When news of Tanya Nice's pregnancy is exposed, she's lying next to Luciano Ascrofi, the new Don of the Ascrofi family.

Since the ex-Don has already passed away, the paparazzi decide to make Tanya's pregnancy the next biggest scandal. They keep publishing all the romantic scandals related to her while making speculations about whose baby she will eventually give birth to.

But Luciano doesn't seem to mind at all. His hand is placed over Tanya's flat belly so that he could feel the tiny life growing within her womb.

It's then Tanya rolls on her side to nuzzle into Luciano's chest. Both of them are stuck in an intimate position, as though they are a couple who are madly in love with each other.

But Tanya's gaze remains calm. Her voice is tender as always.

"Will you kill this baby?"

Luciano merely chuckles softly in return. Then, he presses a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't overthink it, my darling stepmother."

The first time Luciano Ascrofi met Tanya Nice, it was in the study of the Don, Paolo Ascrofi.

Tanya was blindingly gorgeous. She stood behind Paolo, wearing a pink dress. Her light brown hair was gathered into a loose bun at the back, with stray strands falling softly. Glossy pearl earrings peeked out subtly.

She was strikingly young and impossible to miss as she stood beside the old man in a black suit.

Luciano withdrew his gaze and bowed deeply to Paolo in a respectful manner.

He was Paolo's perfect underboss but always overshadowed, like a sapling struggling under the shade of a towering, decaying tree.

Luciano got to his feet, while the pretty Tanya smiled at him and bowed a little, revealing her neck.

"Luciano, meet your Madre, Tanya Nice."

Paolo was already in his 50s, but this young lady…

Luciano almost felt as if Paolo wanted to draw the excess energy and vitality from the young girl beside him just to sustain his own aging life.

Yet, Luciano merely flashed a calm smile and held back the urge to sneer. "Madre."

Tanya looked gentle and composed. There was a kind appearance about her.

Her stepson's gaze made her uneasy. She took a step backward, as if to reach for her husband's sleeve, but she held herself back.

"Don Ascrofi, the dock's problem has been solved."

The three moved toward the desk. Quietly, she began pouring coffee for the men with smooth, effortless grace.

When Tanya poured coffee for Luciano, the fitted sleeves of her dress revealed her slender wrists.

Surprisingly, between her beautiful hands and wrists, there was nothing but the wedding ring Paolo gave her. Faint red marks spiraled across her skin, making her hands look fragile.

In fact, the Don of the Ascrofi family wasn't the kind of man to marry just anyone he was madly in love with.

Marrying Tanya, who worked at the red-light district in Jarland, brought him a great deal of criticism. The criticism came not only from his own family but also from other families and even the public.

No one could have imagined that after the Don's previous wife's passing, they would welcome such a replacement.

When that news first broke, Tanya sat in the car as the window slowly rolled up. She wore a pale dress, the flowers at her temples accentuating her delicate features.

Under the paparazzi's cameras, her eyes and brows appeared through the narrow gap as the car window was about to close, soft and luminous like the pearls dangling from her ears.

Like a movie star, she dominated the headlines and trending news for days.

This decision shook the family's business and reputation for a few days. Yet, Paolo wasn't about to let the situation last for long.

After a few days of silence, Tanya reappeared at carefully orchestrated promotional and charity events. The gorgeous Donna had transformed from a courtesan into a high-society woman, poor in background but kind at heart.

At the same time, the headlines were filled with media coverage of the gifts Paolo had bought for her and their wedding.

A display of wealth worth billions of dollars, covering companies, land, and every romantic detail a young girl could imagine at a wedding, all taken to the extreme.

In this way, amid everyone's criticism, Paolo created a new identity for Tanya, who was gentle and sweet like a lark.

His wife was the new Donna.

No one dared to raise any objections.

Tanya was at the center of attention, but she was now standing by Paolo's side, listening to Luciano's report quietly and refilling their coffee elegantly.

There was a kind of magic about her, obedient yet strangely alluring.

Luciano guessed that it was an illusion that Paolo had bestowed upon her.

Perhaps it was that old man's twilight love that had granted her an excess of charm, making it impossible for Luciano to forget her.

He couldn't forget the faint pink marks on her pale wrists or the soft, lustrous glow of the pearl dangling near her face.

Honestly, Tanya shouldn't even be appearing in Luciano's dreams.

After all, she was his stepmother.

The second time Luciano met Tanya, it was during the family banquet.

The family estate would host a banquet at the start of every month, and she stood in the entrance hall welcoming guests.

Anyone in the Ascrofi family with ulterior motives had long been eliminated. Paolo's remaining brothers were the ones willing to submit to him, while the elders had lost all interest in who would inherit the mantle. All they cared about was whether the family and its business continued to thrive.

The latter was tied directly to their income, while the family's value lay mainly in whether it still could allow them to flaunt their power and status.

That was why they hated Tanya, the supposedly bad woman who caused a commotion.

In a pale teal dress, she waited by the door with a soft smile, perfectly balanced between modesty and reserve.

Yet, a few doddering old fossils weren't buying it.

Tanya rarely showed her emotions, but she briefly revealed a flicker of helplessness, as if a crack had opened in her mask.

It made her look fragile.

Even so, her back remained straight, like a magnolia in late spring.

When Luciano approached her, everyone shot them with vicious and mocking looks. Plenty of them were waiting to see the underboss give her the cold shoulder.

That was what Luciano initially had in mind, too.

Yet, when he came to a stop in front of Tanya, she surprisingly cast him a subtle look of dependence, barely perceptible yet unmistakable.

Her eyes seemed enchanted, as if touched by some divine magic.

Any thought Luciano had of giving her a show of authority vanished the moment their eyes met.

Luciano was Paolo's only son now. If nothing went wrong, he would be the next Don.

Meanwhile, Tanya was just a pitiable woman. All that would remain of her, aside from a useless title, was a tarnished reputation.

Oh, well. After all, he was a gentleman.

So, he strode forward, dark and imposing. Fixing his gaze on her, he gave a polite bow. "Madre."

"Luciano, you're here." Her eyes curved into a faint smile as she welcomed him in relief.

Luciano didn't see her again until after he took his seat.

Once everyone had gathered, she came in behind Paolo. Her dress was a little disheveled, but she no longer looked uncertain as before. She now looked composed.

There was even a hint of smug satisfaction in her eyes and brows, with a lingering flush still coloring her cheeks.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Luciano's lips.

Perhaps he had gotten one thing wrong. His stepmother wasn't as fragile as he had imagined.

How interesting. No wonder Paolo was so infatuated with her.

After Paolo exchanged a few casual words with everyone, the family banquet began orderly as usual.

The only difference was that there was an extra person sitting across from Luciano.

Every time he lifted his head, he would see her.

Tanya ate with restraint, using her utensils elegantly. Most of the time, she chewed, smiled, chatted, or served Paolo food. She even wiped the corner of his lips carefully.

Paolo seemed accustomed to Tanya's attentive care. That old thing had incredible luck.

At the end of the banquet, when it was time to see the guests off, Tanya's legs gave way next to Luciano. He instinctively supported her.

The soft, sweet scent of her perfume, tinged with jasmine, drifted into his senses sharply.

Tanya was surprised, then lowered her gaze and stepped backward. "Oh, how clumsy of me. Thank you, Luciano."

Her scent reached him even before her voice.

Luciano had to admit he liked seeing her like this, a tiny crack of vulnerability showing through her otherwise flawless mask of control and compliance, even if only for a fleeting moment.

That way, he could see Tanya in a way that Paolo never did—a helpless and adorable Donna, so different from her usual flawless allure.

When she stood up straight, strands of her hair brushed across his Adam's apple without her realizing it.

Something felt itchy, not just at the throat.

Luciano sighed out loud.

Sleep might elude him tonight, he presumed.

Ever since Tanya moved into the family estate, Luciano rarely stayed at his apartment outside the estate.

Actually, Luciano wasn't the only son. He used to have a younger brother, Dante Ascrofi.

Paolo handed Dante the smaller, peripheral businesses to manage, but the young and ambitious Dante felt an early determination to pull out the old Alpha's fangs.

When ambition outpaced ability, revealing it too soon would only backfire.

Dante vanished in an avalanche at the family's ski resort, his body never to be found. In fact, no one even cared.

Paolo left Dante's funeral entirely in Luciano's hands. "I know you'll be an obedient child, right?"

After hearing that, the young and hot-headed Luciano learned to be compliant and obedient.

Paolo was already used to everyone bowing to him. Anyone who bared their fangs would be swiftly dealt with. Perhaps it was by fate.

Fate also didn't spare his birth mother.

His birth mother, Olga Bianchi, was also a Jarlander, but she was unlike the gentle Tanya. If Tanya were a magnolia tree basking under the spring sunlight, Olga was a sharp blade forged from iron.

She was a noblewoman who always wore dark-colored dresses, forever composed, and her expression was stern.

As far as Luciano could remember, she had never smiled at him.

She had handed power to her husband early on, fueling his rise, only for it to turn back and consume her in the end.

Luciano grew up caught between his parents' conflicts. He was silent and composed, seeming to have neither ambition nor achievement.

The late Dante had been nothing more than the illegitimate child of an inconsequential woman. Paolo didn't love him, or to be exact, Paolo didn't care about him.

It was Luciano, the elder brother who should have hated him, who ended up raising him.

In short, Luciano was born into a twisted family.

He despised everything decaying in the old mansion—the heavy, oppressive floors, the corridors, and the eaves… Everything gave off a suffocating, inescapable stench.

Tanya was the only splash of light. She was like the blooming magnolia tree Luciano had seen as a child, bathed in sunlight in a quiet corner of the garden.

What did that old thing do to deserve moving her into this decaying garden?

Anyway, Luciano moved back to the mansion, which pleased Paolo greatly.

After Dante died, Luciano's leaving was seen as a dangerous signal, proof that he was uncontrollable.

Since Luciano was still an obedient son in other aspects, he assumed Luciano was simply afraid of being stirred by old memories.

As Luciano's father, Paolo criticized his weakness, but as the Don, he found comfort in it.

"Luciano, how did your madre and I bring up such an obedient child like you? How unbelievable."

Luciano never answered that question.

Perhaps he wasn't obedient at all, just hiding sharp, vicious thorns, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

However, there was no need for the old Paolo to find out.

…

Luciano seemed to be constantly busy, handling most of his work at home. In fact, Paolo and Tanya had even more activities than him.

Paolo was often tied up with business, while Tanya kept the household running smoothly and oversaw all the Ascrofi family's public charity events. When Paolo wasn't around, the young Tanya was surprisingly able to handle everything well.

Yet somehow, the house felt a touch warmer than it had when Olga was alive.

Tanya was like a soft-edged blade, gentle as a spring breeze, yet striking with sudden precision, leaving deep, lasting marks.

Once, Luciano was heading out when he bumped into her at the porch.

She was clad in a dress as usual, a pale moon-white gown embroidered with subtle silver patterns, gentle and understated. She looked slender and tall, her hair left free rather than styled in a bun.

Large sunglasses covered half of her face, revealing her delicate chin.

Luciano couldn't see her eyes but only read a hint of unusual coldness at the corners of her lips. It was really unfamiliar.

At home, or perhaps the place they called home, she rarely dressed so neatly. She always dressed in cotton dresses, the long hem brushing the floor to cover her legs, with her bare feet peeking out underneath. Her hair was loosely pinned up, falling in a careless, relaxed manner.

Occasionally, glimpses of her arms or legs revealed bruises tinged with red or pale blue. Beneath the surface, her pale, delicate skin seemed almost translucent.

When she wasn't busy handling the household affairs, she often spent her time arranging flowers or preparing coffee. Those were boring hobbies.

She was languid and relaxed, like a cat.

"Luciano, I'm hoping you'll attend the charity dinner event tonight."

As she spoke softly, her smile was perfectly balanced, neither too warm nor too distant.

After three seconds of silence, Luciano pulled his phone out to postpone his meeting, then accepted her invitation.

"This way, Madre."