother's voice, with a tenderness I'd never heard before.

My father's voice was cold and calculating: "Amelia was hurt before, so it'll be hard for her to have kids again. Ryan's loyal—he won't leave her. But the Morrison family's empire can't go without an heir. Susan, the baby you're carrying is our family's ticket to having real power over Ryan and his family resources. We'll all help you keep this secret until the baby is born."

I lay on the cold hospital bed, my nails digging deep into my palms.

So that's how it is. So even a biological daughter isn't as important as overwhelming power.

I don't know how much time passed before my door finally opened.

It wasn't my parents who came in—it was Susan.

She wore a loose hospital gown, her hand gently protecting her still-flat belly, her eyes frighteningly bright. The eyes of a victor.

Her gaze finally landed on the tablet that was still lit up—still showing the estate Ryan had given me.

"Amelia, you're so lucky," she said with a light laugh as she walked to my bedside. "Ryan really loves you. Even though you're a useless woman who can't have children, he's still willing to pamper you."

I looked at her coldly, saying nothing.

Susan didn't seem to mind my coldness. She leaned down, bringing her face close to my ear, and spoke in a voice only the two of us could hear:

"But Amelia, you need to understand something. No matter how expensive a gift is, it's just a dead object. No matter how many islands or jewels he gives you, it means nothing."

She straightened up, her lips curving into a cruel and twisted arc:

"Because my child is the Morrison family's only bloodline. You don't know what Ryan just gave me... oh no, what he gave our baby, do you?"

"He just signed documents transferring fifty-one percent of the Morrison family's core arms group to this unborn child. As a gift."