Alicia’s wedding once made headlines across all of New Yorke.

The man who put the ring on her finger was Matteo Vitale, the youngest Don of the Vitale family.

She was not a socialite heiress. She was a lawyer who had won countless cases for powerful families.

She was also five years older than her husband.

When Matteo was thirty and at the peak of his career, Alicia was already thirty-five.

Back then, Matteo told her that age would never be a problem between them.

As long as she wanted him, he would never let her go for the rest of his life.

But in the fifth year of their marriage, a young woman burst into her office and dropped a divorce agreement on her desk.

“I heard you’re the best divorce lawyer on New Yorke’s East Side. There isn’t a divorce case you can’t win, right?

“I want to hire you to help my boyfriend get a divorce from his wife.

“My boyfriend says his wife is thirty-five now. She smells old. Every time he touches her, he feels sick.”

She opened the divorce agreement with practiced ease. She looked first at the names, as she always did.

[Husband: Matteo Vitale

[Wife: Alicia Leon]

Her fingers paused for a brief moment.

She was Alicia Leon!

Alicia Leon stayed calm and looked at the young woman in front of her.

She was very young, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three. She was like a flower just starting to bloom. She was bright and full of life. She was definitely the type Matteo Vitale would like.

But if he was having an affair, why did he not come and talk to her himself?

Why let this homewrecker barge into her office?

Alicia gathered the papers in front of her and said calmly, “Divorce is something that needs to be discussed by the people involved.”

Sophia Moretti leaned back in her chair and smirked. “He’s not available right now. Actually, he just doesn’t want to make a scene.”

She lifted her chin and added slowly, “It’s not because he loves her. He said that when he was with his wife, she was only twenty-six. They dated for four years and were married for five. She gave him the best years of her life. Asking for a divorce now would be too cruel.”

“But people have to move on.” Sophia smiled. “Especially when a man has already lost interest in his wife.”

Alicia dug her fingers into her palm without making a sound. “Tell me, did he only just realize that his wife is five years older than him?”

“You can’t really tell when you’re young.

“But once a woman is over thirty-five, her looks, her smell, and the way she feels… it all changes. She just smells old, and it’s unpleasant for him.”

She smelled old.

Alicia took a deep breath. Those three words felt like they were stabbing at her lungs.

She forced herself to continue, “May I ask how you met him?”

Sophia looked at her smugly. “At a charity auction dinner. I made a bet with my friends that I’d have a drink with the most untouchable man in the room. I chose him.”

“And did he drink it?”

“He didn’t accept the drink.”

Sophia smirked. “I found him later on the terrace. He was smoking while someone delivered the merger papers to your firm. The more restrained a man is, the more I want to win him.”

Her tone was soft, as if she were talking about a fun game. “Coincidentally, someone spiked his drink that night. I took the chance to get into his room.

“The next day, he gave me money and told me to disappear from his life. I refused. Later, I showed up whenever he let his guard down.

“When he finally stopped pushing me away, I knew I had him.”

Alicia fought the storm in her mind and asked, “When did you sleep with him for the first time?”

Sophia gave her a date.

Alicia felt her heart skip a beat. That date hit her like a poisoned ice pick and stabbed straight into her chest.

It was the same day as her father’s funeral.

She had waited for him all night at the funeral home. He arrived late, exhausted, and held her as he apologized. He said there had been an emergency at the family’s port, and he had to handle it personally.

The so-called emergency was another woman.

Sophia said tauntingly, “Over time, he wanted me more and more. I figured his wife wasn’t enough for him anymore. When I asked him, I found she was five years older than him. He said he didn’t know why, but once a woman is over thirty-five, she just smells old. He didn’t want to touch her anymore.”

She tilted her head. Her eyes were practically dripping with provocation. “He couldn’t stand that old woman. I don’t think it went unnoticed on her part. Don’t you agree, Alicia? Or should I call you… Mrs. Vitale?”

She bit out the last words.

Alicia finally understood. Sophia had known who she was all along. Today’s request was nothing but a carefully planned humiliation.

She should have noticed it.

Matteo had never been satisfied in bed.

One look from her was enough, and he would cling to her like a young, dangerous beast.

He always liked to whisper in her ear, “Alicia, I love you so much. I wish I could swallow you whole.”

But ever since he officially became the Don, he came home later and later. Even when he was with her, his attention was always elsewhere. She had always thought it was just the fatigue that came with power.

She had even handled a few of his legal troubles that could not be made public. She made sure every loose end was tied up.

It was not fatigue.

He was just tired of her.

“So,” Sophia leaned forward and asked, “Mrs. Vitale, do you think this divorce will actually happen?”

Alicia looked at Sophia’s young, delicate face. The pride and malice in her eyes were obvious. Her heart felt like a cold hand was squeezing it.

She did not know how much time had passed. Finally, she forced out a pained smile.

“It will. It definitely will.”

Sophia smiled in satisfaction. She stood up. “Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

She suddenly seemed to remember something. She pulled out a few photos and tossed them onto the desk. “Oh, and here are some pictures from our bed. Look at them. They might help you understand the case.”

The photos showed a man and a woman entwined. The man’s handsome face shone with decadent desire.

It was Matteo.

Sophia left. Her high heels clicked on the floor. Each tap seemed to strike Alicia’s fraying nerves.

The office was empty except for her.

After a long while, Alicia opened a drawer. She pulled out a box of slim cigarettes she had not touched in a long time.

She took one out and lit it.

Her slender fingers trembled ever so slightly.

Pale blue smoke rose. It blurred her calm, beautiful face.

She smoked slowly and stared at the indecent photos on the desk. Her thoughts drifted far back into the past.

She was twenty-eight at the time. She was already Monhattan’s most sought-after mergers and acquisitions lawyer.

A Vitale family port acquisition triggered a federal investigation. The first time Matteo sat across from her in her office, his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His eyes were razor-sharp.

She removed the traps set by the prosecutors. She saved the deal that would decide the transfer of power in the family.

After that, Matteo began seeing her under the guise of a client. He soon grew tired of being just her client.

He dropped off hot coffee when she worked late. Sometimes, he waited downstairs to make sure she got home safely.

The first time a gun was pointed at her, he stepped in front of her.

Later, the old Don became seriously ill. The family erupted into internal conflict.

Alicia handled his personal assets, his trusts, and his legitimized corporate empire. She stayed with him through the most dangerous days.

When Matteo officially took control of the Vitale family, he removed his gloves and placed a ring on her case file.

“Marry me. I’ll love you forever.”

At that time, she had truly believed him.

She thought they had entered marriage after fighting side by side. Now she realized that promises were even less trustworthy than contracts.

The cigarette burned down to the end. Alicia snubbed it out.

She swallowed the sharp pain in her chest and opened her computer. Her fingers typed quickly on the keyboard. Soon, a clear and well-organized divorce agreement was ready.

She pressed the intercom button. “Jenna, please come in.”

The intern, Jenna Carter, entered the office quickly.

Alicia handed her the printed agreement. “Take this divorce agreement straight to court and file it.”

Jenna looked surprised. Alicia said before she could respond, “Both parties have agreed to the divorce.”

Jenna did not ask anything further and took the papers. “When the divorce documents are ready, I’ll call both parties to pick them up.”

“No need.” Alicia stood and picked up her coat. “Just call me when it’s done.”

She said nothing more and walked straight out of the office.

It was the end of the workday, and people streamed past the office building.

Alicia had just stepped out of the building when she saw the familiar black car and the striking man leaning against it.

He wore a simple black shirt and stood tall. His handsome face carried a languid smile.

He drew the attention of many women walking by.

Some approached him for his number, but he politely refused.

When he saw Alicia, he immediately walked forward. He took her bag as if it were no big deal and spoke in a familiar, intimate tone.

“I saw a necklace today. I thought it’d look perfect on you, so I bought it.”

He handed her a delicate velvet box from the car.

People around them shot envious glances at her.

Alicia smiled faintly but did not respond.

Matteo seemed not to notice her mood. He leaned close to her ear. His breath carried the playful, bad-boy charm he always had.

“Alicia, tomorrow is the weekend. I booked a suite at the hotel tonight. The one you said you liked last time. We can relax there.”

He was young, strong, and playful.

Every time he hinted at something like that before, Alicia’s ears would heat up. She would blush, push back a little, and allow him to have his way.

But this time, hearing the same intimate words, a chill ran down her spine.

She looked up at his handsome face that was so close to hers and asked softly, “Didn’t you say I smelled old?”

The neon lights along the street made Alicia’s eyes ache. Matteo did not seem to hear her. He lowered his head slightly. “What did you just say?”

Before Alicia could repeat it, his phone rang.

He looked at the screen, and his face immediately darkened. His grip on her bag loosened.

In the next second, he composed himself. He gave her an almost perfect apologetic smile. “Something came up at the port. I have to go now. Tonight is off the table. I’ll make it up to you another day.”

With that, he got into the car and left. He did not give any extra explanation.

But Alicia saw it clearly.

She had seen the name on his phone. It had been far too intimate to be a random person. The called ID was “Babe.”

She stood where she was. She suddenly felt the necklace was as heavy as a chain around her neck.

Ten minutes later, she drove to the hotel herself.

The suite at the end of the corridor was not fully closed.

Warm yellow light filtered through the gap in the door. It was like a provocative and humiliating invitation to her.

Alicia stopped outside the door. She did not push it open.

She heard Sophia’s voice. She sounded like she was smiling. “Why’re you in such a hurry today? Didn’t you say you were going to be with your wife?”

Matteo said something in a low voice. It was too soft to hear clearly.

Then, she heard the rustle of fabric. Then a woman’s breath. It was drawn out on purpose. Then, she heard the soft sound of high heels falling onto the carpet.

She heard Sophia asking, “So, what is it? You can’t bear to leave, or you just don’t want to?”

This time, Matteo said clearly, “Don’t ask pointless questions at a time like this.”

Sophia seemed pleased. She laughed even more sweetly. “Then, I’ll ask something else. When you hold me now, do you still think of her?”

The room fell quiet for a moment. Then, the man said carelessly, “No.”

The word was like a red-hot knife. It drove straight into Alicia’s heart and twisted again and again. The pain made her whole body seize. She almost lost her balance.

She knew this already. But what she saw and heard with her own eyes and ears hit far harder than she had imagined.

Her whole body turned numb. It felt as if her blood was frozen.

She took a deep breath. She could not stay there any longer. She turned and stumbled away. She almost ran from the place.

Alicia got back into the car. She started the engine and slammed the accelerator.

The sports car surged forward like a wild horse. It raced through the night.

The scenery outside the window rushed past as streaks of color.

Memories flashed through Alicia’s mind. She could not stop them.

She saw Matteo’s burning gaze when he chased her. She saw him drop to one knee when he proposed. She heard the vows he made at their wedding. She remembered the countless times he whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Before she knew it, her vision blurred with tears.

She did not even notice the intersection ahead.

By the time she realized it, it was too late.

A sharp screech of brakes cut through the air.

Alicia jerked the steering wheel. She turned it all the way. The car went out of control and crashed into the roadside barrier.

Bang!

After the violent impact, everything went dark.

…

Alicia regained consciousness in the hospital.

She slowly opened her eyes. Jenna was by her bed.

“Alicia, you’re finally awake!” Jenna was teary-eyed. “The nurse called Mr. Vitale many times, but no one answered… That’s why I came.”

Alicia’s voice caught in her throat. She did not even have the strength to laugh at herself.

Matteo did not answer the phone.

What important matter could he be busy with? He was with Sophia, of course. He had no time for anything else.

“But there’s good news,” Jenna said. She let out a breath. She sounded relieved. “The baby is healthy. There’s no serious problem at all.”

The baby?

Alicia froze. Her hand moved to her belly.

She was pregnant!