Alicia woke up to a cold that seemed to reach her bones.

She opened her eyes slowly. The pale hospital ceiling came into view. A doctor stood beside her bed.

“Mrs. Vitale, you’re awake.” The doctor’s voice was heavy with regret. “We’re very sorry about your pregnancy. We couldn’t save the baby.”

When she heard him, she did not react with the hysteria she had expected.

Perhaps she had already known the outcome the moment she fell.

She was quiet for a long time. Then, she said, “Please, preserve the baby separately. I want to take it with me when I leave the hospital.”

Since she never got the chance to tell Matteo herself, at least he would see with his own eyes the child he had made her lose.

This might be the cruelest and most dreadful surprise she could give him.

The doctor looked momentarily shocked, but he nodded and agreed.

After the room fell quiet again, she placed her hand on her empty belly. She felt as if even the last warmth had left her.

Footsteps came from outside. Matteo pushed the door open. He looked ragged and more exhausted than he had the last time he was in the hospital.

He saw her pale, sickly face. He paused for a moment before stepping closer. “The doctor said you woke up. I…”

The words stuck in his throat.

Alicia looked at him. Her gaze was calm and still, like a motionless pool.

That look made Matteo feel panicky for the first time. He lowered his voice and said, “When the walkway collapsed, the weight was uneven on both sides. Sophia was half-suspended. That’s why I had her rescued first. I didn’t leave you behind on purpose.”

“Not on purpose…” Alicia repeated softly.

She did not get angry. She did not cry. She asked quietly, “Matteo, do you remember the gunfight at the Booklyn warehouse?”

His voice caught in her throat. He did not say anything.

Memories came rushing back. He could almost see the fire lighting up the night sky. Bullets flew everywhere. He ran against the fleeing crowd and charged back into the burning warehouse to find her.

He found her trapped in thick smoke, coughing and struggling. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward safety.

He was only twenty-five then. His face still had the sharp edges of youth. His eyes burned with reckless intensity. He held her hand tightly. Among the crackling flames and roaring gunfire, he said sincerely, “I won’t let you face any danger. Even if the chance is one in a million, I’ll make sure you’re completely safe.”

Those words had burned into her heart like a brand.

They made her believe that this was the man she could entrust her life to.

But now? In a life-and-death situation, he could abandon her for Sophia's sake without hesitation.

The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beeping of the monitors.

Matteo’s face turned pale. He reached out to touch her, but she turned her head away.

He rarely looked this helpless. Not even during the family conflicts years ago had he felt so lost.

“Alicia, I’ll make it up to you.” His voice was hoarse. “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

Alicia finally smiled, but the smile was cold and empty of warmth. “I want you to choose to save me without hesitation, like you used to. Can you do that?”

Her words hit Matteo like a blunt knife in the chest.

He froze in place and could not speak for a long moment.

Alicia did not look at him. She stared out the window at the gray sky. “Leave. The last person I want to see right now is you.”

For the next few days, Matteo stayed at the hospital almost every day.

He turned down many meetings. Even several important family council sessions were done via video calls. He tried to make up for everything by giving her nutritionists, caregivers, the best doctors, and the most expensive supplements.

But Alicia did not respond.

That afternoon, the sun finally came out.

A caregiver pushed her wheelchair to the lake behind the hospital so she could get some fresh air.

The wind was cold.

Matteo noticed her fingers were cold. He said softly, “I’ll go get a shawl. Stay right here. Wait for me for two minutes.”

He turned and walked away. Not long after, Sophia appeared.

A bandage still covered her forehead, but her face looked healthier and more vibrant than anyone else’s. She had clearly been well cared for.

She stood by the wheelchair and looked down at Alicia. Her voice dripped with mockery. “Top lawyer, how does it feel to be in a wheelchair? You look worse than I expected.”

Alicia could not be bothered to lift her eyes.

Sophia refused to give up. She said slowly, “Are you still refusing to accept it? When the walkway collapsed, he called your name first. But when it was time to choose, he saved me!

“You’re smart. I assume you know what that means. You understand, don’t you?”

Alicia finally met her gaze. Her eyes were calm and cold. “It means you know very well that you can only ever prove your worth in moments like this.”

Alicia pushed the wheelchair and prepared to leave.

Sophia’s smile disappeared completely. She stepped forward and pressed her hands on the wheelchair’s armrest. “Stop that! Alicia, do you think you still have any dignity left? You’re nothing but—”

She froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone nearby. Her expression changed instantly.

She fell to the ground with a pitiful look and then grabbed a rock. She smashed it against her own forehead.

Blood immediately poured out. It stained the bandage and her pale cheek.

Everything happened too quickly.

Alicia watched without surprise.

The next second, Matteo rushed over. “Sophia!”

Sophia ran to him with teary eyes. Her voice shook in just the right way. “I only came to see Donna Alicia, but she said it was my fault that she got hurt so badly… and then, she hit me with a rock!”

Matteo looked at the wound on her forehead and then at Alicia. His brow furrowed. “Alicia, did you do this?”

Alicia said calmly, “Don’t you already have the answer?”

Matteo stayed silent.

Alicia felt a deep exhaustion spreading through her.

She did not want to argue. She no longer tried to explain the truth.

She bent down and picked up a rock from the ground. It was larger and sharper than the one Sophia had used.

As Matteo and Sophia watched in shock, Alicia raised the rock. She struck Sophia’s forehead without hesitation. She hit exactly where Sophia had hurt herself moments ago.

Sophia screamed. Her body went limp.

Alicia looked at Matteo. Her voice was calm and chilling.

“That proves it now. Satisfied?”

Matteo’s eyes widened. He could hardly believe what he had just heard.

His eyes filled with rage.

Before he could react, Sophia screamed even louder. It dragged his attention back.

“Matteo! My head hurts so much! I’m bleeding so much! I’m scared! Am I going to die, Matteo? Ahhh!!!”

“You won’t. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to a doctor right away!”

He could not think about anything else. He leaned down and lifted Sophia, who was crying so hard she seemed about to faint.

In his urgency, he shoved Alicia aside with force.

Alicia was already weak. She sat unsteadily in her wheelchair.

The push sent the wheelchair tipping backward toward the lake.

Splash!

The icy water swallowed her instantly.

She could not swim.

The heavy wheelchair dragged her down.

Cold stabbed through her bones, and water filled her lungs. She struggled with all her strength and hit the surface with her hands. Her voice came out in broken cries. “Help… someone… save me…”

On the shore, Matteo kept his eyes on Sophia, who was still screaming in his arms.

He did not glance back once at Alicia as she sank and fought in the lake.

The water covered her mouth and nose. Before darkness took her completely, one icy thought formed in her mind.

He chose Sophia. He had watched her sink almost to death. He gave up on saving her.

Alicia woke in a cold, empty hospital room.

No one was beside her. Only the pale moonlight filtered through the window.

She reached for the phone on the bedside table. The screen lit up. One unread message from Matteo appeared.

[Alicia, your actions made Sophia’s injuries worse. She’s emotionally unstable. I need to stay and care for her to make up for the harm you caused. I can’t come back to you tonight. Take care of yourself.]

Alicia read the message. Her face remained expressionless.

There was no anger and no sadness. There was not even a flicker of emotion.

She quietly put down the phone, just like the countless nights when he had left her alone.

She rang the nurse herself. She drank water. She endured the pain in her body and her mind alone.

On the day she was discharged, she handled everything on her own. She carried the cold storage box that held the baby the doctor had given her and returned home.

As soon as she opened the door, before she could turn on the lights, a hand holding a wet cloth shot out from behind. It pressed tightly against her mouth and nose.

A sharp, choking smell filled her senses.

She could not see who it was before her consciousness began to fade. Her body went limp.

Through the haze, she felt herself being moved. A harsh surgical light blinded her eyes.

She forced one eye open a crack. She realized she was lying on a cold operating table.

Her arms and legs were strapped down. She could not move.

Outside the operating room, she heard muffled voices. Matteo and his underboss, Luca Romano, were talking.

“Don Vitale, are you really going to donate Donna Alicia’s bone marrow to Sophia?”

Matteo’s voice was cold and firm. “Sophia has acute leukemia. Only Alicia’s bone marrow matches hers. This is the fastest and most effective way to save her.”

“But does she know about it? Has she agreed?”

“I can’t let her know.” There was no trace of emotion in his voice. “She’ll never agree. You handle it. Make sure it’s done discreetly. Treat it as an anonymous donation.”

Luca hesitated. “Don Vitale, are you sure you won’t regret this? Donna Alicia just went through—”

“I won’t regret it,” Matteo interrupted him sharply. His tone was impatient. “For Sophia, I have to do this. Start the procedure.”

Alicia lay on the operating table as if struck by lightning. Her blood felt frozen.

She had to donate her bone marrow to Sophia?

The man she had loved for nine years was sending people to knock her out, strap her to a cold operating table, and take her bone marrow to save the other woman. He was doing this at a moment when she had just lost her child, and her body was still weak.

Could anything be more absurd or cruel?

She wanted to struggle free. She wanted to scream. She wanted to ask him why.

But her body was held down tight. Something covered her mouth. She could not make a sound.

She felt the cold sting of the anesthetic needle pierce her skin.

The next second, a sharp, tearing pain shot from the injection site.

Her body reacted badly to the anesthesia.

The doctors did not notice. The surgery continued.

The pain of having her bone marrow forcibly taken from her felt unbearable. Without proper anesthesia, every second felt like torture.

She could hear and feel the drill bite into her bone.

Her body convulsed. Her eyes bulged. Her nails dug deep into the operating table.

At last, the pain became so extreme that she lost consciousness completely.

When she woke up, she found herself back in the hospital room.

Matteo was sitting by her bedside.

The moment he saw her open her eyes, he leaned forward. His expression was composed.

“Alicia, you’re finally awake! The doctors say your body is weak after the surgery, and the cold affected you. That’s why you suddenly fainted at home.”

Weak after surgery.

Alicia stared at him. A faint, bitter smile appeared on her pale face.

Had she really fainted at home?

She looked at his handsome face, full of concern. She wanted to yell at him, demand answers, and tear apart his careful disguise.

But in the end, she only let out a faint, exhausted smile, filled with endless weariness.

It was pointless.

What was there left to ask? The truth was clear.

Matteo would never admit it.

She could only hope that for the rest of her life, he would keep his word and never regret anything.

In the following days, Matteo treated her with almost unnatural attentiveness.

He answered every request. He was gentle and careful, as if they had returned to the first days of their love.

But Alicia’s heart had turned into a frozen wasteland.

No warmth could melt even a little of it.

One day, Matteo went to the family headquarters. The hospital room was quiet. Her phone rang. It was Jenna.

“Alicia, the divorce papers you asked me to send to the court have been finalized. The court issued the official judgment, and the filed copy is ready. Do you want to come pick it up, or should I deliver it to you?”