Jared didn't say a word. Just marched her straight into the OB/GYN wing.

The medical team was already lined up, waiting.

One of the doctors stepped forward, all polite and professional.

"Mrs. Dawson, please change into the surgical gown. We'll start with an ovulation shot. The egg retrieval might sting a little—"

Lucia froze. "Egg retrieval? For what?"

Jared's patience snapped. "For IVF. How else are we having a baby?"

Her blood ran cold.

They were both healthy. He still chose IVF?

Just to avoid touching her?

She tried to hold steady, but her voice cracked. "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why have this baby?" Her eyes snapped up. "Do you even want a kid with me?"

He'd been planning to divorce her—so what was the point?

Jared's brow creased. Something felt off.

Lucia used to dream about having his baby. Even through IVF, she should've been excited.

But now? She looked like she was barely holding it together.

That look lit a fuse in him. His voice went cold.

"Because our families need a kid to lock in the alliance. What, you thought I actually wanted a kid with your DNA?"

Her face went ghost white.

It was never about love. Just the families. Always the damn families.

She lowered her head, eyes burning.

What was she to him, really?

Even with divorce on the table, he still had to squeeze every last bit of worth out of her?

Her fists trembled. "What if I say no?"

"What?" Jared actually froze.

He clearly hadn't considered that. But then his expression twisted—like something clicked.

He grabbed her chin, sneering.

"Afraid that once there's a kid, you'll lose your last excuse to beg me for sex?" His tone dripped with mockery. "You'd rather I do it myself? Sorry, not into you."

Then he shoved her to the floor.

"I'm not asking, Lucia. If you want my kid, this is the only way."

He turned to the staff.

"Hold her down. Prep the OR."

Lucia fought, but they pinned her to the table.

The needle pierced her—white-hot pain exploded. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

'Why...

'Why do you have to treat me like this, Jared...'

The hormones hit hard. Everything spun. Then—darkness.

***

Lucia came to the next day, groggy and aching.

A doctor beside her let out a breath of relief.

"Good, you're awake, Mrs. Dawson. You had a strong reaction to the hormones—acute stress response. Thankfully, nothing serious."

Her voice came out hoarse. "Where's Jared?"

The doctor paused.

"He left after... providing his sample."

Lucia blinked. Then it hit her—what "sample" meant.

Her hands clenched the sheets.

Had he used Alice's photo again?

Thinking about her while making a child with Lucia—

Her stomach turned.

The doctor kept going.

"The procedure was rough, but embryo creation went very smoothly. Look."

He opened a chilled container. Inside sat five tiny test tubes.

Lucia stared.

These... were her children?

The doctor kept talking. "Once you're stable, we'll implant the strongest embryo. Then you—Mrs. Dawson! What are you—"

Before the doctor could finish, Lucia grabbed the test tubes and hurled them to the floor.

"I said I don't want to have his child."

Her face was pale, but her eyes were stone cold.

"No matter what Jared paid you, I'll pay ten times more. Just don't tell him."

The doctor freaked. "But... if Mr. Dawson asks—"

"Then wait till he does."

She was done. If she was walking away, she'd burn every bridge on her way out.

Lucia stared at the broken glass on the floor, a dull ache tightening in her chest.

Once, she'd dreamed of having Jared's baby.

Now?

Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. She turned and walked out—never looking back.

***

Lucia checked herself out of the hospital on her own.

Back home, the scent of Jared still clung to every room. It was suffocating.

She needed air—needed space. So she headed to the hunting grounds.

Back in Italvia, riding and hunting had been her escape. Khelmark didn't have much for that at first, but when Francesca found out, she bought a whole mountain, turned it into a private hunting estate, and handed it over to Lucia.

Whenever things got heavy, this was where Lucia went to breathe.

Now, it was a hotspot for Khelmark's elite—state-of-the-art, exclusive, and entirely hers.

She pulled up to the gates—and froze.

A familiar black Maybach was already parked outside.

The door opened. Jared stepped out, carrying Alice like some fairytale prince.

"Jared, put me down," Alice said, all coy and breathy. "I can walk."

"It just rained. The ground's wet," he said.

Alice flushed deeper, pleased—until he set her down and she spotted Lucia.

She stiffened. "Lucia?"

Only then did Jared look up—and see her.

His frown kicked in instantly.

He remembered the call from the doctor—something about Lucia having a stress reaction.

She wasn't in danger, so he didn't bother checking in.

Didn't expect to run into her here.

Noticing how pale she still looked, a strange wave of irritation crept up his spine.

"What are you doing here?"

She blinked, steady and cool.

"I came to ride."

Alice and Jared hadn't shown up alone—they brought their usual crew of rich brats.

The second Lucia answered, the jeering started.

"Horseback riding? Lucia, do you even KNOW how to ride?"

"You think hunting on horseback's like riding a donkey back in the sticks? Don't snap your neck!"

Lucia had always kept quiet about her background. With her adoptive parents tied to serious power in Italvia—and whispered mafia rumors—she stayed lowkey. Even the Lynch family barely knew the full story.

So the crowd just assumed she was some bumpkin who lucked into wealth.

Jared's guys started whistling, loud and gross.

"No stress if you can't ride, Lucia. I'll take you. Front or back?"

"Back, obviously. Those two big ones bouncing against me? Man, that'd wake ANYONE up."

The group roared with laughter, eyes crawling all over her like they had zero shame.

Jared's fists clenched. His jaw tightened, gaze turning ice-cold.

Then Alice stepped in, soft and sweet.

"Alright, don't say that about my sister."

The fake little defense only made it worse.

One of the girls scoffed, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Well, no wonder people talk, Alice. Your sister's got the face of a total seductress."

Another jumped in, smirking.

"Yeah, twins? Please. Lucia looks nothing like you. She just screams cheap."

When the Lynch family found Lucia, her real parents—Michael and Joanne—couldn't bring themselves to let go of Alice. So they spun the perfect story—both girls were their biological daughters, separated at birth in a hospital mix-up.

Everyone bought it. Lucia and Alice—'twins.'

Alice shot a nervous glance at Lucia, afraid she'd finally spill the truth.

But Lucia didn't say a word.

She just turned and walked into the hunting grounds without looking back.

Only then did Alice exhale and quickly shift gears.

"Anyway, enough about that. Let's go hunting! I heard there's a white fox out here," she said, voice light and sweet. "Legend says if you catch one and gift it to your beloved, you'll never be apart."

She looked at Jared, all shy smiles.

The group geared up and headed into the mountains.

Lucia took a separate trail, wanting nothing to do with them. But the skies turned fast—rain started falling hard.

The mountain was risky in weather like this. Landslides weren't rare.

Lucia turned back fast.

When she got to the lodge, chaos had already broken out.

Alice and the others were in full panic mode.

No sign of Jared.

Lucia walked over, brows tight. "What's going on?"

"It's bad, Lucia!" Alice sobbed. "Jared's trapped in the mountain!"

Lucia froze. "How did he get trapped in the mountain?"

Through her sobs, Alice spilled it.

They'd spotted a white fox. Jared ignored the rain, chased it alone, and the mountain gave out. He got buried in a landslide.

"This is insane." Lucia's eyes narrowed. "This mountain's notorious for landslides. Wolves come out at night too. Is he trying to get himself killed?"

One of Jared's friends snapped, "Why are you yelling? Got a better plan? We already talked to staff—the fastest rescue team's at least six hours out... Lucia, what are you—!"

Gasps rippled through the group.

Lucia had already swung onto a horse like she was born in the saddle.

"I'm going to get him," she said, voice like ice.

Then she was gone—riding off without a glance back.

"Lucia can RIDE... like that?" someone whispered.

Alice went pale, her fists clenched tight.

***

Lucia knew the terrain like the back of her hand. She found a safe trail and pushed into the mountains without hesitation.

She wasn't doing this just for show.

First—this land was under her name. If someone died out here, she'd be the one held liable. Walking away clean from Khelmark? Not gonna happen.

Second—she owed Jared her life.

Back when she'd just returned to the Lynch family, she and Alice were kidnapped. The kidnappers made the family choose.

Michael and Joanne chose Alice.

The daughter they weren't related to.

Lucia had been left to die.

Jared was the one who'd come for her—alone. Took three stab wounds and nearly bled out that night.

That debt... she'd never forgotten.

And today, she was here to settle it.

Lucia rode through the storm for five brutal hours before she found him.

He was out cold in a cave, clutching the white fox like it was treasure. Whispering under his breath—

"Alice... for you... this is for you..."

Her face darkened.

So he nearly died—for a fox? A gift for Alice?

She gave a bitter smile and reached for him.

Then her eyes caught something—dozens of glowing green dots in the dark.

Wolves.

She hadn't planned for this, but she didn't hesitate. Raised her rifle and stood her ground.

An hour later, the cave was silent. Every wolf—dead.

She'd been bitten three times.

'Three... same as the number of wounds Jared took for me back then.'

Bleeding and shaking, she dragged him onto the horse and took off.

When they reached the lodge, everyone went pale.

Lucia—soaked in blood—barely held herself up. She slid off the horse and shoved Jared into Alice's arms.

"Tell Jared Dawson—he's repaid," she muttered.

Then everything went dark.

***

Lucia woke up in a hospital bed, her wounds bandaged.

She turned to the nurse. "Where's the man who came in with me?"

After getting Jared's room number, she headed down the hall.

Just as her hand touched the door, she froze.

From inside, she heard one of Jared's buddies say,

"Jared, it was ALICE who braved the storm to save you. She really does love you!"