Five years ago, I was his life and I thought we would be the end game until Rosalin, his new assistant, seeped into our life.

It began with urgent late night meetings. Our dinner conversations, once filled with shared secrets and soft laughter, were replaced by the rhythmic tapping of his thumbs against his phone. He stopped looking at me across the table, his gaze permanently fixed on the glowing screen as he replied to her "emergency" texts.

When I’d walk into his office, the air would turn brittle. He’d stop talking mid-sentence, Rosalin leaning over his shoulder with a look that wasn't professional.

But the breaking point was when he left me waiting for six hours on our anniversary Gala to celebrate Rosaline’s birthday.

“We got occupied with something, Victoria.” He said, “Rosaline has brought cake for you. It was her birthday as well.”

Just then a notification came into my phone. It was Rosaline’s post. She had posted a picture minutes before entering the gala.

She was sitting in a seven-star hotel, the one I asked Jayden to book for our Anniversary but he refused after saying it was full.

She had been cutting her birthday cake surrounded by red candles’ flames and a pair of hands had cupped hers. Jayden’s hands.

He had ghosted our Anniversary Gala to celebrate Rosaline’s birthday!

That was when I realised, I had no future with this man.

I will disappear from his world, taking his child with me.

I was in a fit of rage. But, before I could speak anything, he filled my mouth with her peanut cake, completely forgetting that I was allergic to peanuts.

I coughed until the blood gushed out of my throat. His eyes turned dark, not in concern but pure fury.

He thought I was pretending just because I didn't like Rosaline.

If one of our security guards hadn't taken me to the hospital on time, I would have died coughing up blood.

That's when I called my mother and said, “Mom, I’m ready for the marriage arrangement you and Dad made for me.”

“Are you sure? No more chasing your mafia boyfriend?” My mother sounded shocked and in disbelief. There was a brief moment of silence between us before I spoke in a firm voice, “Tell Dad to stop supplying weapons to Jayden. I’m done with him.”

While Jayden had been fighting in the race to become the next Godfather of the Mafia world, my family had been helping him in supplying the weapons despite having retired from this dark world, just for my sake.

“You have made the right decision, Victoria.” My mother replied, “A man who never once thought of a wedding and had been only using your resources for five years is a parasite. He doesn't deserve you, honey.”

“Your Dad has fixed your wedding to Marcus Lightwood. Out of all the marriage proposals we received this year, this is the best. Do you have any wishes or your own thoughts about the wedding? Just tell us, and we will arrange it, sweetheart. And if you want to meet him in person-”

“No need.” I cut her off, “Just make it simple and quick. I want to be done with it as soon as possible.”

After I hung up the call, I was stunned to see Jayden standing right behind me. He looked stunned.

“Who was on the call?” He asked, “I heard you mentioned a wedding?”

I stared at him for a while. For a brief moment, I saw the panic and fear in the pair of eyes that remained calm even facing the most brutal rivals.

“It was my Mom. She is inviting me to attend a cousin’s wedding.” I replied, and he believed it.

I did not intend to tell him the truth. That it was my own wedding, something he never thought I needed.

“About last night…” he began, his eyes reflecting guilt and concern, “I didn't know the cake would be that fatal to you. If I knew that I wouldn't-”

“It's okay.” I cut him off, “You are always busy with your work, it's natural for you to forget about my allergies.”

It wasn't!

Back when we began dating, he had informed the entire hotels and restaurants of the city to evacuate peanuts from their recipes in case we dined there and I mistakenly ate peanuts.

I also remember the day when a new chef in the city wasn't aware of this rule, and I happened to barge into his restaurant. I had taken just a slight bite of the peanut cookies and immediately vomited. Jayden had his men destroy his brand-new cafe and beat him so much that he ended up hospitalized for months.

It had been me secretly sending money for his recovery and his family’s expenses.

It was rare for a man like Jayden to actually forget I was allergic to peanuts.

He opened his mouth to speak further, perhaps a few more words of apologies. But then his phone rang. Though he tried to hide the name flashing on his screen, I read it.

It was Rose with a heart emoji.

He quickly rushed out to attend the call, telling me while walking, “I have an urgent meeting to attend, Victoria. I’ll be back at night.”

In the urgency of talking to Rosaline, he didn't notice the luggage that was placed by my side. I was already going to leave him.

I was leaving, but I couldn’t just vanish without saying goodbye to Matthew. He had been my only real friend in this world of blood and shadows—the only one who saw me as Victoria, not just "The Don’s Woman."

I met him at a quiet bistro on the edge of the city, far from the neon lights of Jayden’s territory.

"You're really doing it?" Matthew whispered, his eyes scanning my face for any hint of hesitation. "Marrying a Lightwood? You have wasted the prime years of youth on Jayden. You loved him madly."

“It's still better than wasting my entire life on someone who doesn't even know my worth.”

I handed him a small, sealed envelope. "This is for you. In case Jayden tries to freeze your accounts for being loyal to me. It’s enough to get you out of the country."

"I don't want your money, Vic. I want you to be safe."

I gave him a sad, lingering smile. "Then wish me luck."

As we walked out of the bistro, the cool night air hit my face, smelling of rain and asphalt. But the air turned stagnant the moment I saw a familiar black SUV idling at the curb.

The door opened, and Jayden stepped out. But he wasn't alone.

Rosaline was leaning heavily against him. Jayden’s arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, his body shielding hers from the wind. He was focused entirely on her, his head tilted down as he whispered something in her ear, his expression etched with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

"Careful, Rose," Jayden murmured, his voice carrying in the quiet street. "Just a few more steps. I've got you."

He was helping her walk, his hand clutching a small medical bag. It looked like she had "sprained" an ankle or suffered some minor "emergency" that required his full, undivided attention.

I stood frozen on the sidewalk. Marcus moved instinctively to step in front of me, but I put a hand on his arm.

Jayden finally looked up. When his eyes met mine, he didn't pull away from Rosaline. Instead, his grip on her seemed to tighten defensively.

"Victoria? What are you doing in this part of town?" he asked, his tone shifting to that familiar, impatient edge.

"I came to meet my friend," I said, my gaze dropping to his hand on Rosaline’s hip. “I suppose you were at a meeting, handling some important work. Now I see what work it was.”

"Don't start with the attitude, Victoria. Not today. Rosaline had a fall at the office—a serious one. I had to leave the meeting to take care of her because she has no one else in this city. Unlike you, she actually appreciates the help.” He spat.

"Jayden, it hurts," Rosaline whined, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. She shot me a look over his shoulder—a sharp, victorious glint that vanished the moment he looked down at her.

"I know, I know. We’re almost at the car," Jayden said softly to her. Then, he looked at me, his eyes landing on Matthew. His jaw tightened. "And who is this? Is this why you’ve been so distant lately? Meeting men in the shadows while I’m out working?"

The irony was so thick I could nearly choke on it. He was literally holding another woman in his arms, yet he dared to question my loyalty.

"He’s a friend, Jayden. Something you wouldn't understand," I said, my voice devoid of emotion.

"Go home," Jayden commanded. "I’ll be back late. I need to make sure Rosaline is settled in and her injury is tended to. We’ll talk about your 'friend' then."

He turned back to her, hoisting her up more comfortably as he helped her into the passenger seat of his SUV. He didn't wait for my answer. He didn't even notice that I wasn't wearing my engagement ring.

"Let's go, Matthew," I said, turning my back on them.

"You aren't going to tell him?" Marcus asked as we reached my car.

"Tell him what? That I'm leaving?" I looked back one last time. Jayden was leaning into the car, gently adjusting a pillow behind Rosaline’s head. He looked like the perfect, devoted partner.

"No," I whispered. "He made his choice. By the time he realizes I’m gone, I’ll already be a Lightwood. And he’ll be just another ghost from my past."

I got into the driver's seat and started the engine. And as I reached home, my phone buzzed with a notification. Rosaline had posted a picture on social media, showing a man’s hands wrapped around her ankle, giving her a foot massage.

[Just a minor sprain on my ankle. But he insisted on staying to look after me. The greenest flag ever!]

There was something that broke inside. Perhaps the last string of hope. My doctor’s voice echoed in my head when I barely survived the cake the other night.

“You should be careful of your allergies now that you are pregnant, Miss Victoria. Please do not eat casually.”

That was when I realised I had missed my period. And that was also why I decided to leave Jayden as soon as possible.

He deserved none of this. Neither I, nor the baby, his entire family was seeking to.

The glow of the phone screen was a neon brand against my skin. I sat in the shadows of my car, staring at the photo Rosaline had just flaunted to the world.

The caption—“The greenest flag ever!”—was a jagged insult. Those hands, scarred from brass knuckles and stained with the grease of semi-automatics, were now kneading her skin with a reverence they once reserved only for me.

I scrolled through the comments, each one a nail in the coffin of my past life.

“OMG! The hand that sends people to hell is giving someone a foot massage.”

“Is this our mafia lord’s new Queen? Finally, a woman with some fire!”

“Match made in heaven. The previous one was too soft for the underworld. Out with the old.”

A cold, hollow laugh escaped me. They called me "soft" because I was the one who stitched Jayden’s wounds in the dark so his men wouldn’t see him bleed. I was the one who balanced the ledgers that kept the Commission off his back.

I remembered three years ago, when a rival family sent a hit squad to our dinner. Jayden hadn't ducked for cover; he had flipped the table, shielding me with his own body while emptying a clip into the rafters. Afterward, he had wiped the blood off my cheek with a trembling hand, whispering that I was the only thing in this world worth keeping pure.

Then came Rosaline.

Slowly, the "purity" he wanted for me turned into an exile. She started handling the sensitive documents. She started riding shotgun in the armored SUV. She became the face at his side during the sit-downs, while I became a ghost haunting the halls of his estate. He didn't want to keep me safe; he wanted to keep me sidelined.

Gradually, I became the name no one remembered.

I walked into the house, the heavy marble silence feeling like a tomb. My hand instinctively pressed against my stomach. Pregnant.

I was carrying the heir to the most powerful weapon-running company in the Tri-State area—a company that, as of ten minutes ago, no longer had any weapons to sell.

There wasn't much time when Jayden would realize his golden days were over, along with me. But by then, I would have my baby protected. He won't be part of the bloody war that was coming next.

I marched into the nursery—we prepared this together a long time ago.

It was a hidden room, reinforced with steel and lined with the finest silks. We had built it in secret, a sanctuary for the "Little Prince or Princess" of the Outfit. On the wall hung a shadowbox containing the first pair of tiny leather boots Jayden had bought, alongside a hundred more, each one the first piece auctioned from the most luxurious brands.

He wanted to surprise our baby with a wardrobe in which each dress and piece of footwear we had collected together from the famous designers of the whole world.

But, all a waste! My baby was not going to wear them or even look at them.

With a low snarl, I grabbed a kerosene oil container and sprinkled it everywhere. I grabbed the custom-made silk blanket embroidered with the family crest and put it into the fire first, watching the symbol of Jayden’s lineage curl and blacken in the heat.

"What the hell is this sacrilege?!"

The door hit the wall with the force of a gunshot. Jayden stood there, his eyes bloodshot, his silk tie loosened like a noose. He looked at the wreckage of the room—the room he had called his "only legacy."

He lunged forward, grabbing my shoulders with hands that smelled of Rosaline’s perfume and expensive gin.

"Victoria, stop! This is the sanctum!" he roared, his voice vibrating with the raw authority of a Don. "Why are you destroying our child's room?”

“There is no child, Jayden!” I said, looking firmly into his eyes.

Ever since Rosaline arrived, Jayden was too busy to share a bed with me. He would often come late at night and leave early in the morning.

If not for that one day when he was drunk and actually slept with me, I wouldn't have been pregnant.

“Do you remember the last time you came on time, Jayden?” I asked, “How is our child supposed to come into this world when you haven't even touched me for a year?”

But he shoved me aside. His focus was only on the silks that were slowly turning into ashes.

“How could you do this, Victoria!” He cried, grabbing the fire extinguisher to put out the fire, “We built this together! These were the rare collections we have collected, every single piece.”