The Lie He Fed Me

For five years, I was married to the heir of the Romano family, Italy's biggest crime family. Every night, he'd hold me and whisper, "Just give me an heir, and I'll give him the entire Romano empire."

But I never got pregnant, and the Don's disappointment in me grew with every passing month.

Until I found out my husband had been secretly swapping my folic acid for birth control pills.

I was still reeling from the fury when I saw a post from his ex-girlfriend: an ultrasound photo.

Her caption was sweet and smug: “Ten weeks along. Vincent said he can’t wait to meet the baby.”

Seeing the flood of congratulations, my mind was made up.

I found the contact info for my ex-boyfriend—the one who’d spent the last five years trying to get me back. I sent him a single text.

【Give me one month. Then I’m coming with you.】

Five years. For five years, I’d done everything I could to get pregnant, to give Vincent the heir he wanted.

But he was secretly feeding me birth control, poisoning my body and making it nearly impossible for me to conceive.

All while his ex-girlfriend, a woman he’d supposedly broken up with years ago, was carrying his child.

In that single moment, I knew I was done. I wanted a divorce.

"Elena, what is this?"

My best friend and doctor, Sarah Martinez, held up the little pink pill. Her voice was dead serious, in a way I’d never heard before.

"It's folic acid," I said, putting down my coffee, confused. "Vincent said this brand was the best. You know we've been trying for years."

The color drained from Sarah's face.

"No, Elena. This isn't folic acid. It's Loestrin. It's birth control."

The world stopped. I stared at her, waiting for the punchline that never came.

"That's impossible." My voice trembled. "Vincent gives it to me himself. He said…"

"As your doctor, I have to be honest with you," Sarah said, grabbing my hand. "This is a high-dose pill."

I shot up from my chair. My coffee cup hit the floor and shattered.

"I need you to run my blood. Now."

Sarah fast-tracked the tests and handed me the report an hour later.

"It's a short-acting pill, Elena. This stuff is potent. The side effects are way worse than with the long-term pills."

I stared at the numbers, my vision blurring with tears. Three years. For three whole years, every time Vincent held me and told me to be patient, every time he said we’d have our baby, every time he came with me to a fertility specialist…

It was all a lie.

The only thing that was real was the pressure. The disappointment from the Don. The whispers behind my back, wondering if I was fit to be the future lady of the Romano family. All of that was real.

My phone buzzed—a notification from a group chat.

Sophia Castellano, Vincent’s ex-girlfriend, had posted an ultrasound photo.

Sophia: Ten weeks