On the eve of my alliance wedding, I was taken, humiliated, and broken for two whole days and nights.

When I was finally ransomed back, the Family doctor told me I might never be able to bear children again. My betrothed, the man whose bloodline I was meant to bind to my own, turned around within the week and bound himself to the false-blood daughter instead, Valentina Falcone.

Whispers spread through the territory like fire through dry grass. I fell into a darkness with no floor to it, and one night I walked to the river and let myself drop into the black water.

As I was on the brink of death, my betrothed's younger brother, Mateo Graciano, plunged into the freezing current to drag me out, nearly drowning himself in the process.

When Mateo came to, he confessed he loved me—said he loved me more than his own life. He wanted to bind himself to me, to keep me safe for the rest of his days.

Deeply moved, I agreed to the pact.

Two years into our marriage, I was stunned to discover I was pregnant. Overcome with joy, I hurried to bring him the news.

Just as I was about to share my happiness, I overheard him speaking with my parents.

"Back then, Valentina lost her mind and sent men to take Adriana. Thank God you paid enough to bury it under Omertà and protect Valentina. And you even married off Adriana, who can't give you children..."

"We've thought it through. We can't let the bloodline end with you. Valentina's first child carries the succession, but the second heir should come from your blood."

Mateo's voice was low and heavy. "That won't be necessary. This way, Valentina and my brother's child stands as the sole successor to the Family. As long as Valentina is happy, that's enough for me."

"And Adriana... I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

"Good girl. I know this has cost you. If it weren't for you, the Falcone name would have been dragged through the mud, the whole vendetta spilled into the open."

"I know it's unfair to Adriana, but this is the cleanest solution we have..."

A chill ran through me, my whole body trembling.

So the one who had taken me and broken me back then was my own sister—the false-blood daughter, Valentina.

……

I thought Mateo had saved me out of love, that he had pulled me back from the edge of despair, only to learn it was all to bury her crime under the code of silence.

My blood parents too. They had chosen to sacrifice me to protect their standing within the Family.

I covered my mouth, holding back my sobs, too afraid to make a sound.

Barely holding myself together, I turned and fled. When I got back to our part of the estate, a message from Mateo lit up my phone.

[Adriana, I have a sit-down tonight. Don't wait up—get some rest. Love you.]

I didn't reply. Instead, my eyes landed on the keypad lock of his study.

When we were first married, the nightmares came every night, and I could only fall asleep holding Mateo's hand. More than once I woke in the dark to find him gone, always in his study.

He never let anyone inside. The door stayed locked behind its own passcode.

I hesitated, then keyed in Valentina's birthday. With a soft click, the lock gave.

The moment I stepped inside, my breath caught. The walls were covered with photographs and portraits of Valentina, from childhood to grown.

The shelves held her old belongings, each one carefully kept. Gifts, trinkets, every trace of her life, treasured like a shrine.

Then I remembered. These gifts were all things Lorenzo, Mateo's older brother, the Don of the Graciano Family, had thrown away. For ten years Valentina had chased after Lorenzo, doing everything she could to win his favor.

So the gifts Lorenzo discarded, Mateo had quietly gathered them and kept them like relics.

My heart twisted as I went through each one, tears running down my face.

In that moment everything fell into place. When I was thirteen, my parents finally found me and brought me into the Family. They told Valentina to call me "sister."

That was when I learned the truth—that I had been switched at birth, and they had raised Valentina as their blood-daughter, spoiling her for thirteen years.

For the next ten years, I never once felt I belonged inside that house.

With me, my parents moved out of guilt, forever trying to make right an old mistake. But with Valentina, she was their real daughter in every way that counted.

Later, when the Gracianos chose me—the true blood-heir—to seal the alliance marriage, my parents agreed without a moment's pause.

I never imagined Valentina had already fallen for the man pledged to me. She hired men to take me and violate me, hoping to slip into my place.

And my parents, and Mateo, they all knew the truth. Yet they still chose to close ranks around her.

I sobbed until I could barely breathe.

Just then, my mother called.

"Your sister had a falling-out with Lorenzo. She wants to stay under your roof for a while. Mateo already gave his word."

"Just go along with it, okay? If you don't, the sight of you only reminds her that you were once promised to Lorenzo. You know how she is..."

"But, Mom, why?" I choked up, cutting her off.

"Why what?"

There was a brief pause before the Don's wine-thickened voice came down the line.

"Sweetheart, I know you still hold it against us, letting Valentina take Lorenzo. But if we hadn't sealed that pact, the Falcone Family would have been finished..."

My chest tightened. I had heard these excuses too many times before.

That wasn't what I wanted to ask, though. I wanted to know why they were so willing to lay me down on the altar and keep the truth buried under Omertà.

Was protecting Valentina, the false-blood daughter raised in our name, and the Family's standing, really worth more than their own blood?

On the other end, my father kept rambling. It only added nausea to my headache.

"I understand. I'll do as you say."

The moment I hung up, I rushed to the bathroom and threw up.

Staring at my pale, exhausted reflection in the mirror, I made up my mind. If everyone in the Family only cared about Valentina, then fine. I would leave.

I went back to the sitting room and dialed the number of Elena Rosaria, the matriarch who had once raised me when no bloodline would claim me.

"Elena, I want to go abroad with you and open a new orphanage on the Yvora coast."

Then, after hearing her answer, I said, "Yes, I've made up my mind. I can leave with you at the end of next month."

When the call ended, I dialed my private doctor.

"Don't say a word to Mr. Graciano about the pregnancy yet. I want to surprise him."

"What surprise?" Just then the door opened, and Mateo caught the back half of my sentence.

"Your birthday is at the end of next month. It's a birthday surprise," I replied calmly.

Mateo's face lit, and he crossed the room to pull me into his arms. "Thank you, Adriana. You don't have to do all this. I only want you happy, every day of it."

Before, his words would have moved me deeply. Now I just felt cold all over.

"My parents called a moment ago. They told me not to cause trouble while my sister is carrying. Mateo, I'm really upset."

He tightened his arms around me. "Don't be sad. They mean well. My brother says that ever since Valentina got pregnant her temper has been impossible. He even went to ground overseas today just to keep clear of her."

I shook my head slightly, my eyes turning red. "It's not that. I'm just sad... that I can't give the man I love a child, the way my sister can."

At my words, Mateo went still for a moment, a flicker of disappointment crossing his eyes. Then his hand drifted to the decanter on the side table and turned it a fraction, squaring it to the edge.

"I'm sorry, Mateo... I've been nothing but a burden to you." I bit my lip as the tears slipped down.

His expression softened again. "Don't talk like that, Adriana. I told you two years ago. Even if you can never carry a child, I would love you just the same."

"By the way, I gave my parents my word that Valentina could stay with us a while. What do you think...?" He framed it like a question, but there was a quiet plea sitting in his eyes.

"Sure, that's fine. I wouldn't want to put you in a hard place with your own people."

Relief washed over his face. "Adriana, you're remarkable."

I forced down the bitterness rising in my throat and asked, "Remarkable how?"

"You're a wonderful wife, a good sister, a devoted daughter. You're good in every way there is."

I pulled my lips into a faint, bitter smile.

So this is what being "good" earns me.

Watching every soul of my blood take Valentina's side. Sheltering a criminal. Burying her sins under the code while the knife stays in me.

Noticing the slight tremble in my shoulders, Mateo gathered me close, his voice gentle. "Are you tired? Come, let me get you to bed."

Late that night, once he was certain I was sound asleep, he eased his hand away and slipped into the study.

Mateo had no idea that earlier that afternoon, I had a soldier wire a camera into the study, hidden among the squared edges of his liquor bottles.

On the screen, he held a photo of Valentina tightly, murmuring to himself.

"Valentina, Lorenzo didn't go to ground today just to keep his distance from you."

"Why do you only ever have eyes for him? Why do you want to carry his child?"

"Today, Adriana told me she wanted a child of mine too. I was actually a little moved… She really is a good woman… but she'll never be you."

"If she could give me a child, maybe I'd love her a little more… But that's impossible now."

I clenched my phone, my grip tightening as the truth finally sank in.

He did want a child of his own. He did have some feelings for me. And yet, for Valentina, he could suppress all of it, even resisting the temptation of an heir with me.

Mateo, since you love her so much, I'd make sure you'd have her.

The next morning, Valentina arrived with her own men, hauling bags of luggage past my soldiers at the gate as she officially moved into my home, deep in Falcone territory.

I glanced toward the kitchen, immediately understanding what was happening. In two years bound by the alliance pact, Mateo had never once stepped into the kitchen to make me breakfast.

So that was it. Whatever he was cooking, it wasn't for me. It was for the woman he truly loved.

At the dining table, Valentina took a bite of a shrimp dumpling, then smiled as she held it out to me.

"Sis, how does Matty not know you're allergic to shrimp?"

She paused, then went on. "Ah, well… I guess it's not surprising. He probably just remembers that I love eating shrimp."

I clenched the spoon tightly, staying silent.

"Here comes the last dish, shrimp and egg omelet!"

Mateo came. He wore heat-resistant gloves while carefully setting the dish on the table, then nudged it a half-inch straighter without thinking.

"Adriana, your health has always been fragile. Eat more of this. It's good for you."

"Mateo, don't tell me you didn't know Adriana is allergic to shrimp? Then again, I suppose that's expected. How well can a couple really know each other in an arranged match between Families?"

Valentina smirked playfully, her fingers drifting to the pendant at her throat, while Mateo's face tensed as he turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry, Adriana… It's my first time cooking, so I—"

Before he could finish, a wave of nausea rolled over me. I clamped a hand over my mouth and bolted for the bathroom.

Mateo hurried after me, while Valentina leaned lazily against the doorframe, amusement dancing in her voice.

"Tsk tsk, Sis, you look just like I did a few months ago when I was dealing with morning sickness." She let it hang, then added, "Too bad… that's not even a possibility for you, is it?"

She was about to go on, but Mateo cut her off.

"Valentina, did you struggle with morning sickness too?"

The warmth of his hands on my back suddenly felt uncertain, like at any moment they might slip away toward Valentina instead.

"Exactly! I've been through so much for your big brother, and he doesn't appreciate it at all. Instead, he picks fights with me!"

Valentina huffed in frustration while reaching down to pat her belly.

"Being pregnant is exhausting! So what if I have a bit of a temper? Honestly, I don't even want this baby anymore!"

Mateo immediately grabbed her hand. "Don't say that. Once you give birth, this child will be the future blood-heir of the Graciano Family. Big Brother will owe you his gratitude."

Hearing that, Valentina's expression brightened and she leaned into Mateo's arms.

"Adriana, you're so lucky! Mateo is far more caring than Lorenzo!"

Mateo's ears turned red and he quickly steadied her. "You're far along now. You need to be careful."

Noticing my gaze, Valentina suddenly clutched her belly and let out a pained gasp.

Mateo panicked, scooping her up without hesitation. "Adriana, I'm taking Valentina to the doctor."

I said nothing, the weight in my chest growing heavier, more suffocating. Hot tears dripped into the sink.

Mateo, you're not even trying to hide your feelings for her anymore...

As soon as Don Falcone and his wife heard Valentina wasn't feeling well, they came at once, fussing over her, showering her with concern as though she carried the only blood that mattered to the Family.

They didn't ask about me.

Instead, they reminded Mateo and me to take good care of her, even insisting on bringing in the finest nurse the Family's money could buy to look after her.