In the seventh year of my marriage, I accidentally discover a document in the study. Upon flipping it open, I realize that it's a will left behind by my husband, Luca Bernadi.

The will clearly states that if Luca were to die someday in the future, all of his assets and his mafia kingdom would be inherited by a little boy named Nico Bernadi. The one next in line for the inheritance is my half-sister, Angela Fasano.

I, his legally-wedded wife, am the last one in line.

At first, I refuse to believe the legitimacy of this will. After taking it to the notary's office, I'm informed that the will is notarized and in effect.

At that moment, I feel as though my blood has turned into ice. I never expect that this marriage I once took pride in had left me with only betrayal.

In that case, I no longer need to cling to this marriage.

I could still hear the lawyer's robotic voice echoing in my ears as I walked out of the lawyer's office.

"The will is authentic and valid, Ms. Aurora Fasano."

Authentic and valid.

Those three words shattered everything I thought was the truth in my seven years of marriage.

I wandered aimlessly along the street until I stopped in front of a massive glass window of a restaurant that was very brightly lit.

I saw my family inside one of the private rooms, along with Luca Bernardi, my husband of seven years.

The waiter was holding a three-layer cake in his hands as he approached the table.

Luca was sitting at the head of the table with a little boy about four or five years of age in his lap. They looked like they'd been cast from the same mold.

The little boy grabbed a handful of cake and smeared it all over the place, laughing and giggling loudly as he wiped his grimy hands on Luca's impeccable suit.

Luca was a serious germophobe and would immediately frown if someone even accidentally bumped against him. But now, even with his tailored suit covered in a mess of frosting and icing, Luca still looked at the boy fondly while wiping off the cream stuck to the boy's nose.

I had never seen such gentleness and tenderness in his eyes before this.

"Slow down, Nico. Eat it properly," he said gently and affectionately.

Nico Bernardi was also the first name stated on the will just now.

My gaze shifted, landing on Angela Fasano next to him instead, dressed in a white frock. She was leaning slightly toward him in her seat while wiping off the icing and frosting on Nico's hands.

"Look how much Nico looks like you, Luca," she said.

"Yeah."

Luca just answered perfunctorily without looking up, as his attention was focused entirely on Nico the whole time.

Seated next to them were my dad, Valter Fasano, and my stepmother, Eva Grassi.

"Since it's Nico's birthday today, Grandpa is going to give him a huge birthday gift!" Dad said, taking out a document and handing it over.

"The estate in Bluecoast will belong to Nico from now on!"

I felt all the blood in my body freeze at that point.

Bluecoast Estate was the place Mom promised she'd leave for me before she passed away. And after she left, Dad told me that he would hold on to it on my behalf.

After marrying Luca, he told me that Bluecoast Estate was too far away and out-of-place to go over and clean up often, so I never brought it up again.

As it turned out, the place had been intended to be given to Nico as a gift from the very start.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Nico said in his childish voice.

"You spoil him too much, Dad," Angela said, chiding Dad softly despite the obvious happiness in her tone.

"Nico is my grandchild. Who else am I supposed to spoil if not him?" Dad responded with a laugh as Eva joined in and agreed with him.

"Also, what's the point of letting Aurora hold on to these things since she's infertile and can't ever have any kids of her own?"

Luca frowned. "Dad, you're not to say such things in front of Aurora next time. You'll hurt her feelings."

"Fine. I won't bring it up."

I stood at the window, frozen like a statue.

So, as it turned out, everyone knew about my infertility issues after all. I felt like such a fool.

Joyous, lighthearted laughter continued ringing out from the private room. Angela helped wipe off the frosting on Nico's mouth while Luca still kept his eyes on the boy.

They looked like the perfect picture together.

I stepped back and turned to leave.

I'd spent seven years of my life being married to Luca and fully devoted to him, and yet, everything had been nothing but a meticulously planned lie after all.

There was no need for any questioning or confrontation at this point.

It was just time for me to leave.

As soon as I got home, I contacted a lawyer and drafted up my divorce papers. Then, I booked a plane ticket to a small island far away, completely out of Luca's reach and influence, for a week later.

After I was done with that, I went into the study and opened up the box I'd kept in the dusty corner for a long time. It was filled with the love letters Luca wrote to me in the early stages of our relationship. There was also a pair of mugs in it, carved with our names, and a few laughable couple trinkets.

I threw all of them into the fireplace and watched them turn into ashes.

A loud bang was heard from the entryway whilst the fire was blazing at its peak.

Luca rushed into the house anxiously and ran over to me, pulling me into a tight hug as soon as he saw me. He sighed in relief and asked, "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

His voice was trembling as he continued, "You gave me such a fright. I thought something terrible had happened to you!"

"I went out to the supermarket for a bit, and my phone ran out of battery," I said, trying to escape his embrace, but he just hugged me even tighter.

"I just can't imagine living a life without you by my side…"

Luca's worry and anxiety were real. However, so was the fact that he'd had a son with another woman who wasn't me.

Maybe he still loved me, but I wasn't the only person in his heart now, as he also loved another.

"Aurora."

He kissed me on the forehead and said, "Don't simply go out on your own. The Famiglia has been having some conflict with our enemies now, and I'm worried that you'll get hurt."

With that, he brought out a silk box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a diamond necklace nestled in the satin. It was very delicate and intricately designed.

"Wear this," he said, unclasping the necklace and warming up the metal chain before putting it on me. "There's a location tracker in it. Press it if you run into any trouble, and I will be right there."

He seemed to have heaved a sigh of relief after that. Then, he traced my face with his fingers and said in a much calmer voice, "Listen to me, alright?"

…

Late that night, I suddenly sported a high fever.

Yet, I felt a slightly cool hand covering my forehead in my hazy state. I struggled to open my eyes and saw Luca putting on some clothes.

He said, "I'm taking you to the hospital."

He was just about to pick me up when his phone rang right at that moment. He glanced briefly at the screen, and his expression dropped as he glanced back at me.

"It's fine. Answer it. What if it's an emergency?" I said.

He answered the call and went out to the balcony instead.

"Luca! Nico is hurt, and he won't stop crying! I'm so scared…"

Angela's crying voice was immediately heard on the other end of the line. Even I could hear her voice despite Luca's attempts to cover the mic with his hand.

There was a worried look on Luca's face as he said, "I'll be right there."

He came back to me and said, "Something happened in one of the underground casinos, and I need to go and settle it," he said, touching me on my forehead. "I've already called Alexandro. He'll be coming to take you to the hospital instead."

Alexandro Ventura was his assistant. Then, Luca left without waiting for my reply.

I sat up to change out of my pajamas. However, my gaze suddenly landed on the bedside table on Luca's side, where his personal phone was lying. He'd forgotten to take it along with him in his haste.

My heart lurched in my chest. I knew the password to his phone. It was our wedding anniversary. He'd never changed it before because he never thought that he needed to guard himself against me.

I grabbed his phone and unlocked it. The home screen was very neat and almost empty.

Then, I tapped on a lesser-known chatting app and saw that he had been chatting with someone who hadn't been saved with a name.

It had to be Angela. Everything in their chats was only about Nico.

"Luca! Nico just learned to say 'Papa'! I've sent the recording to you.

"Nico's nose is running a little. I just gave him some cold meds. When are you coming to see him?"

The latest message sent had been just a while ago.

"Nico's gone to sleep. He misses you.

"I think he's having a nightmare and he's crying for you… Can you come over?"

Luca had answered each and every message from her. He sounded very patient and meticulous in his replies, and I could almost imagine the smiling expression on his face as he typed them out.

"I heard the recording. He's good.

"I'll be there after work. I'll tell the family doctor to go over first.

"Tell him that Papa is on his way."

I kept scrolling all the way up until at least three months ago, when Angela sent him a photo of Nico's scraped knees, probably from a fall.

Luca had immediately asked her three questions in rapid succession.

"Is it serious?

"What did the doctor say?

"I'm coming back immediately."

My tears refused to stay suppressed and trickled down my face uncontrollably.

I set down his phone, feeling the pain in my chest so great that it was getting harder for me to breathe.

The high fever knocked me out completely after that. When I woke up again, I realized that I was already in the hospital.

The doctor said that I had to stay at the hospital for a while for further observation. However, I would be free to go once my conditions improved.

While on the way to the pharmacy connected to the hospital, I happened to walk past the VIP ward and heard Angela's sobs from behind one of the doors.

"Luca… Nico is being bullied in school for not having a father… And then Nico broke his arm after getting into a fight with them…"

"Who are they?" Luca asked. His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine.

Angela rattled off a few names from her head.

"Got it," Luca said coldly. "Don't worry about it anymore. They won't be causing Nico any more trouble after this."

"Luca…"

Angela began sobbing even harder now. "Are Nico and I going to have to live in the shadows like this for the rest of our lives?

"I'm fine with it, but Nico's still very young, and he doesn't understand why his father won't attend his parent-teacher activities with him when he clearly has one."

"Don't worry," Luca said, his voice turning gentle all at once. "I'm here. Nobody will be able to hurt you both. I will deal with this issue myself. Trust me with it."

I didn't want to listen to them anymore and turned to return to my own ward.

A short while later, the door was pushed open.

Angela walked in, the tears long dried on her face. She looked smugly at me with her perfectly impeccable faceful of makeup as she shut the door behind her, giving me the once-over.

"Aw, did you fall sick, Rora? You're such a pitiful sight."

I didn't answer her.

"You heard everything just now, didn't you?"

Angela approached me and crouched over, speaking in a voice that only the both of us could hear.

"Nico is the lovechild of my relationship with Luca. We've been together far longer than you can ever imagine."

I felt a sledgehammer smashing right into my chest at her words, but I didn't let it show on my face.

"You're exactly like your mother," she chuckled lightly. "You're both useless bitches who can't even hold on to their own husbands."

I looked at her with determination and said, "So what? You want to be the next Mrs. Bernardi? It's just a title. I can just give it to you if you want it."

I then retrieved the divorce agreement from under my pillow and handed it to Angela.

"I've already signed it. Give it to him and let him sign it too. I only want my freedom back."

An inexplicable joy erupted in Angela's eyes as she practically snatched the document from me.

However, the joyous smile on her face immediately turned into a cunning, calculating smirk just a split second later.

"I don't think just a divorce is enough, Rora," she said in a low voice, her eyes turning hostile.

"Luca would never easily let you off like that. All of his feelings for you must die! That way, he'll never come looking for you again.

"I'm going to have to stage a more 'thorough' farewell for you…"

I could feel my heart trembling. "What do you mean?"

She didn't answer me. Her ears twitched ever so slightly as she looked outside the door.

Footsteps were coming closer, sounding firm, steady, and powerful. It was Luca.

Angela immediately stuffed the divorce agreement into her handbag and quickly switched her expression back to one of worry and weakness.

She then gave me a deep, resentful look, her eyes filled to the brim with malicious intent.

The moment Luca entered the room, she suddenly stumbled backward and fell to the floor on her butt with a loud cry.

"Rora! Why did you shove me off!"

Her face was covered in tears by then as she pointed at my bedside table, where a cup of pureed mango had suddenly appeared. I had no idea when or how it even came about.

"I know that you hate me and Nico, but how could you feed the mango to such a small child? He's deathly allergic to them! He nearly died from the allergy attack just now!"

I froze immediately.

Luca's eyes first landed on Angela before turning to me, his face cold and steely as he glared at me.

"Aurora Fasano," he said, his voice deep and frightening. "How could you attack a little child like that!"

"I never did," I hastily said, trying to explain myself. "She's lying! I… You should just check the surveillance cameras!"

A hint of panic appeared in Angela's face.

However, a split second later, Luca raised his voice at me and demanded sharply, "Surveillance cameras? I just came out of the emergency department! Nico himself told me that 'Aunt Rora' gave him the mango puree as a snack!

"He's just a five-year-old kid! Why would a kid lie to me?"

Luca's words were like an ice pick as they thwacked into my last shred of hope.

"I hadn't minded that you were infertile, Aurora," he said, taking a step closer to me, disappointment written on his face. "I even thought of adopting Nico as our son, and that would have given you the chance to be a mother!

"That way, nobody will ever dare to mock the Bernardi Famiglia for not having any heirs! But who would have thought that you'd turn out to be such a deeply evil person after all?

"I know that you have an estranged relationship with Angela, but Nico is just a child! Why did you have to hurt him?

"Stay here and reflect on yourself!"

Then, he went out and slammed the door shut behind him without waiting for me to say another word.

The ward was deathly quiet after he was gone.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. Then, I put on my coat, grabbed my handbag I'd prepared beforehand with my passport, flight ticket, and some cash, and walked out of the hospital in the blinding sunlight.

I never looked back, flagging down a cab and asking it to take me straight to the airport.

The city's outline rushed past the window outside while I was in the cab. The familiar buildings bearing Luca's Famiglia insignia eventually blurred into a gray mass.

I checked myself in, went through security, and sat down, waiting for my flight. Everything went so smoothly that I could barely believe it.

Luca was most probably too busy comforting his frightened and terrified "family" to even bother about me.

I boarded the plane and found my seat next to the window.

Soon, the plane engines roared to life, and the plane taxied onto the take-off strip, accelerated at full speed, and lifted off the ground.

As the feeling of weightlessness washed over me, I looked out of the window and saw everything on the ground growing smaller and smaller until it was finally obscured by the clouds.

Goodbye, Luca Bernardi.

I didn't want to be Mrs. Bernardi or his Donna anymore.