On our third year wedding anniversary, Ricardo Gambino finds me in the estate located far beyond the city's boundaries.

As he clutches a pregnancy report, he finds it difficult to suppress the smile on his face.

"I have good news for you, Isabella!" Ricardo exclaims excitedly. "Lucia is pregnant! It so happens that you're infertile, we'll have her give birth to the baby, and you can raise them! After that, I'll make sure to send Lucia away. You, on the other hand, shall remain as my wife!"

Ricardo's tone is starting to drift. He sounds like he's done something amazing for me and wants me to compliment him.

But I merely look at him as though he were a jester.

What Ricardo doesn't know is that he's the infertile one. Also, we've already gotten divorced from each other.

At that moment, I receive a new text on my phone. Then, I see a photo of an ultrasound report regarding the first trimester of a pregnancy.

"Isabella, we're having triplets."

The next text pops up immediately. "I shall marry you in three days."

Isabella's POV

When I didn't respond, Ricardo frowned at me.

"Isabella, did you hear what I said?"

I jerked my head up, the sunlight sharp in my eyes.

The man in front of me—Ricardo Gambino—was the man I had "loved" for 11 years. Staring at the impossibly familiar face, memories came flooding back.

I remembered the day he knelt on one knee and proposed to me, his eyes full of love and affection.

I remembered him at our wedding, eyes red, swearing on the honor of the Gambino Famiglia that he would love me for the rest of his life.

But somewhere along the way, he started staying out all night. He always brushed me off by saying he was busy with Famiglia matters, yet he took another woman with him to all kinds of banquets, leaving me sitting alone on the balcony of the family estate until dawn.

He believed that he was continuing the Gambino bloodline by letting Lucia bear his child, while also preserving the dignity of his "legitimate but infertile wife". What he didn't know was that this so-called goodwill actually cut deeper than any knife ever could.

Shaking off my thoughts, I stood and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Ricardo," I started, my tone calm. "We're divorced. I'm no longer Mrs. Gambino."

He froze.

As I turned to leave, my eyes caught the wedding ring on his finger. I had personally designed the ring back then. It was engraved with the family crest, and only this single pair existed in all of Slatilli.

"Also," I added, pointing at his hand with a small smile. "I've already thrown my ring away. You should take yours off too."

Ricardo stared at me wide-eyed, his face darkening. After confirming that I really wasn't wearing the ring, his gaze hardened even more. But I didn't care in the slightest.

"The divorce papers were signed a month ago. They're in the study. You can go look. I left empty-handed. I didn't touch a penny of the Gambino fortune.

"But the black opal pendant is my mother's heirloom. I left it at an antique restoration shop for maintenance. I'll collect it myself later."

I was about to head inside when Ricardo blocked me. I thought he was going to hysterically demand to know why I wanted a divorce, but instead, he let out a short, incredulous laugh.

"Stop messing around, Isabella. You can't joke about something like this."

I stared at him, dead serious. "I'm not joking. We really are divorced."

When he saw my stern expression, a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth, as if he had been holding it in for a long time.

"Alright, Isabella. Even jokes have limits. Without the Gambino Famiglia's protection, you wouldn't be able to survive past three days in Slatilli. You have no other Famiglia to rely on anymore. Who else would take care of you?

"Besides, you've been married to me for three years, and you've long been used to living in comfort. If you leave empty-handed, you won't even be able to buy a slice of bread. And don't tell me you're going back to being a designer. Without the Gambino name, your designs are worthless."

He thought he knew me. He was convinced I couldn't survive without the Gambino Famiglia.

After he finished, he ruffled my hair and said gently, "When you're done with your tantrum, head back to the estate. I have some Famiglia business to take care of over the next few days. I'm off."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left.

I watched his departing figure and shook my head.

"Famiglia business" was just his excuse to visit his old lover, Lucia Valentori. He thought I was infertile, so he openly kept a mistress. What he didn't know was that there was nothing wrong with me. The one who was truly incapable of giving the Gambino Famiglia an heir… was him.

My phone vibrated. I answered.

"Signora, we confirmed that your medical report from back then was indeed tampered with. The infertility diagnosis was forged.

"We've already identified the culprit, and we'll explain everything in detail when you arrive…"

Isabella's POV

After leaving the private investigator's office, I let out a deep breath. The huge stone that had been pressing on my chest had finally been lifted.

The previous report had said that I was infertile. Ricardo had personally confirmed it with the doctor as well, so he thoroughly believed it. But little did he know, not only had my medical report been tampered with, but even the doctor had been bribed.

A chill ran down my spine just thinking about it.

At that moment, two car honks suddenly sounded nearby. It was the Famiglia's doctor, Sophia Castello.

After learning what had happened, she sighed. We were the only two people who knew about Ricardo's infertility.

"Signora, you knew back then that the Don couldn't have children, yet you still insisted on marrying him. It couldn't have been easy for you to carry this secret for so long.

"And he pursued you so passionately back then. How could he break his vows so easily?"

I patted her shoulder and handed her a piece of chocolate to comfort her.

"Va Bene, it's all in the past now. I don't care about any of it anymore."

Sophia sniffled, looking at me with heartache in her eyes.

"How could you not care? 11 years of feelings isn't something you let go just like that…"

Seeing my expression darken, she immediately fell silent. She wiped her tears, ran to her car, and came back with a bouquet of sunflowers.

"Your favorite flowers," she said as she handed them to me. "I picked them myself. May you shine as brightly as the sun from now on."

Looking at the vibrant sunflowers in my arms, I felt a lump in my throat. After all these years, I felt grateful to have this thoughtful doctor as a friend.

"Grazie. Oh, and I have good news to tell you!"

I placed her hand on my lower abdomen. "I'm pregnant."

"Cosa? But the Don…" Sophia blurted out, looking at me in disbelief.

"It's not his," I answered with a small smile. "Do you know Vincenzo Valentino, the famous medical researcher who won the Holy Cross Hospital Innovation Award?"

"Of course, I know him. He's a renowned figure."

I was just about to tell her that the baby was his when a line of black Rolls-Royces pulled up across the street.

Ricardo stepped out of one of the cars, arm-in-arm with Lucia, and walked into a jewelry store.

In the past, I used to beg him to see new jewelry collections with me, but he'd always said he was busy with Famiglia matters. Now, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I watched him patiently help Lucia try on piece after piece.

A laugh escaped me.

So he wasn't busy after all. He just didn't have time for me.

Sophia saw everything as well. Her eyes filled with pity, and she pulled me into her arms.

"Va Tutto Bene, Isabella. You've already ended your marriage anyway. Don't think about it anymore."

I nodded. Just as I was about to leave, someone grabbed my wrist hard.

"Isabella, what are you doing here?"

Isabella's POV

I turned, and my eyes met Ricardo's deep blue gaze.

Lucia clung affectionately to his arm, standing at his side as if they were the real couple.

"Ecco, for you," Ricardo said as he handed me a small red velvet box.

Inside was a tiny silver stud earring.

I looked at Lucia. Around her neck was a dazzling purple diamond the size of a pigeon's egg. Sneering, I pushed his hand away.

Seeing that I was about to leave, Ricardo hurried after me, whispering an explanation.

"Lucia is pregnant, so I gave her the necklace to keep her happy. Once she has the baby, you can raise it as yours. What's a little grievance now? Don't be unreasonable."

I looked at him, my emotions a tangled mess.

"Ricardo, we're already divorced. Stop giving me gifts."

I turned to go, but Ricardo's face suddenly darkened.

"Basta, Isabella! As the Donna of the Gambino Famiglia, stop harping on about a divorce! You're embarrassing the Gambino name!

"I've never once held the fact that you can't have children against you. I even let Lucia carry one for you. Why can't you understand where I'm coming from?"

His eyes were red, as if I were the guilty one here. Meanwhile, next to him, Lucia looked at me tauntingly, her eyes gleaming with smugness.

Sophia couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward, ready to reveal the truth. "Don Ricardo, you're falsely accusing Isabella. There's nothing wrong with her. The real problem lies with—"

But before she could finish, Lucia suddenly—and deliberately—stumbled, crashing into me.

I lost my balance, and my lower abdomen slammed straight into the edge of a curbside trash can. A shriek of pain escaped me.

Startled, Sophia rushed to steady me, only to see blood flowing from between my legs.

When he saw that I was hurt, Ricardo's face went pale. He moved to pick me up, but Lucia suddenly screamed.

"Don Ricardo! My stomach hurts so much! Our baby… Will our baby be okay?"

She clutched her belly, feigning an expression of agony.

Ricardo looked at me, then at her. In the end, he scooped Lucia up and carried her into the car.

"Isabella, wait for me. Once Lucia's baby is safe, I'll come back to save you…"

The words had barely left his lips when the car door slammed shut. I watched the car speed away before everything went black, and I fainted.

…

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"My baby?" I asked instinctively.

The nurse by my side answered softly, "Don't worry, the baby is fine."

I exhaled in relief.

"Is the director here?" I asked quietly.

The nurse looked up, smiling. "Do you mean Dr. Valentino? He's on leave, preparing for his wedding. I heard his girlfriend is pregnant…"

She sighed, then continued. "Dr. Valentino is one of our hospital's finest. So many people adore and admire him. I wonder which woman is lucky enough to be marrying him…"

Hearing that, I secretly smiled to myself.

The checkup showed that everything was fine, so I checked myself out of the hospital.

I planned to collect Mamma's black opal pendant from the antique shop, which should have been restored by now.

But when I arrived, the display spot for the pendant was empty.

The antique shop owner looked at me, puzzled.

"Signora, we already delivered the pendant to the Gambino estate two hours ago. Didn't you receive it?"