The Prison of Riches

24 years ago

Eight Months After Della's Death

It had been eight long, excruciating months since Della’s death, and in that time, Mirabella had learned a painful truth: you cannot force someone to love you. No matter how much you manipulate, deceive, or fight to have someone, love cannot be coerced. Mirabella had everything she thought she wanted—wealth, status, and a husband. But those things came at a cost she never imagined she'd have to pay.

In the months following Della’s tragic passing, Zealous had transformed into a man Mirabella no longer recognized. He was no longer the gentle, kind-hearted person she had once been infatuated with. Instead, he became consumed with anger and grief, directing his pain at her. The resentment that lived in Zealous’s heart festered like a wound that would never heal. In his eyes, Mirabella and the unborn child were the cause of all his suffering—the reason his beloved Della and their child had died.