Trixie chatted with the guests in the event hall with ease. The public figures attending the event took a liking to her and wanted to get to know her better. She was a very beautiful woman, after all. A wealthy bachelor approached Trixie to ask her for a dance, and she agreed with a smile.

Stefan stood where he was, gripping the wine glass in his hand so hard that I could hear it squeaking under the pressure. He stared at the dance floor like a wild beast eyeing its prey, and he suddenly turned to look at me. "It's been a while since we danced."

I felt my throat clench. I could hardly stand at this point because of my fever. I wanted to reject him, but Stefan had already grabbed my wrist. His grip on me was tight, as if he had nowhere else to vent his frustrations.

He pulled me onto the dance floor as he twirled me with precision, composure, and grace. We were the perfect couple in the eyes of others, but I was the only one who knew that his eyes were looking past my shoulders at Trixie.

The lights were dizzying, and my knees went weak as I fell to the ground. Everyone stopped dancing to look at me while Stefan quickly helped me up, asking in a grim voice, "Are you all right?" He did not sound worried, but unhappy, as if I had ruined his mood or failed him in his attempt to show off to Trixie.

I shook my head as I listened to everyone discussing the mishap.

"She fell? That should have been an easy dance, right?"

"Donna Gallo doesn't seem too happy. She was all right just a while ago…"

My fingers dug into the flesh of my palms as I leaned against the wall to slowly leave the dance floor. I could hear Trixie's voice from behind me. "Is Donna Gallo all right? Shouldn't you check on her, Don Gallo?" She sounded so soft and gentle.

Stefan replied in a low voice, "Do you really want me to?"

There was a moment of silence. "I…" She sounded hesitant.

My footsteps paused. My heart clenched painfully, and tears welled in my eyes. It has been quite a while since I last felt this way. Cold wind gusted into the corridor, and it chilled me to the bone through my thin dress. It suddenly hit me that it was not my fever that was making me feel cold. It was because I finally knew there had never been a place for me in this world.

I did not return to the event hall but walked deep into the gardens until I could no longer hear the guests' laughter. Then, finally, I slowed down. It was not long before I heard footsteps behind me, and Stefan appeared by my side.

He looked to be in a good mood as he passed me a glass of wine. "All you did was trip. Don't worry. No one will remember what happened with me around," Stefan said gently, as if trying to cajole a child that was making a scene.

I stared at the glass but did not take it from him. He was slightly taken aback, and his brows furrowed. He touched me on the shoulder, but his expression changed the moment his fingers came in contact with my body. "You're burning up."

Stefan should have noticed this when we were dancing, but his attention was not on me then. He took out his phone and said sharply to the person on the other end, "Get Dr. Dickson here within ten minutes." He hung up and grabbed my arm. "We should go inside. It's cold out here. What if your condition gets even more serious?"

He sounded anxious, but his concern had come too late. I pulled my arm away from him and replied in a calm voice, "It's fine. I'd like to stay here." He frowned even deeper and was about to say something when someone suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor.

Trixie was standing there with red eyes. She took a step backward and turned to run off. Stefan released me almost immediately without hesitation. "Wait here for the doctor. I need to attend to something."

The sounds of their footsteps eventually disappeared into the distance, and the garden was quiet once more. All that was left was the sound of the gusting wind. I lowered my head to look at where he had grabbed my arm. I could still feel the warmth of his hand, but it no longer warmed my heart.

I picked up the glass of wine from the table and guzzled it down without hesitation. When the burning alcohol flowed down my throat, I finally felt a real sense of warmth.

It was not long before Corey arrived. He was surprised to see my eyes so red. "Donna Gallo…"

"Just give me a prescription." I avoided his eyes.

Corey was silent for a while as he gave me a simple checkup by taking my temperature and checking my breathing. He was gentle as always during the process. Before we left, he reminded me in a low voice, "It's better if you take an IV drip. You have to make sure you get better quickly, or it will increase your risk in the surgery later on."

I grunted affirmatively and followed him to the infirmary. When we walked past a resting lounge with its door slightly ajar, we heard a woman's low laughter coming from inside. "Don Gallo… Someone will discover us if we do it here…" Her voice was sultry and sickly sweet. I knew it was Trixie. Corey and I stopped in our tracks.

Stefan's voice came next. It was husky and tinged with jealousy. "Now you're worried? Why weren't you worried when you had your arms around another man when dancing with him?"

The sound of rustling clothes could be heard, accompanied by Trixie softly begging Stefan to be gentle. I could have left, but my feet were somehow rooted to the ground, and I could not budge an inch. "What if Donna Gallo hears us?" There was a brief silence that hung in the air.

Stefan chuckled. "Don't worry. She isn't around here. She's at the infirmary." He paused before continuing condescendingly, "It doesn't matter if she hears us. Even if she saw what we're doing, she'd pretend nothing happened. She's just a lost puppy I rescued. Without me, she'd turn back into the homeless puppy her gambling father sold to the underworld."

My eyes widened at that point. Even Corey's expression changed. It took him some effort to keep his emotions in check before saying to me in a low voice, "How could Don Gallo say something like that?! He made a vow never to let you back into that hell when you got married—" He stopped himself when he saw the stoic look on my face.

I stared silently at the door and took out my phone to record audio of what they were doing. The movements inside got increasingly chaotic as I recorded laughter, breathless panting, and things being knocked over. I did not budge until I heard the man grunt in low satisfaction, then I stopped the recording.

Finally, I looked up at Corey to give him a small smile. "Let's go. If we wait any longer, my fever won't ever subside."

Corey stared at me silently but said nothing as he followed obediently behind me. The lights at the end of the corridor cast long shadows on us as we walked. It was not until we stepped into the infirmary that I finally let myself go and fell unconscious to the ground.

"Donna Gallo! Donna Gallo! Wake up!" Someone was shaking my shoulder, but I could not muster the strength to reply. My sight became blurry, and it sounded like everything was miles away from me. My last memory was of Stefan slamming the door open and rushing into the infirmary to carry me in his arms.

He kept calling out to me in a panic, and he looked extremely worried, but all I saw were the fresh hickies on the side of Stefan's neck, and all I could feel was my heart splitting in two.

If I had a choice back then, I would never have allowed Stefan to take me away from the underground casino. My life would have turned out the same either way—living in misery. The only thing I had to look forward to now was that this time, I could walk away with my own two feet.

Stefan was sitting right by my side when I woke up. He had taken off his tailor-made suit and changed into a black turtleneck. "You're finally awake, Elena."

For some reason, he sounded joyful while Corey looked grim. He gave me a troubled look before saying, "Congratulations, Donna Gallo. You're three months pregnant."

My mind went blank as I slowly looked up to stare back at Stefan, who misunderstood my reaction. He pulled me gently into his arms and tightened his embrace around me, unable to suppress the happiness in his voice. "This is wonderful! I can't believe I'm going to be a father. You've given me such a beautiful surprise, Elena."

I had never seen him express his happiness this way before, but I found it difficult to smile.

That day, Stefan accompanied me for a long time at the hospital. It was only when he had 30 minutes left before his meeting that he finally left in a hurry. Before leaving, he said to Corey, "Increase the budget for the medical team. From now onward, your main focus is guaranteeing Elena's safety."

Corey agreed in a low voice, and Stefan failed to notice his chilly tone. Stefan turned back to look at me with tenderness in his eyes, just like he did when we first met. "I'll visit you again later tonight, Elena. Have a good rest." I nodded as I watched him leave.

When the door closed behind him, the room turned silent once more. It was so quiet that I could hear our breathing. I clenched my fists and remained silent for a long time before looking up at Corey. "Dr. Dickson, please help me abort this baby."

This time, Corey did not ask any questions because he had witnessed what Stefan had done that day. He nodded and replied with determination, "Don't worry about it. I'll help you." He paused before continuing, "But it's best that you take medication to cause the miscarriage before you leave, so you won't attract any attention.

"But…" He glanced at me and looked like he could not bear to imagine what I would go through. "Getting the abortion and having the plastic surgery afterward will cause you a lot of pain, and it has its risks."

I smiled softly as if I had just heard something that had nothing to do with me. "It's all right. I'll do anything to leave this place."

This baby had come at the wrong time, but to me, it was just an extra obstacle to remove in the process of my escape.

Since that day, I started to focus on nurturing myself and keeping my body healthy as I prepared for the surgery in accordance with the doctor's orders. In Stefan's eyes, I was being protective of our baby. He treated me lovingly during this time and would personally join me for all checkups conducted by the medical team.

Stefan would caress my belly when he came home at night, and he even customized a few precious toys for the baby before it was even born. He acted as if our baby were everything he wanted in life.

Unbeknownst to Stefan, I threw all those toys into a metal box after he left. Right at the very bottom of the box was the black, lacey underwear I found in his car. Whenever I saw it, the warm feeling I had when I received those toys would vanish. Once I was gone, I would return everything in the box to him. I wanted him to witness how dirty his love was.

Time passed quickly, and only two months were left until my surgery. That was when I suddenly received a call from the family elders. They sounded grim as they talked about what happened after the dinner event.

Trixie had posted a picture on her social media that revealed half of Stefan's face. The lighting on his side profile showcased his aloof yet handsome charisma, which instantly garnered millions of likes. This was causing distress within the core members of the family.

"Don Gallo has never revealed himself publicly."

"The high exposure will disrupt the family's discreet organization."

One of the elders paused before lowering his voice to say, "Besides, there has been a recent problem with the underground casino. If public opinion continues to spread, it's going to cause greater trouble."

They were silent before softening their tones. "Donna Gallo, we have no idea how to talk to Don Gallo about this. Do you think you'd be able to talk to him about keeping his distance from Trixie Carter?"

I laughed bitterly after listening to their request. "You should know how the Don can be. No one can interfere with his decisions."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the call. An elder lowered his voice. "But Donna Gallo, you're pregnant now. If…"

"That's enough," I interrupted him. "I won't involve myself with any of the family's internal affairs." I hung up after that.

All I wanted was to spend the rest of my time here quietly. Whatever happened within the family no longer had anything to do with me.

However, the matter eventually blew up. Reporters had snapped photographs of Trixie and Stefan getting into a car together outside the casino, and Stefan's face was clearly visible. News of this spread rapidly, and even though the media was quickly silenced and most of the pictures removed, it was still a fact that they had been exposed to the public from outside the casino.

Another family meeting was called under intense pressure.

"Why were there so many reporters around the casino? Our family's security has never made such a mistake before."

"We should focus on public opinion now that the situation has escalated. Sigh! If this continues, and the casino list is leaked, we'll be in big trouble. Plenty of politicians and public figures connected to our family have expressed their utmost concern."

"If this continues to escalate, it might affect our political ties…"

As the disagreements in the meeting room became louder, Stefan frowned with his hand against his forehead, as if trying to figure out a solution. That was when someone slammed the table and said, "We can get Trixie Carter to admit that she's been gambling and issue a public apology to pacify the public."

Everyone looked at each other when this idea was presented. It was a great idea that was both effective and minimized the risks. It would even pacify the public. They looked at Stefan, but he shook his head. "I can't sacrifice her."

Some of the family members' expressions changed slightly, but Stefan continued in a composed tone, "She's an important asset for connections in the family's entertainment business. With her current top-celebrity status, she's capable of gathering copious intel from the public. Keeping her safe is a part of strategic intel gathering."

Everyone looked at each other as if they had more to say, but I suddenly smiled at Stefan. "You heard the Don. Don't worry, everyone. He'll handle this well."

Stefan was taken aback as he did not expect me to speak up for him in the meeting. After all, the picture of Trixie and him showed how intimate their relationship was. After the meeting was over, Stefan came to me to gently place his hand on my belly. "Is your morning sickness still bad?"

I shook my head. "The baby has been good to me. It has stopped making a fuss in there."

Stefan nodded. He was silent for a while before saying in a low voice, "There's nothing between Trixie Carter and me. She came to the casino that day to report some intel." I grunted a reply but did not ask any questions. Stefan frowned slightly. "It doesn't bother you?"

I gave him a small smile and replied, "No, it doesn't. I trust that you'll never cheat on me because you promised during our wedding that you'd only love me and me alone in this lifetime, remember?"

Stefan was taken aback, but he quickly smiled as he looked at me with conviction. "Of course I do. Loyalty has always been the family's most important rule."

I laughed softly without replying, and Stefan quickly changed the topic by mentioning our wedding anniversary, which was a month away. "I'm planning to organize a party and use the opportunity to liaise with our family's clients and stabilize the situation." He lowered his head to kiss the corner of my eye as he held me in a gentle embrace. "Thank you for speaking up for me. To be honest, this is a tricky situation to handle."

It had been a long time since Stefan revealed his fragile side to me, but it felt like a joke to me now. Was it really that tricky? All he had to do was get Trixie to apologize and retire from the social scene to minimize the risk of public opinion, but he could not bear to do it. He could not bear for Trixie to even shed a tear.

My heart slowly sank as the smile on my face vanished, but he could not see my expression as he hugged me.

The family paid a heavy price because of this. Controlling public opinion required substantial capital, and many long-term partners, including politicians and business allies, decided to end their business relationships with us, creating a gloomy atmosphere among the core family members.

A month later, at the anniversary party, none of the guests looked relaxed, and all of the elders looked cold and distant. Trixie had her head down. She was no longer the center of the party as no one wanted to be near her, except for Stefan. He raised his glass at her as usual, acting as if nothing had happened.

Someone suddenly pulled me aside and said in a low voice, "Don't you think Don Gallo has given in too much to Trixie Carter, Donna Gallo?" She swept a glance over Trixie and continued unhappily, "Don Gallo exiled the people who were previously a threat to the family, and even until today, they're still living difficult lives.

"Meanwhile, she's still living glamorously. I heard Don Gallo not only helped squash all public opinion about her, but he even helped her snag several endorsement deals. If this continues, things will escalate even further."

She paused before lowering her voice even further. "Should we…" Before she finished, she swept a finger across her neck.

I pressed her wrist down. "Don't say anything like that. We're not allowed to discuss such matters when we're with the core family members." I turned to see Stefan and Trixie chatting at a distance, and when I spoke next, my voice was almost drowned out by the party's music. "Even if things escalate to a point where nothing can be salvaged, it would still be the Don's responsibility to face the consequences. It will have nothing to do with us."

The woman got anxious and raised her voice. "But you're his wife!"

I would no longer be his wife soon, but I did not say it out loud.

Halfway through the party, Stefan presented me with a priceless pearl necklace in front of everyone. I took out a present as well. Just as he was about to open it, I stopped him. "There's no hurry. You can open it in a month."

"Why?"

"The contents will be more meaningful a month from now."

Stefan was puzzled but chose to kiss me gently on the forehead. "All right. As you wish."

The party continued as guests kept coming up to me to congratulate me on my pregnancy. I could see Trixie looking at me with hate and jealousy through the crowd. However, when she noticed my gaze, she quickly lowered her head and expertly put on a fake smile.

Trixie approached me to give me a bottle of perfume. Her voice trembled slightly. "Happy anniversary, Don Gallo, Donna Gallo."

The perfume bottle design was intricate, but the scent was very strong. I could smell it through the packaging. As I was about to accept it from her, I suddenly heard someone next to me say in a low voice, "How could she give a pregnant woman perfume? If the ingredients aren't suitable, it might cause a miscarriage."

Trixie's expression changed. As she was about to put away the perfume, Stefan accepted it on my behalf. "Thank you." He looked at me while speaking naturally. "My wife enjoys using perfume on a daily basis. Am I right, Elena?"

I was taken aback but quickly smiled. "He's right. I do enjoy using perfume."

Everyone looked at us strangely as they noticed how differently Stefan was treating Trixie, but no one said a thing because they did not have the courage to.

After the party was over, Trixie was the last to leave. Her head was lowered as she slowly approached Stefan. "Wait for me in the car," Stefan said while looking at me. I nodded and turned to leave obediently, but Stefan frowned when he saw how quickly I was to respond. However, he did not stop me.

"Don Gallo…" Trixie called out with a sob, and it caught his attention.

I lowered my head to laugh as I personally closed the door to the event hall for them. The moment those doors were closed, I immediately curled into a ball on the floor. My belly had grown uncomfortable since I got a whiff of the perfume, and the pain had become sharper.

That perfume was questionable. I never expected her to be brazen enough to do something like this to me. I was about to fling the bottle away when the pain got worse, and I lost my grip on the bottle. The bottle smashed into pieces, and the pungent smell spread all around me.

The pain became worse as I fell to the ground, but all the guests had left, and all I could do was knock on the event hall doors while trying to shout, "S-Stefan…" However, no one from inside reacted to my knocking.

I had no choice but to use every ounce of strength I had left inside me to stand up by pulling on the handle. Finally, I was able to open up a crack. That was when my gaze stopped on the sight in front of me. Stefan was patting Trixie gently on the head inside the event hall, as if cajoling a child. "It's all right. It's all over now."

Trixie continued sobbing. "But I'm so scared! You saw the way they looked at me today. They must really hate me."

Stefan was silent briefly before saying in a low voice, "Don't worry. I'll make sure no one looks at you like that again at the next party."

The sobbing finally stopped as my fingers slowly slipped down the wall I was leaning against, and I fell to the ground with a crash. The thud from the corridor was loud, and it made Stefan and Trixie separate from each other right away.

When Stefan saw me fall at the doors, he quickly turned to run toward me.