Elena stood by the window, her hands trembling as she watched the city lights fade into the dark horizon. Lorenzo walked in quietly, his voice low but heavy with worry.
"Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me, Elena?" he asked, eyes sharp and filled with the kind of fear only love could create.
She turned to him, her heart beating fast. "Because I am," she whispered.
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to speak. "I didn't come to you by chance, Lorenzo. I came for a mission—one that my father and I have been planning for a very long time."
Lorenzo froze where he stood. "A mission?" His voice dropped into a dangerous growl.
"Yes," she said, fighting her tears. "My father gave me to you… because he needed power. He wanted someone strong enough to stand beside me when the war came. You were never supposed to mean anything to me, Lorenzo. You were supposed to be my weapon."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened, his knuckles white. "So, what are you saying? That all of this… was just a lie?"
Elena shook her head quickly. "No, not all of it. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you. I wasn't supposed to carry your child." Her voice broke, tears slipping down her cheeks. "But destiny changed everything. You changed everything."
Lorenzo laughed bitterly, pacing the room. "So your father—what?—just handed you over to me like a pawn in his little war game?"
"Yes," she whispered. "But it wasn't because he didn't care. He wanted power, control. He pretended to be weak before my stepmother just to get close to her gangs, to learn her secrets. He planned it all. Even that day he came here, begging you for mercy—it was a setup. He wanted to distract you while gathering more information."
Lorenzo's eyes darkened, fury rising in his veins. "So all this time… everything I did for you, every risk I took—was for a lie?"
"No!" she cried, stepping closer. "I was supposed to kill you, Lorenzo… but I couldn't. I fell in love with you, and I couldn't go through with it. I swear, everything I feel for you is real."
Her words echoed through the room, heavy with pain and truth. Lorenzo's face twisted in disbelief, anger burning through his tears. "You came to kill me, Elena? You? The woman I've protected, the woman carrying my child?"
She sobbed. "Yes… but I changed. I can't hurt you. I love you."
Lorenzo slammed his fist against the wall, the sound echoing like thunder. "You used me! You and your father—do you even know what that means to me?!" His voice cracked as he shouted, pain cutting through every word. "I trusted you more than anyone, Elena! I gave up everything just to keep you safe!"
She tried to reach for him, but he stepped back, eyes red and broken. "Don't," he said sharply. "Don't come near me."
Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, "I told you the truth because I can't fight you anymore. I don't want to be your enemy. I want to stand beside you… and protect what's ours."
But Lorenzo's heart was already bleeding. His breaths came heavy, his gaze cold. "You already destroyed what we had," he said, voice shaking. "You came here for war, Elena. Congratulations… you just started one."
He turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Elena collapsed to the floor, her sobs echoing through the mansion. She held her stomach gently, whispering through her tears,
"I'm sorry, my love. I'm sorry you had to fall for a woman like me."