Chapter 3 She Stays With Me

"You filthy traitors!!"

Victoria clenched her fists in rage. A whirlwind of emotions shook her from within: love was turning into hatred, and pain into an uncontrollable thirst for revenge. She approached her husband and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You damned traitor! Since when you have been cheating on me with my sister, Eder?"

Her voice trembled, heavy with heartbreak.

Eder looked at her with cold indifference. He was no longer the man she had once loved, not the one she thought she knew. Meanwhile, Carolina shamelessly perched herself on the desk, wearing a mocking smile, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"Victoria, darling... It's not what you think," Eder lied, without a hint of shame.

"Oh, isn't it?" Victoria's eyes moved from her sister's face to her husband's, as if searching for even a shred of humanity in them. "How could you?"

Eder shrugged with utter indifference, stepping out of her way. He lit a cigarette with an insulting calm before replying:

"It's your fault, Victoria. You stopped treating me like your husband. Our nights became cold and boring. You no longer gave me good sex, so I had to turn to Carolina... she knows how to do it right."

Carolina strutted past her sister with arrogance, shoving her without the slightest care before grabbing Eder's arm possessively.

Victoria felt her world collapsing. Her chest tightened-each word a dagger driven straight into her soul. The pain was so deep that, for a moment, she thought she might die from it.

"You're such a fool, little sister. While you were obsessed with having a child, I was giving your husband pleasure." Carolina looked her up and down and slid a brazen hand along Eder's arm.

"No! Please... this can't be happening." Victoria shook her head desperately, her voice breaking between sobs. "It's not my fault... I love you, Eder. I've always loved you, unconditionally. Why are you doing this to me? And... tell me the truth... Is it true that you gave me away to another man?"

Eder exhaled a cloud of smoke and stared at her with icy detachment. There was no compassion in his eyes, not a trace of the love he once swore to her.

"Victoria, if you really love me and want another chance with me, you'll give an heir to my boss, Salvatore Mancini. He's the father... and that will be your greatest proof of love."

He stepped closer and brushed her tear-streaked cheek, but Victoria slapped his hand away in disgust. Her world was crumbling before her eyes; it was like being trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

"Over my dead body! I'm not giving my child to anyone. This can't be real!"

Eder grabbed her arm tightly, forcing her to look at him.

"Darling, if you love me, you'll do as I say. You don't have a choice."

"No!" she screamed in desperation, feeling her blood boil with rage. "I'll abort this child. I won't carry it. I won't give you anything!"

Eder's expression darkened. His features twisted into something cruel and merciless as he tightened his grip on her arm with brutal force.

"You have no choice, Victoria."

"Yes, I do!" She tried to run to the door, but before she could reach it, she felt a wall of force stop her. Escaping wouldn't be so easy.

Eder and Carolina gave her no reprieve. While Victoria fought desperately for her life, they tied her hands and feet, dragging her out of the mansion without the housemaid noticing. They stuffed her into the trunk of the car like a mere object.

Eder drove for an hour. When the car finally stopped and the trunk was opened, a cold shiver ran down Victoria's spine. Panic seized her the moment she recognized the place: the Mancini Corporation, the front for the city's most powerful mafia boss, used to cover up his dark dealings. Her mind painted a terrifying image of her husband's boss, a violent criminal who killed without flinching.

The walk to the office felt endless. Eder didn't ask permission, nor did he announce himself. He barged into Salvatore Mancini's office, surrounded by the mafioso's men. With a shove, he threw Victoria to the floor in front of him.

Salvatore looked up, visibly annoyed.

"Why are you here, Eder? I didn't summon you."

Eder gave a calculating smile.

"Sir, I've brought you something you might be interested in."

Victoria's head was covered with a dark hood. Without warning, Eder yanked it off, exposing her face.

Salvatore felt a jolt piercing through his chest. His gaze locked onto her, stunned. That woman... she was the same one who had slipped into his bed just nights ago. What was she doing here?

His jaw clenched.

"What does this mean, Eder?"

Eder held his gaze with brazen defiance, savoring the moment.

"You know perfectly well what it means, sir. Allow me to introduce Victoria Ventura, my wife. She's carrying your child. Do you remember that night?"

Victoria shook her head, confused. Her eyes settled on Salvatore, and, to her surprise, he didn't inspire the fear she had imagined. There was something in him-an inexplicable connection that made her feel less terrified. But when she processed the brutal confession from her husband, she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.

"I don't understand a damn thing, Eder. What the hell is going on here?"

Eder, however, smiled shamelessly.

"Boss, I'm going to give you your heir... in exchange for five million and control over the northern territory. That zone must be mine."

"What? You're selling your wife for money?" Salvatore looked at him with utter disgust. In all his years in the mafia, he had seen ruthless men, but even the cruelest of them respected their wives.

Eder shrugged with cynicism.

"'Selling her' sounds very harsh, my lord. Let's call it an exchange. And if you don't accept..." he paused, "I'll break her neck myself."

In a single motion, Salvatore closed the distance and landed a brutal punch to Eder's face. Blood spurted from his lip.

Eder didn't move. Not because he didn't want to strike back, but because he was surrounded by his boss's men.

"You filthy bastard... I should rip your balls off, Eder!" Salvatore spat the words in rage.

Victoria remained silent, paralyzed, unable to process what was happening.

Eder, on the other hand, wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand and smiled insolently.

"Sir, if you don't accept the deal, one way or another, this woman will die... with your child inside her. It's your decision."

Salvatore, despite being a cold man without remorse, could not ignore the woman standing in front of him. If she truly carried his child, he couldn't let her bastard husband kill her. There was something in her that stirred an uncomfortable feeling within him, something he wasn't ready to confront at that moment.

Still, neither the five million nor the northern territory meant much to him. So, without giving Eder much credit, he gave a brief nod.

"Let her go, you damn fool!"

Eder untied Victoria and smirked arrogantly.

"Very well, boss. Then let's make it official. I'll see you in seven months, with your son."

Salvatore let out a dry, dark laugh.

"Bullshit, Eder. Victoria stays with me."