"Stephen was a little too playful this time. I brought you allergy medicine, take it. Don’t let it ruin tonight’s banquet."
Even with his wife long gone, he hosted a grand banquet every year on her birthday, ensuring the world never forgot the woman he cherished.
For years, I had tread carefully within the Davis family, bowing to his every command without question.
The moment I swallowed the pill, the servants flanking Carlos seized me, forcing me down onto the sofa. My arms and legs were pinned, leaving me no room to struggle.
Two masked men stepped forward, one holding a cup of pigment, the other gripping a tattoo needle. Without hesitation, the needle pierced straight into the open wounds on my leg.
Agony shot through me, my vision going stark white. My breath caught in my throat as the color drained from my face.
Carlos gazed down at me, his voice laced with frost.
"Stephen may be mischievous, but you should have known better than to wear a color Evie despised on her birthday. I’ve told you before that nothing she disliked is permitted in this house."
"When you make a mistake, you must accept the consequences."
An hour later, the fresh wounds on my leg had transformed into the image of a vivid red rose. Drops of blood still oozed from the petals, making it look almost lifelike.
Red roses, Evie’s favorite flower. Her favorite color. The very same tattoo once marked her leg.
Carlos’s sharp gaze lingered on my pale face. His expression shifted, softening ever so slightly before he dismissed the others with a wave of his hand.
He knelt on one knee, his lips brushing against the rose etched into my skin. His kiss trailed upward, laced with a slow-burning desire.
"Remember, you’ll wear Evie’s favorite red dress. Be good, and I might consider returning one of your eggs. But don’t make a mistake like today again. You nearly let Stephen find out the truth. He belongs to Evie, no one else. No one will ever take her son from her."
Carlos had always been a man of control over others, over himself, over everything he touched.
So, the day I was brought into this house, he stripped me of my future. Every last egg was taken.
"A child is only mine if they come from Evie’s womb."
"The only reason I let you raise Stephen was because it was her dying wish. She wouldn't entrust him to anyone else. But you, don't even think about claiming him as yours."