Chapter 1
I’d been married to Mateo Craige, the head of a crime syndicate, for ten
years.
Through blood and bullets, I stood by his side.
My hands, once graceful on the piano keys, were now calloused from clutching a gun and stained with blood..
But at twenty–eight, he fell head over heels for Mandy Rastell, a girl with nothing to her name.
He said she was pure and innocent–like a daisy.
He managed to keep this a secret until I caught him taking her to a prenatal checkup.
I lost it and demanded answers, but he calmly handed me a divorce
agreement.
“Mandy’s pregnant, I want our baby to be born into a proper family.
“Sign it, and you’ll receive 40% of my shares.”
I refused.
So he forced my hand and pushed me into a corner.
He even went as far as abducting my paraplegic brother and placing him beneath a hydraulic press.
“Lina Glakin, sign it–or watch your brother get crushed to a pulp. Your choice.”
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I dropped to my knees and begged him to stop.
But the machine roared to life, and my brother’s blood and body parts splattered all over me.
Clutching my cramping belly, I screamed and passed out.
When I regained consciousness, I was back at the moment I saw him taking that woman to her prenatal appointment.
This time, I stayed silent.
དགས་ར་པདའ ི་དེ་ ང་འང་སྐའ་ར་ལ་ས
I moved my brother to a private care facility overseas, divorced Mateo, and disappeared.
However, when I was out of his life, he went crazy.
apply
***
I curled up behind the wall, hand over my mouth, shaking uncontrollably.
The image of my brother’s gruesome death remained vivid in
in my mind.
Not far off, Mateo was murmuring to Mandy, “Once the baby’s stable, we’ll register the marriage.”
Hearing that again, I didn’t lose my mind.
In my previous life, when I hurried out to question him, he was terrified that Mandy would find out she was just a kept woman. He smashed my jaw with the butt of his gun.
Remembering that, I pressed myself deeper into the shadows.
Meanwhile, Mateo wrapped his arm around Mandy and walked away,
Once I was sure they wouldn’t return, I entered the consulting room with
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the report.
The doctor said, “Ms. Glakin, the wall of your uterus is quite thin. It will be challenging for you to conceive again after this pregnancy is terminated.”
I silently stared at the report confirming I was two months pregnant.
My mind drifted to Mateo’s loving eyes when he pressed his ear to Mandy’s belly.
ན་ནོ། དེང་ནས། ང་ལ་ར་གན་ག་རང་རྒྱ
આ સે
Ten years ago, it was this very gaze that captured my heart.
I gave up the chance to study overseas and let go of my dream of being a pianist for him.
པ་དག་པ་ནི་དོ། དེ་ནད་པ་ས་ར་མིད་གང་
ན་ ན་ཀ་མེད་
Gradually, I learned to shoot with hands meant to play piano, getting used to living on the brink of danger.
But the moment Mandy appeared, everything I’d sacrificed became a joke.
As I remained silent, the doctor went on, “Ms. Glakin, your case is quite unique. Is your husband aware of this?”
I looked up, meeting his eyes, and replied calmly, “My husband is dead.”
An hour later, I walked out of the hospital, pale and unsteady, one hand braced against the wall.
Once I felt a bit better, I called my brother’s caregiver.
“Cooper, arrange for my brother to be moved to a private care facility in London this week. Keep it discreet and make sure Mr. Craige doesn’t find
out.‘
Then I had one of my most trusted men draft a divorce agreement.
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As soon as that was handled, my subordinate sent over everythi could find on Mandy.
ey
In my past life, I hated her so much I couldn’t even bear to see a photo of her. However, with a second chance at life, I found myself in a much
calmer state.
For the first time, I was curious about the woman who had Mateo so utterly obsessed. After all, he’d been surrounded by beautiful women all
his life.
I unzipped the file and then hit play on the video.
Inside a run–down church, a girl was playing “Wedding in a Dream” on an old piano. Sunlight fell on her faded dress. She looked as pure as a daisy after a rain shower.
Mateo, with only half of his face visible, smiled softly, his eyes brimming with admiration.
I paused the video and ran to the bathroom, dry–heaving.
It was ridiculous.
What he had fallen for was the version of me from a decade ago.
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