To Bloom from the Ashes

Just then, I felt a gentle movement in my belly.

The baby kicked me.

As if to silently tell me, "Mom, I don't want to die."

But Victor Russo's gaze was utterly ruthless.

In the moment I hesitated, he lost all patience. He seized my chin, tipping my head back and forcing the scalding wine down my throat.

The burning liquid slid down my throat like a knife, severing my last hope.

As the wine hit my stomach, a violent churning began, as if something inside me was slowly dying.

I gripped the corner of the blanket, my knuckles turning white, but I didn't make another sound.

The faint fluttering in my womb ceased abruptly, and a pain so deep it felt like my bones were grinding to dust drained the color from my face.

But none of that compared to the pain in my heart.

It hurt until I was numb.

I looked at the man before me.

When he met my despairing eyes, a flicker of panic was evident in his.

"Isabella, don't worry, I'll make it up to you afterward. You are, after all, the person I love most."

I lowered my eyes, unwilling to look at him any longer.

From the next room, Sophia Bianchi's cries erupted again. Victor abandoned me without a second thought and hurried away.

I watched his disappearing back.

I collapsed onto the bed, my heart a hollow cavern of ash.

Victor Russo.

I hope you remember this.

The final bond between us was severed by your own hand.

The night I lost the baby, I writhed in agony in what used to be our marital bed.

Blood soaked the sheets, the searing pain tearing screams from my throat.

The door was ajar, and I could hear Sophia throwing a tantrum next door.

"Victor, she's so loud! Like some alley cat in heat!"

"Trying to seduce men even while she's pregnant, what a slut!"

Victor held her, patiently coaxing her in a soft voice.

"As long as it doesn't upset you, that's all that matters. I'll have someone shut her up…"

A few minutes later, several servants burst into my room.

They swarmed me, holding me down and stuffing a dirty rag into my mouth.

Victor walked over. Seeing my wretched state, he frowned, his voice cold.

"Isabella, Sophia is a patient. She needs quiet. Are you trying to kill her with all this noise?"

"Since you can't control your own mouth, I'll have to help you. Consider it… penance. It might bring you better luck with the next child."

I was on the verge of fainting from the pain, but I shook my head desperately.

I wanted to say that I would never have another child.

But I couldn't speak, my mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood and the foulness of the rag.

Suddenly, Sophia's fragile cry came from the next room.

"Victor! Is she playing the victim again? Is she still trying to steal you away from me?"

"Are you leaving me? If you leave me, I can't live for a single minute. I might as well just die!"

Victor panicked. Just as he was about to rush next door, a maid, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.