Burning It All Down

Footsteps neared the door.

I spun around and bolted down the stairs. Once I got into the kitchen, I yanked open the freezer and grabbed the largest tub of ice cream I could find.

Sinking onto the barstool, I dug in. Scoop after scoop, the icy sweetness coated my tongue, numbing my senses, freezing my thoughts. My stomach twisted in protest, but I kept eating, shoveling it in like I could bury everything I'd just overheard.

Ice cream used to be my favorite food. But for months, I'd denied myself, following every strict regimen to prepare my body for pregnancy.

Convinced that my body was failing me, I endured a barrage of medications and daily injections, all in the desperate hope of conceiving. Little did I know, Derek had been secretly dosing me with hormonal pills, disguised as vitamins.

I couldn't hold my tears back any longer. My tears spilled over, an unstoppable flood, and the salty mix with the ice cream triggered a wave of nausea.

Putting my hands over my mouth, I replayed the conversation I just overheard in my head over and over.

I was never supposed to marry Derek Church. My fiancé had been Russo Morse—the eldest son of the prestigious Morse family. My parents had been eager to secure the alliance, thrilled at the match.

But then I was taken. I was kidnapped at three and sold off to a farm in the middle of nowhere. By the time I clawed my way back home years later, they'd already replaced me. Out of sorrow, my parents had adopted Lilyanne Accetta.

They must have thought my farm upbringing made me crude. Despite being their daughter, they clearly preferred Lilyanne as Russo's bride.

But Russo favored me more. He held my hand lovingly, saying he was willing to marry me.

However, the perfect moment I'd envisioned was violently destroyed when images of my violation were strewn across the wedding.

Russo's betrayal was swift, his lips finding Lilyanne's. The condemnation was equally swift—his family deeming me unacceptable, and my parents, hurling accusations, ordered the bodyguards to remove me from the sanctity of the church.

And then Derek appeared. He wrapped his arms around me, shielding me from the cruelty of the world. He sent mercenaries to make the people who humiliated me pay.

He looked at me with fire in his eyes, swore he loved me and would sacrifice his title as Capo just to have me.

I'd been drawn in by his strong, unwavering gaze. Yet, today, I learned the devastating truth—everything he did was a calculated move to secure Lilyanne's future.

Lilyanne smiling on my wedding day, had been laughing at my stupidity all along.

Derek's "rescue" at my wedding, and the subsequent outpouring of love and care, were nothing more than a calculated act, a facade designed to reduce me to a surrogate.

Tears streamed down my face, a torrent of pain and fury. My fists clenched and my lips bitten raw.

Then, his scent, so familiar, enveloped me. Derek's arms wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder, his touch tender as he wiped my tears.

"Who hurt my darling? Tell me, and I'll erase them."

He pressed a handgun into my hands.

Silently, I raised it, sweeping the barrel across the room. The men around us stiffened, but not one of them dared to move.

Then, in a single motion, I turned the gun and pressed it under Derek's chin.

I disengaged the safety.

"What if it was you, Derek?" I asked, my voice barely a breath.