Giving Birth 15
Kai was still crying, clutching my hand, confessing over and over.
But echoinChapter 7
g in my mind were those worried eyes from six months ago when my brother Dante had come to find me
“Gia, Kai’s ambition is too big. I don’t trust him.”
“The Romano family will initiate the ‘Phoenix Plan‘–we’ll publicly declare bankruptcy, I want to use this opportunity to really test bien.”
“If he can weather this storm with you, it proves he truly loves you.”
“I’ll hand over all the Romano family’s domestic assets for him to manage.”
“But if he can’t pass this test…”
My brother hadn’t continued, just sighed.
Back then, I’d vehemently defended Kai, saying he wasn’t that kind of person, that my brother was overthinking,
Looking back now.
How laughable I was.
News of the Romano “bankruptcy” spread throughout the city, with my brother “fleeing overseas to escape debt.”
For the first few days, Kai had put on quite a performance.
He held me, gently comforting me, swearing that even if the Romano family fell, he’d support our household.
He said: “Gia, don’t be afraid. You’ll always have me.”
I believed him.
But the truth?
He couldn’t even be bothered to keep up the act for a full month.
He started staying out all night, coming home reeking of unfamiliar perfume.
The way he looked at me changed from heartache to impatience, and finally to naked disgust.
“Gianna, you’re just some bankrupt heiress now. What can you do besides drag me down?”
“If I didn’t pity you, I would’ve divorced you ages ago!”
Every word he spoke was like a knife stabbing my heart.
Two days ago, his precious Scarlett returned from abroad in grand style.
He didn’t bother hiding it–brought her straight into our home.
They flirted and laughed right in front of me, as if I were the unwelcome outsider.
I couldn’t take it anymore and charged over to make Scarlett get out.
During the struggle, Kai shoved me hard, and my lower abdomen slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table.
Blood instantly stained my dress.
9.0%
Chapter 7
I lost our child.
The child I’d hoped for so long, thinking it was the crystallization of our love.
But Kai just coldly called an ambulance and didn’t even spend one night with me at the hospital.
Until yesterday, when I’d just finished the procedure, my body so weak I could barely stand.
I wanted to drink some soup to warm myself up, but Scarlett “accidentally” knocked it over.
The scalding broth spilled all over my hand.
Before I could even cry out in pain, Kai burst in, immediately shielding Scarlett behind him and screaming at me:
“Gianna! What are you trying to do now! Scarlett came to check on you out of kindness, and you want to bully her?”
He didn’t even ask if I’d been burned.
For that woman’s sake, he dumped me–his wife who’d just miscarried–on a mountain in subzero temperatures.
Lying in that snow, consciousness fading.
In that moment, I was completely awake.
Kai had never loved me, Gianna Romano, as a person.
He loved the status of being the Romano family heiress, the resources and position the Romano name could give him.
Once I lost my utility, I became mud under his feet, a burden he desperately wanted to shed.
He even wanted me DEAD.
“Gia, our eight years together–have you really forgotten all of it? I love you! I really do love you!”
Kai’s wailing continued in my ears, so desperate, so seemingly sincere.
He gripped my hand, tears and snot covering his face, trying to use that cheap emotion to awaken my memories.
I slowly pulled my hand back, looking at this face I’d loved for eight years.
Now I felt nothing but endless disgust.
I looked at him, my gaze ice–cold, and slowly spoke.
“I’ve forgotten.”
“Looking at you now just makes me sick.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.