Chapter 1

Alone, in a room without my so-called family. Only with servants to keep me company. That's how I'm going to die, without even the strength to speak more than one sentence. My life was a failure. I got married at fifteen and gave birth to a pair of twins the following year. Everyone said that being Duchess Nigthgale is na honor never seen again, how lucky I was to marry one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. Since marriages with a large age difference are permitted, marrying someone just three years older than I made many ladies envious. I'm digressing, maybe it's my illness. Let's start at the beginning.

I am Roseli Meratto, the oldest daughter of Marques Edmundo Meratto, who was promised at birth to Duke Nigthgale's heir, three years older. The Meratto family is a noble and very rich family. Unfortunately my little brother is not there when it comes to making money, but he is good with political matters, like my father, who leads the diplomacy ministry. Since I was young, I followed my mother, Danielle, learning how to be a perfect lady. As I recall, my brother may not be as good at business, but I am. When I turned 10 I asked for a fund to start a business borrowed from my parents and in five years it became one of the largest conglomerates in the kingdom, not that anyone knows that the genius here started it, everything is under my control, but in the mind of the people, it is a secret man named Robert Moore who controls this. And then the wedding day came. My fiance went to study abroad at the age of 10, so we haven't seen each other for about eight years before the wedding. The wedding was beautiful. Duke Nigthgale has only my fiancé Kyle as a son and never married after his wife died of illness. He had his son in his early thirties and is already in his fifties on his wedding day, which also served for Kyle to actually inherit Ducato. Like a political marriage without affection for the male part of the situation, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to try to get his affection, I gave up. Fortunately, I was already pregnant with the pair of twins, Timothy and Teresa. Since the duke's education from childhood was serious, he could not have much say in the education of children. Unfortunately, they took after their father's useless and when they learned to speak they decided to ignore me. Honestly, I didn't expect to be left out by my kids. When they turned seven, I got pregnant again, but I drank poisoned tea for the duke, so as not to hit the grass and scare the snake, he didn't call the doctors and my baby was gone. It hurt my body making it incredibly difficult to get pregnant. My children grew up and ignored me even more and my husband was not home enough for that. I found out when my kids turned fifteen that he loved a girl abroad who died in na attack aimed at him, and who never forgot her. It seems that this bastard wanted to destroy the marriage agreement if it wasn't for that. My ungrateful children don't know where the money they waste is coming from. If it were easy to maintain a house with the amount of expenses it has with the money allocated it would be pathetic. One-third of annual expenses are withdrawn from my private account while expenses for clothes, books, weapons, parties and gifts are withdrawn from me. I fell ill with frustration and suppressed anger for many years. My children were spoiled by the deer and spoiled by Aunt Dayse, my father-in-law's cousin who was responsible for the education of my children, all because they thought that as a mother she would not be severe and demanding enough. I was raised by the daughter of the prime minister, granddaughter of a general and by the minister of public relations, one of the greatest diplomats the kingdom has ever had as well as a master at multiplying his money, and yet I did not have enough emotional qualifications to raise my children. Children. They did not even make na effort to learn the work I did in maintaining a conglomerate, the relationships between families under the Ducato, or to fulfill their luxurious requests. My life is broken. I am forty-seven years old and my health is gone. My son didn't even ask for my opinion on the wedding and my daughter said she didn't want anything from me.

Well, they are fine with that I think. I left part of my company to my would-be assistants and my only niece, Viviane. As for my children, a pin is all they will get.

My time is running out, but I want to gather everyone here to read my will. And I did it. These ungrateful people didn't even come to visit me as a patient, but for my will they did.

My husband Kyle, my son Timothy, my daughter Teresa, my niece Viviane, my best friends and assistants Jules, Juan and Janesa. My lawyer read all of my assets out loud and I saw my kids' faces changing. That was very satisfying. My assistants had their red eyes looking at me and my niece was crying. The company itself was left for the three to manage in addition to a house for each. Viviane has a part of the company where she can receive money without doing anything. I left her my jewelry and several properties. My daughter screamed that I didn't leave anything for her and her brother. Timothy's eyes were looking at me angrily, as if I had betrayed them. Ironic isn't it?

My husband was the most calm, I doubt he does not know after so many years that I have been adding money to improve family funds. But he never said anything to me. I'm tired of this shouting. My eyes closed and all I can hear are the screams of Janesa and Viviane, the suppressed cries from my personal maids and the comfort of James and Juan the girls. Only that.