Love on Loan

I ignored her. I'd lost count of how many times she'd tried to provoke me over the years.

After the gala ended, I walked alone toward the lake behind the estate.

The night wind was cold, and the lake's surface shimmered black under the moonlight.

From a distance, I saw Ava take breadcrumbs from her purse and lead Carla toward the lake at the back of the estate.

"My sweet girl," she said, gently stroking her head, "Mama is going to teach you a brave girl's game."

She knelt down and pointed to the swans gliding on the water. "See those white swans? Only a truly brave little girl can be friends with them."

Carla clapped her hands excitedly.

"I want to play! I want to be a brave little girl!"

She had paid her little attention since her birth, but today she was suddenly taking her out to play.

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

I hurried toward them. Just as I reached them and opened my mouth to call out, Ava suddenly shoved Carla from behind.

"Ah!"

The six-year-old was completely unprepared and tumbled into the icy water.

The lake instantly swallowed her small body.

And Ava was already pointing a finger at me.

"Help! Help me!" she started screaming like a madwoman. "Liliana pushed Carla! She pushed my daughter!"

I didn't have time to think. I jumped straight into the lake.

The bone-chilling cold enveloped me instantly. Water rushed into my nose, and I choked, struggling to breathe.

I swam desperately toward Carla. She was thrashing in the water, her small face turning red.

"Carla! Grab on to me!"

I used all my strength to lift her above the water and swim toward the shore.

On the bank, Ava was still crying hysterically. "Mrs. Marino, no matter how much you hate me, you can't take it out on Carla! She's Bruno's firstborn child!"

Footsteps rushed in from all directions as the gala guests were drawn by the commotion.

Bruno was the first to arrive. When he saw me and Carla, both soaking wet, his face turned to stone.

"What happened?"

I froze completely. I couldn't believe she would do something so depraved just to frame me, even using her own son.

"Bruno!" Ava sobbed, throwing herself into his arms. "Liliana pushed Carla! She pushed her into the lake!"

The crowd grew larger, and Ava's cries were heart-wrenching.

I was splayed on the cold stone steps, struggling to push myself up. I reached a trembling hand toward Carla.

"Carla, sweetie, don't be scared... You tell Papa what just happened..."

Before I could finish, Carla scrambled behind Bruno in terror, her voice thick with tears.

"It was her! She pushed me in! I'm so scared!"

I froze, my outstretched hand falling limply to my side.

I wanted to say something, but Bruno lunged forward and slapped me across the face.

"You dare lay a hand on my firstborn child? Are you even human?"

"Just because I brought Ava to the family gala, you get so jealous you try to kill my daughter? The very girl you raised with your own hands!"

I opened my mouth, but the taste of blood was overwhelming. The words dissolved into a silent, bitter laugh.

I looked into Bruno's furious eyes.

"Bruno, do you really believe that?"

"She's only six years old! Would she dare lie in front of the whole family?"

The family members around us were muttering amongst themselves.

A soldato pointed at me and called me "vicious." The head of another family sneered, "No wonder she can't produce an heir. With a heart that cruel, this is all just karma."

Their accusations washed over me like a tide, but what hurt more was Bruno's hateful gaze, a dagger plunging into my heart. In his mind, I was nothing but a jealous, vicious woman.

Ava, nestled in Bruno's arms, looked at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"Madam, if you have a problem, take it up with me. How could you be so cruel to a child?"

Carla's crying grew louder. She said she was afraid just looking at me.

Bruno pointed a finger at me and roared.

"Liliana, get out of my sight! And don't you ever appear in front of me again!"

"The Marino family has no place for a woman like you."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and staggered to my feet. I pulled a fresh copy of the divorce papers from my bag, a bitter smile on my lips.

"It's time I got out... Just sign it. I'll disappear for good."

The murderous intent in Bruno's eyes flared. He shot to his feet and slapped the papers against my face.

"Without a hundred million dollars, don't even think about leaving! You remember this, Liliana. For the rest of your life, you are the Marino family's property!"

A torrential rain began to fall outside. I stumbled toward the parking lot, the cold rain mixing with my tears.

Ten years of marriage, of blood, sweat, and humiliation. When I got that money tomorrow, it would all finally be over, wouldn't it?

I yanked open my car door, started the engine in the downpour, and sped recklessly away from the estate.

At a sharp turn just outside the gates, my vision blurred by tears, I didn't see the road clearly.

The car spun out of control and crashed into the guardrail. The hood crumpled, and the windshield spiderwebbed with cracks.

I slumped over the steering wheel, my body aching, my consciousness fading.

Through the sound of the rain, I heard the engine of another car.

Footsteps grew closer. Someone tapped gently on my shattered car window.

A man's voice, low and unhurried, held a trace of concern.

"I'm only a few minutes late, and you've already made such a mess of yourself, haven't you?"

When I woke up, I was in a private clinic.

"Be careful. The doctor said you're pregnant. Eight weeks."

My whole body went rigid.

The timing... it had to be from that night Bruno came home drunk. We hadn't been intimate in a long time, and he had been incredibly rough.

Lorenzo Vitale's gaze settled on me, his expression unexpectedly gentle.

"Interesting. The Marino family's underboss throws his wife out, not even knowing she's pregnant with his child."

Then he smiled, but let out a cold laugh.

"So that's how cruelly he's treated you. But not for much longer."

"The hundred-million-dollar wire transfer has been sent to the Marino family."

"You are free."