Chapter 8

Surprise flashed across Stefano's face. He called the maids over and gave them detailed instructions to take good care of me. The gentleness he showed reminded me of the time when he was still pursuing me. He would even personally feed me during meal times. When night fell, Salvatore didn't try to coax me into sleeping with him like he always did. Instead, he just calmly held me. He kept staring at my flat stomach in a daze. I wasn't bothered enough to talk to him, so I turned around and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest. I was still caught in the haze of sleep when I suddenly felt someone stroke my stomach gently. "Did… Did you really carry my child here?" Salvatore asked in a low and hesitant voice. Any traces of sleepiness fled me as I snapped awake immediately. I was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to throw the pregnancy report in his face. However, I knew now wasn't the right time yet. I still needed to weaponize his regret to do other more important things. It seemed that the Farro fratelli's favorable treatment of me frightened Antonia. On the eve of her birthday, she used the excuse that she wanted to visit me to bring a USB drive to me. "I bet you don't know this, Regina, but Stef has never touched you even once in all these years," she said smugly as she inserted the USB drive into the computer. A video of two bodies writhing against each other began playing on the screen. Antonia was being pleasured by the man, and although I couldn't see his face, I could tell that it was Stefano just by listening to his voice. "You're the only wife for me, Antonia. I feel filthy whenever Regina touches me for even a second. Once you've taken full control of The Rosas, I'll kick Regina to the curb and make our engagement public." The sounds of Stefano's heavy breathing and Antonia's coy laughter mixed together and echoed around the room. I could feel an immense disgust churning in my stomach. Even though I had already decided to stop loving Stefano, I couldn't help the way my heart throbbed with pain. I reached out my hand, wanting to turn off the computer, but Antonia grabbed my hand and stopped me. She then moved her lips close to my ear and whispered maliciously, "Did you know? Stefano's going to announce our relationship to the public tomorrow. As for you, you'll be nothing more than a mistress who can never see the light. "Your madre only got to marry Papa all those years ago because she had money. As a result, Mamma and I had to live by ourselves on the outside. Now, it's your turn to experience those hard days." Wanton noises from the video continued to reverberate around the room. I couldn't bear to listen to those disgusting noises for a second longer. I grabbed a chair that was nearby and used it to smash the computer to pieces. Antonia let out a shrill shriek, prompting the Farro fratelli to rush into the room. The room was in a state of chaos. Antonia was sitting on the floor, looking terrified as she held her face, acting as if I was the one who bullied her. "Antonia!" Stefano dashed over to her, roughly shoving me to the side. Unable to dodge out of his way in time, I fell to the ground. The broken pieces of the computer stabbed into my palm, causing blood to flow out of the open wound. No one noticed the pain that travelled from my palm all the way to my heart. Both of them were gathered around Antonia. I lowered my gaze, unwilling to watch them fuss over another woman. Suddenly, Stefano hauled me to my feet. "Gina, Antonia came to take care of you out of the goodness of her heart. Why did you hurt her again?" he demanded. I raised my head and looked at Stefano's darkened expression and Antonia's smug gaze. I couldn't help but feel how ridiculous this entire situation was. "I hurt her?" The corners of my lips curled up into a smile. I strode over to Antonia and slapped her hard across the face. "Take a good look, Stefano. This is what bullying really looks like." Both Stefano and Salvatore were stunned in place when my slap rang loudly across the room. I had always been a mild-mannered person, so they probably never expected me to do such a thing. I had channeled every ounce of strength I had into the slap. The corner of Antonia's lips was speckled with blood. She held her face and glared at me fiercely, but it didn't take long for her to put on a pitiful appearance once more. "Don't blame Gina because of me, Stef. She's in a bad mood. As her sorella, if slapping me makes her feel better, I don't mind enduring a little pain." Stefano snapped back to his senses. His eyes were filled with displeasure and hatred when he looked at me. "Why do you keep trying to pick a fight with Antonia, Regina? She treats you so well even though you're just her sorellastra." "I think she's been spoiled by the Farro family's protection," Salvatore said mockingly, his words colored with an underlying hint of anger. "If she loves bullying others so much, perhaps it's time for her to get a taste of her own medicine."