Chapter 3

One confusing dream Victoria’s POV With the beeping sounds of sensors in my ears, my eyes opened. I looked around, feeling disoriented.

Then I saw my brother, Antonio, sitting on the couch next to me. “A–Antonio...”

He rushed to me. “Victoria, are you all right? Let me call for the doctor.”

A short while later, Antonio let out a breath of relief as the doctor announced my pregnancy and said I wasn’t in danger.

“Are you going to continue to suffer with that family?” he asked, shaking his head. “Why don’t you come home with me this time? I’ve missed you, sister.”

Tears I’d held for three years flowed as I nodded with sorrow and guilt. “I’m sorry I was too willful before. B–but how did you find me?”

“Someone sent me a message and told me you were in trouble in Devonte’s place,” Antonio answered.

“I knew how Alessandro’s family treated you. I rushed to the mansion. I should have never let you stay with them. But now, I can take revenge for you and help you raise your child.”

I shook my head. “Please don’t let Alessandro know about my pregnancy. I don’t want any of them to know about this child.” Either they would force me to return or try to take my child away. Not that I couldn’t stop them, but I didn’t want it to happen. “I will stay away from Alessandro now, and raise my child on my own, giving it my name.”

Antonio raked his fingers through his hair.

I watched my brother and could see the hurt and worry he had gone through because of me. Because of my selfishness, I stayed away from my real family. Still, my brother was there, ready to help me.

I held his hand. “I know what you’re thinking. But I am not going back to him. I tried my best, but it failed, and I don’t want to try anymore.” I gulped the dryness in my throat. “I’ve already told him I want a divorce. Help me file one against him.”

Alessandro’s POV “H...h...elp...” I tried to escape by punching the damaged car door. But the pressure wouldn’t allow it to budge.

My assistant and driver died in the accident, and only I remained. For how long? I don’t know. But there wasn’t much time left. Charred flesh, perspiration, and blood lingered in the air. With the last of my energy, I tried to open the door again. No movement.

The hard smell of fuel and fire hit my nostrils, overpowering the nasty smell of blood and sweat. The automobile’s front side was burning, and it wouldn’t take much to cover the whole car. Frantically, I punched the door. Though being far from civilization, I doubted anyone would hear. People rarely ventured so far into the forest, even on the road we’d been traveling.

My vision darkened as it became more and more difficult to breathe. A piece of my mind knew that I’d die from oxygen deprivation before the car caught fire. As my hopes diminished, I faced the reality of my death. No more sunrises. No more anything. “Hello... Anybody...” I said weakly, not expecting an answer.

A muffled sound met my ears. Groaning in pain, I tilted my head and waited to hear the voice again.

Nothing. Maybe I was hallucinating. Still, I said, “Hello?”

“Th–there it is,” came the muffled voice.

I cautiously opened my eyes. A figure appeared and, again, I thought I must be hallucinating. Who would be there? My head was full of questions. I saw movement through blurry vision, not sure what to believe.

The sound of broken glass shattered my thoughts.

“Hey... You–you okay?” A female voice rang in my ears.

I attempted to capture the tone in my brain, but it was slippery. The voice was familiar. Someone quite close, but I couldn’t picture her. She touched my cheek and rubbed my back. “Are you alive? Please wake up.”

I shifted slightly.

Her sigh was audible. “Thank Lord! Now help me get you out of here, okay? You need to move a bit,”

she said, and I nodded.

My leg was caught behind the driver’s seat, so she had trouble getting me out.

A groan escaped my lips. I thought the leg might be fractured. The scorching heat and suffocating humidity touched us even though we were soaked with sweat. If I couldn’t get out, this girl who tried to save me would die. Pushing her back was my initial instinct.

“Leave,” I yelled.

“No! I’ll never leave you!” Her panicked and stern tone reprimanded me. I tried to watch her through my blurred vision. Despite the situation, she amuses me.

“Please... try. We can get out,” she said.

With one more attempt and a loud groan, I finally dragged my bloody leg out from beneath the seat.

She screamed, “Yes, that’s it,” as we fled from the car, me limping and her trying to take as much weight from me as she could. A moment later, fire devoured the vehicle.

“Oh, thank Lord,” she said with a sigh while on top of me, covering me from the fire. Is everything okay? She asked lovingly. Her soft touch on my cheek felt so warm. “Don’t worry—someone will save us.”

My head was spinning, and the world was slippery as I struggled to open my eyes. Still needing to see my savior, I focused. Who’d risk her life for me? I tried to blink away the blurriness of my stubborn orbs.

Look! The magnificent emerald-green eyes, like a giant doe staring at me in worry. She’s stunning. Had God sent an angel to save me?

The angel blinked once. “You okay?” She asked again.

Wait. I know her. Victoria?

****

Drenched in sweat and disbelief, I jerked my eyes open, then looked around to make sure I was still in the office. Yes, I was. It had been a dream, a dream I’d had for years. Only for the first time, I saw the face of my savior.

But that was impossible. For three years, I had believed Camilla was the one who saved me that night.

At least that’s what everyone said once I woke from the month-long coma I suffered after the accident.

When I heard her voice, I couldn’t tell if it was the same one I’d heard that night. But probably. Why would she lie?

Victoria was my secretary before she became my wife. She was like a snake—dangerous yet impossible to ignore. Even after her lie, I still accepted her. And now she wanted to leave me. Her last words from the day before boiled my blood.

How dare she ask for a divorce from Alessandro fucking Devonte? Not only that, she dared not return home. What the fuck was she trying to prove?

Picking up the intercom, I called for my assistant and right-hand man.

In seconds, Calvin poked his head inside my office. “Yes, director?”

“Did you find out where Victoria went last night?”

Calvin lowered his eyes nervously and shook his head. “No, sir. No one saw her, and the surveillance records have been erased.”

“Keep searching… and make sure to get her back,” I ordered.

He answered with a nod and slipped out of my office.

I left my black leather swivel chair and went to the French window behind me, wearing a scowl, thinking about how Victoria had disappeared. The divorce idea had to be a whim.

But after that, she vanished into thin air. How? With no family or friends, where could she have gone?

Moreover, who could have possibly deleted the surveillance records? Who could have had the audacity to take my wife away from me at such a risk?

“Good morning, Alessandro,” Camilla said. I knew it was her without having to look. However, I hadn’t been anticipating her at this hour, nor was I particularly glad to see her.

She approached, her annoying heels stopping right beside me.

“Why are you here?” I snapped, a little surprised at the coldness in my tone. But I didn’t care right then.

“And no one comes inside my office without knocking.”

“But it’s me, Al. I don’t need to knock, do I?” she said, her voice sultry.

Though seductive, something about her tone felt repellent. Her hand touched my arm, and I was in no mood. I stepped away from her touch. Then I peered at her and saw those undaunted green eyes. My heart stopped for a second, and I heard the voice from my dream again. “I’m injured. I why don’t you come to see me?”

With a blink, Camilla’s brown eyes replaced the green seducing look. Flustered, I turned to the window once again. “Don’t interrupt me at work,” I said. “Go home.”

Instead of heeding my words, she spoke angrily, all her sweetness gone. “Is it because of Victoria that you are cold to me?”

“It has nothing to do with her. I don’t want to discuss the past now,” I said. But then something occurred to me, and I blurted, “Did she really push you before the party?” without thinking.

Camilla blinked, and doubt along with something strange passed over her eyes in the space of a second. “What? You suspect me?” Tears filled her eyes, as if my words had hurt.

Yet, I felt nothing for her. Instead, I stared at her as if she were of no importance, then turned to the window once more. “Respect my wife in the future, and take your leave… now,” I said icily.

“How can you say that to me, Alessandro?” Camilla asked, looking offended. “She was the one who played tricks on you. Otherwise, I would be your wife!” Her eyes held the fire of anger, and she tried to grip my arm.

My annoyance increased tenfold, so I pushed her hand away. My wife had disappeared, and there Camilla was, irritating me. “We broke up years ago,” I said through clenched teeth. “If it weren’t for Victoria, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry you in the first place.”

“I don’t know what I said to make you speak to me like this.” She turned on her heel and stomped her way to my office door. “I won’t forget this,” she said before slamming it on the way out.

Whatever. Her temper tantrum didn’t bother me in the least.