After something happened to Caino’s brother, he had no family left. I promised him that even if we separated one day, I would still be his family whenever he needed me.

Maybe I truly could not let go of our ten years together. Maybe I refused to accept that after everything, Caino could be this cruel.

I agreed to attend his birthday.

On the day of the celebration, I pushed open the door to the private room with a carefully prepared gift. The scene inside made my heart stop.

Caino had pinned Amelia against the wall. She wore a novice nun's habit. He held her wrists above her head, bound with his tie, and kissed her fiercely.

Wet sounds echoed through the spacious room, setting off a wave of cheers from the friends gathered to celebrate Caino's birthday.

"Wow, first time seeing Caino lose control like this in public! Guess he really likes Amelia! Will she be the Donna?"

Amidst the cheering calling Amelia "Donna," she leaned hard against his chest, flushed and breathless.

Caino lifted her and sat down with her in his lap. Only then did someone notice me standing frozen in the doorway.

"Sancia, you're here? Come play games with us!"

I felt dazed. My eyes kept drifting toward Caino and Amelia across from me. I stood completely out of place in the lively atmosphere.

Caino's friends always played wild games in private. They used to tease me plenty in the past.

Amelia was no match for them. She drew a dare card.

"Strip in front of everyone."

Amelia's face went pale when she saw it. She clutched Caino's arm frantically, seeking help.

The next second, Caino, sitting directly across from me, worked his jaw and lifted his chin, ordering me.

"Sancia, you do it for her."

Suddenly, everyone turned to stare at me. It reminded me of my nightmare from years ago. My eyes turned red instantly.

"Why should I? If she can't handle the game, she shouldn't play! Why do I have to do it for her!"

I stared straight at Caino and Amelia, my voice carrying a barely noticeable tremor.

Amelia's tears fell immediately. She said, voice thick with hurt.

"Sancia, are you still mad that I left you behind that night? That I didn't stop those men from raping you?

"But you were the one who drank too much and insisted on sleeping with someone! I couldn't stop you! I had to leave first."

The secret I never spoke of in front of outsiders was announced to everyone just like that.

Countless lewd, disgusting stares stuck to me. Whispers filled my ears. Some people were already discussing my rates per night.

My chest tightened. I could not breathe, and my whole body started trembling uncontrollably. But Amelia kept pressing.

"Sancia, you know how strict Mamma is with me. If she finds out I stripped in public, she'll beat me to death. But you're different. You've slept with so many people already anyway. Now you're just being asked to dance..."

My consciousness grew hazy. When I came to, someone was screaming.

The broken glass embedded in my palm yanked me back to reality. In my rage, I swung the bottle at Amelia. Caino blocked it with his arm.

Then Caino's palm sent me sprawling to the floor. My left cheek swelled red instantly.

This was the first time Caino hit me.

Burning pain spread from my cheek. I sat there, stunned.

For the past ten years, he never raised his hand to me. Now, for Amelia's sake, he slapped me in front of everyone.

"Sancia, Amelia is pregnant with my child. If anything happens to her, I won't let you off!"

Pregnant? Amelia was pregnant?

All these years, after every time we slept together, whether we used protection or not, he would hand me a morning-after pill and watch me swallow it.

"I don't believe in marriage. Don't cause me trouble."

I always obediently swallowed it without a single complaint. But it turned out he did not hate the idea of children, he just did not want a child with me.

I let my tears hit the carpet. My voice sounded as calm as still water.

"Caino, I never want to see you again!"

Perhaps my resolve this time felt too unusual. Caino froze for a moment, then laughed mockingly.

"When did you get the right to order me around? Between us, only I get to call it quits!"

Amelia's tearful voice cut through everything.

"Ah... it hurts so much. Caino, my stomach hurts so much..."

Panic flashed across Caino's face. He scooped Amelia up and rushed out.

Laughter, mockery, gossip nearly drowned me. Something inside me shattered.

After fleeing the club, I still had not come back to myself.

Tears blurred my vision. I stumbled forward in a daze, my brain completely shut down. I had no idea where to go.

When the blinding headlights finally pulled back a thread of consciousness, a car had already hit me head-on. I tumbled onto the highway median.

Then I sank into darkness.

Half-conscious, I heard someone keep calling out.

"Signorina? Signorina!"

I struggled to open my eyes. The voices around me sounded distant and unclear.

“Signorina, we cannot reach the emergency contact in your phone. You are losing too much blood. You need surgery.”

“I… I will do it.” I gritted my teeth and signed the forms myself.

When I woke again, the nurses’ gossip pulled me fully awake.

“Oh my God, Don Vitelli is so obsessed with Amelia. She only had a minor issue, and he stayed awake for twenty‑four hours straight. I heard there was trouble at Pier Nine last night, but he refused to leave the hospital.”

"And don't you think the forbidden romance between a novice nun and a mafia Don is so thrilling? I'm obsessed!"

"The patient I'm assigned to is in such a tragic situation. Poor girl got into a car accident and bled out, but her emergency contact wouldn't pick up. She had to sign the consent forms herself.

“Yesterday the Don pulled every surgeon for a consultation for his girlfriend, so this girl missed the critical window. She was five weeks along, and the baby is gone now. Her uterus is badly damaged. She will probably never get pregnant again.”

My whole body went cold. My trembling fingers moved to my lower abdomen.

I... I was pregnant?

Every single time after we slept together, I had swallowed the pill he gave me. How could this happen?

No, wait. There was one time.

The night he said he was going to settle down for Amelia.

That was our last time together. He was so upset that day that he forgot about the pill.

My hand rested on my flat stomach. A tiny life once grew here.

Meanwhile, he stayed by Amelia's side, guarding another child, basking in everyone's blessings.

My child just... disappeared without a trace. It was like me, always the one left behind.

From this moment on, my love for Caino died. It would never come back.

I could not bear to hear strangers gush about Caino's sweetness toward Amelia anymore. I pressed the pillow against my head with both hands, curled up, and cried.

Everything hit me like delayed, dull pain. It suffocated me.

My injuries were severe. I stayed in the hospital for a week before they discharged me.

During that entire week, aside from a few work messages, there was nothing else.

This city held nothing worth staying for anymore. I carefully wrote a resignation email and bought a plane ticket for the next day.

Thinking of the belongings I left at the villa, I took a cab there one last time. But the moment I pushed open the door, the scene before me left me stunned.

Amelia's beloved novice habit, which she usually cherished so carefully, lay scattered across the living room. Clear fluid stained the fabric.

The bedroom door stood wide open. Caino knelt on the carpet. Amelia's legs rested on his shoulders. Caino bent his head, gently pleasuring her with his mouth while his fingers moved rapidly inside her.

She arched her back, moaning continuously. "Ah... Caino, right there..."

Amelia shuddered through her climax, her release spilling over him. He kissed her stomach tenderly, then pressed himself against her entrance, grinding slowly.

A pang of sadness hit me. In all the time I spent with Caino, he never wanted to do this for me.

He said it was too much trouble, so every time I was the one who went down on him.

It turned out he could be this gentle after all.

My phone buzzed with an approval notification for my resignation. I forgot to silence it. The sound came from the phone clutched in my hand.

"Ah!"

Before I could react, Amelia, who had been half-reclined, spotted me first and screamed. She hastily wrapped a blanket around herself and lunged at me.

"Sancia! You're so vicious! Did you take pictures of me in bed to get revenge on me?"

I frowned and dodged her. "Don't assume everyone's as rotten as you."

My refusal only deepened her suspicion. She lunged at me again.

"Then show me your phone!"

I refused, naturally, so Amelia and I fought over the phone. But because of my abdominal wound, I could barely hold my ground against her.

Just then, Caino suddenly pulled Amelia and me apart from behind.

His strength was too much. It tugged at my wound. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

"Caino, Sancia took pictures of me in bed! Delete them quick, or if Mamma finds out, she'll beat me to death!"

"Sancia, hand over the phone."

I turned my head away, but Caino grabbed my jaw. To break free, I threw my phone hard at him.

Caino dodged. A flash of viciousness crossed his eyes, but he did not lash out. He just scoffed coldly.

He went through my phone, confirmed there were no photos, and tossed it back carelessly into my arms.

While Amelia went to change clothes, he grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me roughly into the bedroom.

"Mmph..."

He shoved me onto the bed that still carried Amelia's scent. He leaned over me. The smell of smoke mixed with his controlling presence bore down on me, his tone dripping with that ingrained superiority.

“Sancia, my patience has limits.

“Or is it that you keep targeting Amelia because… you cannot let me go?”

His interrupted session with Amelia had left him visibly aroused, and his frustration radiated off him.

His hand slid under my skirt—