Alina POV:

His words echoed in the sterile room, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Filthy. Disgusting. They clung to me, heavy and suffocating. My face felt pale, my body weak and exhausted from the emotional and physical assault.

A soft, mocking laugh sliced through my despair. Fallon.

I clenched my fists, my knuckles white against the bedsheets. My eyes darted to the doorway.

"Look at you," Fallon purred, stepping into the room. She wore a pristine white dress, looking like an angel of death. "So pathetic. Your husband despises you. Why don't you just do everyone a favor and end it?"

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice barely a tremor.

She smiled, a sweet, venomous curve of her lips. "I came to check on you, darling. Is that so wrong?" Her eyes gleamed with false sympathy. "I heard about your little 'accident' in the prison cell. Such a shame you had to go through that." She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And yes, it was all my doing. I called them. I told them to have some fun with you."

My body trembled. The memory of the rough hands, the cold floor, the terror… It all flooded back.

"Why?" I choked out, tears stinging my eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Because you stood in my way, Alina. You took what was mine. Her inner voice, a venomous hiss, felt like it was inside my head.

A sinister smile spread across her face. "If it weren't for you, Adrien would have married me years ago. You' re nothing but a placeholder, a trophy wife for his family. And even that, you're failing at." She scoffed. "What do you have, Alina, besides your family's name? Nothing. You have nothing without them. And soon, you won't even have that." Her eyes glittered. "I' ll make sure you cry for your identity. You' ll beg me to give it back."

A cold dread seeped into my bones. "Did you… did you arrange for those men to attack me in the warehouse too? On my wedding night?"

Her smile widened, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Of course, darling. Who else? I knew Adrien would believe me. He always does. He loves me, you see. He always has." She paused, her gaze holding mine. "I even made sure he saw enough to confirm his suspicions. A ripped dress, a strange man's jacket… He was furious. That rage, that jealousy, it was beautiful."

"And now he' s going to make you pay. For everything." She laughed, a chilling sound.

I let out a harsh, dry laugh. "You think he loves you?" I repeated, the words tasting like ash. "If he loved you, Fallon, he wouldn't have married me."

Her jaw clenched, her carefully constructed composure cracking. "He wouldn't have married you if it wasn't for his family obligations!" she shrieked, her voice rising. "He needs a wife from a powerful background. Someone who can secure his legacy. And that, my dear, is not you."

He married me for power. For status. Not for love. Not for me. And Fallon knows that. She' s just as much a victim of his ambition as I am. But she's decided to fight me for it.

"But he still married me, didn't he?" I countered, a bitter strength in my voice. "And he didn't marry you. If I disappear, he'll find another heiress. Not you."

"Shut up!" Fallon screamed, her face contorted with rage.

"You're just a convenience for him, Fallon. A distraction. Don't flatter yourself."

"Shut up, Alina! Shut up!" Her eyes darted around the room, wild with anger. She snatched a heavy glass vase from the bedside table.

"You ruined everything!" she shrieked, and hurled it at me.

The vase struck my head with a sickening thud. A searing pain exploded behind my eyes. Warm, thick blood immediately began to seep down my face. The room spun.

"This is nothing," Fallon hissed, leaning over me as I slumped against the pillows, dizzy and disoriented. "I'll make you pay for every single thing you've taken from me."

My vision blurred, red streaks mingling with the white hospital lights. I could feel the sticky warmth of the blood on my skin.

Then, a sudden shift. Fallon' s face, moments ago contorted in fury, softened. Her eyes widened, glistening with what looked like tears. She dropped to her knees, clutching her hands together.

"Oh, Alina," she sobbed, her voice suddenly trembling. "Please, don't tell Adrien. I didn't mean it. I swear! I was just so angry. Please, I won't bother you anymore. I'll leave Adrien alone. Just don't tell him what I did."

I stared at her, confused. Her sudden shift was jarring, disorienting.

Alina POV:

"Please, Alina! I'm begging you!" Fallon cried, her voice rising in a dramatic plea. She started to bang her head lightly on the floor, a theatrical show of remorse. "Don't tell Adrien! He'll be furious. He'll disinherit me! You know how important his family's name is. He' ll never let me near his inheritance if he thinks I' ve harmed you!"

My head throbbed. What was she doing? Her words made no sense, not after the venom she' d just spewed.

A fresh wave of pain pulsed behind my eyes. I pushed myself up from the bed, my legs wobbly. I swayed, trying to get closer to her, to understand.

But as I took a step, Fallon let out a sudden, sharp cry. She twisted violently, as if to avoid me, then collapsed to the floor, slamming her head against the sterile tile. "Adrien! My baby!" she shrieked, her hands flying to her stomach.

The door burst open. Adrien stood there, his eyes blazing, his jaw tight. He took in the scene: Fallon on the floor, sobbing, and me, swaying unsteadily, blood still dripping from my head.

His gaze locked onto me, pure fury in his eyes. He crossed the room in two strides, his hand shooting out to grab my arm. He shoved me back, hard, against the wall.

"What did you do?!" he roared, his voice shaking the room.

My head hit the plaster with another sickening thud. The world tilted. Fresh blood streamed down my face, mixing with the old. The pain was unbearable.

Fallon, still on the floor, looked up at Adrien, her eyes wide and tearful. "She… she attacked me, Adrien. She said she'd make sure you never got your inheritance. She said she'd ruin everything for us. For our baby!" She dissolved into fresh sobs. "She said if you love me, you wouldn't get your inheritance!"

Inheritance. Baby. The words twisted in my gut. He loved Fallon. He married me for the merger, for the family name. But he loved Fallon. And he believed she was carrying his child.

Adrien stared at me, his eyes burning with an insane rage. He grabbed my throat, his fingers digging into my skin. He lifted me effortlessly, dragging me towards the open window.

"You want to ruin me, Alina?" he snarled, his face inches from mine. "I'll ruin you first. I'll send you straight to hell!"

He pushed me forward, my upper body dangling out the window, high above the concrete below. The wind bit at my skin, cold and sharp. My heart hammered, a frantic drum against my ribs. Death. It was so close.

"No! Adrien, please!" I gasped, my hands desperately clutching at his arm, my nails digging into his skin. "I didn't! She's lying!"

Over Adrien's shoulder, I saw Fallon. She was no longer crying. A triumphant, evil smirk spread across her face.

This was it. My life, ending. The man I loved, the man I had given everything to, was throwing me away. My vision blurred, tears mixing with the blood still flowing from my head wound. "Adrien," I choked out, the name a raw plea. "Why? Why don't you believe me? Ten years, Adrien. Was I truly so worthless to you?"

His hand, holding me over the edge, trembled. I could feel the heat where my blood and tears touched his skin. His eyes, for a split second, flickered. A shadow of something-confusion? Doubt?-crossed his face.

No. He can't. He hates me. He hates me too much.

Then, Fallon let out another theatrical gasp, collapsing again, a pathetic heap on the floor. "Adrien! I feel dizzy!" she whimpered.

His attention snapped back to her. The flicker in his eyes vanished, replaced by cold fury. He ripped his hand away from me. I dropped, slamming against the window frame before falling to the floor.

He rushed to Fallon' s side, scooping her up. "This isn't over, Alina," he growled, his voice a chilling promise. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

Then he was gone, carrying Fallon, leaving me bleeding and broken on the cold hospital floor.

I lay there for what felt like an eternity. The sounds of the hospital, muffled before, were now a distant hum. My vision swam. No one came. No one helped.

I'm going to die here. The thought was strangely calm.

Just as the darkness threatened to consume me, a tall figure appeared in the doorway, blocking the harsh hospital lights. A man. Who was it?

Alina POV:

The dull ache in my head was the first thing I felt when I surfaced from the darkness. It was a constant throb, a steady rhythm of pain.

I blinked, trying to clear my vision. A nurse was adjusting my IV drip, her movements brisk and quiet.

"You're awake," she said, her voice soft but firm. "You've been out for a full day."

"A day?" My voice was a dry croak. My throat felt raw. "What… what happened?"

She gave me a gentle, professional look. "You had quite a fall. That head wound was nasty. Are you feeling any discomfort?"

A fall. That was the official story, I supposed. I closed my eyes, and the memories flashed behind my eyelids: Fallon's enraged face, the glass vase, the blood. Then Adrien's fury, his cruel words, the terrifying sensation of dangling from the window. His disgust. His blind belief in Fallon.

My lips twisted into a bitter smile. My heart felt like an icicle, slowly melting away.

"You're lucky the nurse on duty heard the commotion and got to you quickly," she continued, oblivious to my internal turmoil. "You might not have made it otherwise."

Lucky. The word tasted like ash in my mouth. I had been "lucky" enough to survive a year of psychological torture, a sham marriage, and now this. Since the day I married Adrien, my life had been a series of near-death experiences.

The nurse finished her adjustments and left, her soft footsteps fading away. A moment later, a doctor entered, a serious expression on his face. He checked my charts, then turned to me, his gaze lingering.

"Your head injury is stable, Ms. Stanley," he began, his voice calm. He paused, then took a deep breath, his eyes meeting mine. "But there's something else we need to discuss."

My stomach clenched. What now? More bad news?

"You're pregnant, Ms. Stanley."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Pregnant. My mind went blank. The beeping of the heart monitor seemed to roar in my ears. I couldn't breathe.

My hand, as if on its own, slowly moved to my abdomen. A child. Adrien's child. My mind reeled. Despair, hot and heavy, washed over me. Another chain. Another reason to be trapped. This child, conceived in violence and hatred, would only bind me closer to the man who despised me.

But then, a tiny flicker. A spark of something I hadn't felt in months. Hope. A reason to fight. A reason to live. This child. My child. It was a part of me, a tiny, innocent life growing within me. It was a new beginning. My reason.

Tears, hot and fast, streamed down my face again. But this time, they weren't just tears of sorrow. They were tears of a fierce, protective love. A love I hadn't known I had. A love that instantly eclipsed all the pain, all the betrayal.

He will never know. The thought solidified in my mind, cold and hard as steel. Adrien would never see this child as a blessing. He would see it as a burden, as another tool to humiliate me. He would see it as proof of Fallon' s lie.

I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, a new resolve hardening my features. I would protect this child. I would find a way out. For both of us. His cruelty, his hatred, it would only fuel my resolve.

This secret. It would be my weapon. My escape.

I closed my eyes, imagining a life far away from here. A life where I was safe, where my baby was safe. The thought was terrifying, exhilarating. For the first time in a year, I saw a glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.