Chapter 11

Sofia

***

I look around at my life, and I still can't believe that it's mine. When I stepped into this country for the first time all those many years ago, I could never have imagined that one day I would find love and family. That the dark cloud hanging over me would one day recede to let the light in again.

Back then, my heart had no room for anything but the vengeance that beat within it. I wanted only to bear a son, a son who would one day avenge me of the wrongs done to me.

Yes, papa had tried to make it right, but then I had to lose him as well. Too much loss while the one responsible walked free. It was a festering wound that had stayed with me every day.

I did not think I could ever love anyone. My heart was cold, dead even. I knew only a thirst for revenge. I did not know how I would get there, but I knew that someday I would see it.

But this man, this Draco Russo, even as I fought him, had worked his magic, and it wasn't long before I learned to cling to him. He'd