Tearing the Underboss's Heir Agreement

He had probably planned even crueler humiliations.

But he never expected me to agree so readily.

"What did you say?"

A bitter smile touched my lips as I repeated myself.

"I said, I'll get rid of the child."

Under the stunned gazes of everyone in the room, I walked slowly out of the club.

Behind me, the chaotic sound of smashing glass erupted.

The moment I closed the door, the chaos was silenced.

Then, I dialed the number that had contacted me a month ago.

"Isabella, you win."

"I don't want Dante anymore. You can have him."

Isabella had returned to New York City a month ago.

At the time, I had just discovered I was pregnant and was preparing to sign the heir agreement with the Moretti family.

She'd contacted me, hoping I could help her meet with Dante.

I knew she just wanted a witness to her story, someone to corroborate a few convenient lies.

In truth, Dante would believe whatever outrageous story she spun.

Just as he would never believe a word I said.

I refused her request, so she proposed a bet: that Dante would never let me have this child.

Now, I had lost. Utterly.

I had thought that even without love, he'd have some compassion. If not for me, then at least for our child.

But Dante was incapable of it. He was heartless.

The next morning, braving the wind and snow, I took a taxi to an underground clinic that asked no questions and scheduled the abortion.

"The fetus is already formed. Are you sure you want to terminate?"

The doctor looked at my chart, a hint of regret in his voice.

"I'm sure."

My hand, hidden in my sleeve, clenched into a fist. The moment I nodded, a sharp, physical pain tore through my chest.

The doctor looked up, his eyes flicking to the empty space behind me, and his expression shifted to one of grim understanding.

Without the father's signature, I wasn't even given the choice of anesthesia.

Lying on the cold operating table, I could feel every sensation as the child was stripped from my body.

The pain was a visceral agony, wrenching my heart and crushing my soul.

I'm so sorry, baby.

It's Mommy's fault. I couldn't protect you.

"She's perforated and hemorrhaging! Quick, contact her family!"

On the verge of fainting, I was shaken awake by a nurse.

"What's your family's phone number? You're bleeding out, we have to contact them now!"

"The file... there's a number for the child's father!"

...

"Mr. Moretti, Elena Hayes is here for an abortion and she's hemorrhaging! We need you to come down and decide what to do!"

The nurse repeated my name, her voice strained with panic.

But the other end of the line was dead silent.

"Elena, are you colluding with the doctors to put on a show for me now?"

"Let her die. Call me when you need the body collected."

The line went dead. The operating room descended into chaos.

My consciousness was drifting, but it snapped back the moment I heard his words.

He would rather let me die than believe me, just this once.

I smiled bitterly, closing my eyes as the tears finally fell.

So tired. Living is so tiring.

Loving someone who doesn't love you back is even more exhausting.

But Dante, if you knew... if you knew the person you loved would rather fake her own death just to leave you...

When you finally learn the truth, will you regret any of this?

I had a secret crush on Dante for years, an affection that could never see the light of day.

He, who had never been close to women, fell for my friend, Isabella, during our freshman year of college.

A girl as fiery and beautiful as a wild rose.

But in our senior year, Isabella suddenly came to me and said she didn't love Dante anymore. She was eloping with some street punk.

To spare Dante the heartbreak, she begged me to help her stage her own death.