FLUX

A month before my fiance, Dante de Rossi, and I were supposed to get married, he insisted on having a baby with his childhood friend, Isobel de Luca.

I refused to agree to it, but he kept bringing it up every single day and stubbornly tried to persuade me. It was as if he were presenting a business deal that had to be accepted.

Half a month before the wedding, I received an envelope from an anonymous sender. It contained a pregnancy report from a private hospital in Manhorne.

The report clearly stated that Isobel was five weeks and three days pregnant.

It was then that it finally dawned on me. Dante never truly considered seeking my permission. He'd already made up his mind and was just informing me, his fiancee on paper.

I sat by the apartment window, staring down at the busy streets as a chill sank deep into my bones.

The next day, I canceled our wedding venue reservation. I ripped up our wedding invitations and burned everything I had received from him, including the wedding ring and his handwritten wedding vows.

On what was to be our wedding day, I didn't show up. Instead, I boarded a plane to the city of Laran in Etolia. I joined an international medical center and began my new life as a medical researcher.

From that point onward, I cut off all ties with Dante.

…

"I've explained this to you countless times! Isobel can't hold out much longer. Her myeloma is now in the terminal stage. The doctor says she only has a year at most," Dante de Rossi said.

"Her last wish is to bear a child who can carry on her family name. I owe her my life. In any case, this isn't just about me wanting to repay that debt. This will also ensure the alliance between both our mafia families."

As usual, Dante was standing before me and justifying himself with that calm voice of his, but every word he said felt like a stab in the heart.

Five years ago, on the streets of Chargo, a gunfight broke out between the de Rossis and the druglords of Portshire. Dante claimed that Isobel de Luca had shielded him from a fatal shot, and from then on, she became his savior.

Still, I didn't get it. How was it love if I had to be sacrificed in the process of him repaying his debt of gratitude?

Dante continued his attempts to persuade me. "It's just artificial insemination. Nothing will ever happen between her and me. It's only so that she can have a baby."

After a pause, he looked at me with mixed emotions and said, "You love me, don't you? If you love me, you should be able to understand my position and give me your blessing."

I shot to my feet. My voice quaked with fury as I retorted, "We're getting married next month, Dante, but you got a woman pregnant behind my back! What does that make me?"

Dante remained silent. As he lowered his gaze, I saw a flicker of hesitance in his eyes. Perhaps it was a sign of guilt, or maybe it was just part of his usual manipulative schemes.

The very next second, he regained his composure and said in a low but resolute voice, "Nina, this doesn't just involve Isobel and me. This arrangement involves both our families.

"After much negotiation, the de Rossis and the de Lucas have come to an agreement. As long as Isobel and I have a baby, it'll put an end to the feud between our families that has gone on for the past decade. I can't overturn a decision made by the entire family."

I stared at him, abruptly feeling as though he were a complete stranger to me.

Dante and I had grown up together. I was the one who'd been by his side from the impoverished streets of Brunville to Manhorne School of Medicine. I thought our love was pure and untainted by other worldly things, and that we belonged to each other.

But in reality, he had never truly stood beside me. He merely considered me a "suitable" fiancee. I was well-mannered, thoughtful, intelligent enough, and never caused trouble for him. I was fit to be the wife of the heir of the de Rossi family.

But the real girl from his childhood wasn’t me.

It was her—the one who used to sneak around playing water guns with him when they were five.

The daughter of his family’s greatest enemy.

The girl from a rival mafia clan, the one he kept hidden deep in his heart, even when their families were at war.

Did he love me?

Maybe.

But when confronted with family, power, loyalty, or Isobel, I would always be the first to be sacrificed.

Dante had more to say, but a call interrupted our conversation. He began heading for the balcony as he answered the call, his voice softening and becoming dulcet.

I couldn't hear what the caller said, but I could see the gentle smile on his face. It had been ages since I last saw him smiling at me like that.