Chapter 2 Her Secret

• “You fucking dare get pregnant from me, I will make sure you abort the baby.”
• Her husband’s words rang through her ears, and tears blurred her vision. She was only nineteen and this much pressure on her was not good.
• Her husband was into BDSM, and she always obliged to make him believe she was the only one for him. Her unfiltered love for him had started to vanish lately when she began to feel more like a toy than his wife.
• She came back to the Fran Manor, and the sight of it already made her nauseous. The dark hallways and the screams from certain rooms, where her husband’s men were torturing their enemies, were always hard for her to pass through.
• The minute she entered her bedroom and saw Carlos, her breath hitched.
• “You are early, honey,” she asked in a shaky tone, fearing he would demand sex again.
• “Strip! ” he demanded.
• But that night, she had to decline his demand for the sake of her unborn child’s safety. “I am sorry. I cannot do it.”
• This was the first time she had declined his wish with such confidence, and it didn’t sit well with Carlos.
• These past one year, she had given him her everything, but nothing had changed. He had only become more distant from her.
• The reason Carlos hated her was due to what her mother had done to their family.
• From a young age, Veronica's father never spoke of her mother's death. It wasn't until she was ten that she overheard her stepmother's scornful remarks—her birth mother and a wealthy man had met in secret in the mountains, had sex in his car, only for their car to plunge off a cliff, killing them both.
• That wealthy man was none other than Carlos’s father.
• Branded as a shameless mistress who had destroyed Carlos’s parents’ marriage, Veronica's mother became a stain on the past.
• Fueled by resentment over her mother’s affair, Veronica’s father openly welcomed the other woman into their home, erasing every trace of his late wife’s existence.
• As if Veronica’s very presence reminded him of that betrayal, he refused to so much as look at her.
• She grew up like an orphan—utterly alone in the world.
• “You think you’re being smart? You think—you’ll refuse my request, and I’ll let you sit here in peace?” That didn’t happen last time. When she couldn’t be with him, he left the room and brought another woman for himself. But tonight, he looked angry.
• He quickly walked toward her and grabbed her hair in his fist, forcing her to look at him.
• “I’m just… not feeling well,” she managed to say while tears ran down her face.
• “Or maybe you slept with someone else and came home all used up,” he yelled, throwing her onto the bed and getting on top of her.
• She knew what he was suggesting. It wouldn’t be the first time he had accused her of cheating.
• “I didn’t—I swear, I haven’t let anyone touch me but you—” she began to cry and sob, but none of it softened her cold-hearted husband.
• “You’re lying. You’re just like your mother. A filthy whore—” As he raised his hand to hit her, she screamed.
• “I am not. I love you!”
• His hand remained in the air for a few seconds before his eyes shifted to her bag on the bed. When he pushed her, the contents had spilled out and scattered around.
• Among them were her reports. He got off her and grabbed them, reading with wide eyes.
• She had gotten up from the bed, hugging herself in shock. He had always hurt her mentally, abused her with his words, but this was the first time he was about to hurt her physically. If he had slapped her tonight, she would have been broken forever.
• “What is this?” He waved the files in her face, making her shut her eyes in fear.
• “I was going to tell you… about this,” she whispered, not daring to lift her eyes, keeping her arms wrapped around her body in fear.
• “Tell me what? Huh? The only thing you should have told me was that you got rid of this filth,” he yelled in her face, grabbing her hair to force her to look up.
• His anger had no limits, and tonight, he had reached a new level—one where he wasn’t afraid to grab her and throw her around.
• “Can we please… keep this baby? It will change so much for us. Maybe the baby will help you move on from your past and accept me as your wife—” she begged, pressing her shaking palms together before her cruel husband.
• “Keep the baby who has your blood? Your mother’s blood? Hell no!” He pushed her back against the wall, getting in her face. “You will make up your mind right now. Me or this filth?” he yelled, making her stare right into his eyes in shock.
• In that moment, she realized she was in love with someone who was not capable of being loved. She had given him too much, and now she regretted it.
• She couldn’t live like this. There was no hope for this man. But what could she do? Could she really escape the mafia?
• As he glared at her, waiting for an answer, his phone rang, and he pulled back from her.
• “Hm? What? Okay, hold the containers. I’ll be there in a minute.” It seemed like an urgent call—another one of those important deliveries.
• “By the time I come back, you better have your answer ready,” he hissed, pointing his phone at her.
• As he turned around, he got on another call and left the room. Veronica had only a few hours before he returned.
• This was when she remembered how many times she had lost her babies before even finding out she was pregnant. His fear was so strong that she never thought of taking any tests.
• And then there were the miscarriages from the rough nights. She never told him, but she didn’t even know herself that she was pregnant until it was too late. She had done so much for him, let him disrespect her while she carried a smile on her face. But enough was enough!
• She was tired of it.
• “I will tell you who I’m picking,” she whispered under her breath, giving in to the heartbreak. It was time to accept that she had failed to win his heart. He was too far gone in his hatred for her mother. But she would no longer accept this mistreatment.
• She didn’t deserve punishment for her mother’s sins.
• With that, she hastily packed her bags, grabbing whatever she could.
• She put her reports and important documents along with her savings. Before leaving the room, she placed her ring on the side table.
• It would tell him who she had chosen.
• She left the manor and quietly got into the car.
• “Can you please drop me at the hospital? Carlos asked me to get a procedure done,” she made sure the driver wouldn’t suspect she was leaving his boss.
• Once he dropped her at the hospital, Veronica snuck out through the back door and made her way to the ferry.
• She loaded her bag and herself, heading toward Malta.
• She knew there was another mafia group in Malta that didn’t get along well with the Sicilian mafia—the gang of her husband.
• So it seemed like a safe option to go somewhere he wouldn’t have enough power to demand she be found.
• “Life will be hard from here, but I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you,” she whispered, touching her belly, feeling guilty for the children she lost before this one.
• She felt disgusted with herself, but now she was going to change for her baby.
• “I am no longer Veronica Davis. I am Veronica Vega.”