Alessio ran a hand through his hair, growling with impatience.

"Is now really the time for this? You claim we were in love for six years. Is it so strange that I'd remember something like your blood type in a crisis?"

But I had just had surgery. My body was still healing. How could I possibly donate blood?

And even if I could, why should I have to bleed for the mess he made with his flings?

"I just had surgery. I can't donate. Find someone else."

Fury twisted Alessio's features.

"Colette, all I hear is how much you love me, but when it comes to a simple blood donation, you refuse and make up pathetic lies!"

"I never thought you'd be the kind of person to watch someone die! No wonder I can't remember ever loving you!"

He was right. If he had ever truly loved me, he wouldn't have spun this web of lies to deceive me, and he wouldn't be so blind to the pale, drawn look on my face.

He certainly wouldn't be forcing me to donate blood for the woman he was screwing.

A nearby monitor shrieked. The paramedic, wasting no more time, pushed the gurney into the emergency room.

Alessio tried to drag me toward the donation room, but I dug my heels in, refusing to budge.

In a fit of rage, he slung me over his shoulder.

"Colette, willing or not, you're doing this. I'll owe you. Hell, I'll even marry you on our so-called wedding day if that's what it takes!"

In that instant, all the fight drained out of me.

Fine. We would call it even for the time he saved my life.

Watching my crimson blood flow into the bag, a chill settled deep in my bones.

After the donation, Alessio and the nurse rushed to the operating room.

As he walked away, I said softly to his retreating back,

"Alessio, we're even now."

Stepping out of the blood donation room, a wave of dizziness hit me. My vision went black, and I collapsed.

When I woke up again, the doctor looked ready to scold me, but his words dissolved into a sigh.

"Take care of yourself. In your condition, you can't donate blood again for at least six months."

I smiled faintly and said okay.

As the doctor left, a young nurse beside her couldn't help but whisper,

"Director, why didn't you tell her we couldn't get ahold of her emergency contact? What if she thinks we didn't even try..."

"She won't misunderstand. That young woman knows the score. It's just a damn shame she's mixed up with a man like that."

I picked up my phone. The doctor had made over a dozen more emergency calls to Alessio on my behalf.

Not a single one was answered.

Instead, I had a new text from him:

【Colette, can you stop the drama? Just stay in your lane, will you?】

In that moment, I was almost glad he hadn't answered.

I couldn't imagine the venom he would have spat at me.

I didn't reply. I lay in the hospital bed for a full day before I found the strength to get up.

The sun was bright outside. I went to the clinic's rooftop garden for some fresh air and ran right into Alessio's men.

Each of them held a cigar and a bouquet of fresh flowers.

Thinking they were there to see me, I instinctively turned to leave.

But they circled me, their eyes raking over my patient gown with amusement. They began to taunt me.

"Well, look what we have here. Heard Alessio's shacked up in the hospital with his new piece, so you decided to play the tragic heroine?"

"It was a little blood. Is the whole damsel in distress act really necessary?"

"I gotta hand it to you, though, the makeup's real natural. Just like those third-rate actresses who think a few tears will land them a leading role..."

Alessio's men had always thought I, an outsider, was beneath him.

If he hadn't defied everyone and forced them to call me the "future Matriarch," they wouldn't have given me the time of day.

Now, playing along with Alessio's game, they could finally say what they really thought.

Alessio, who had come down to meet them, froze when he saw me, then scowled.

"Colette, do you have to be so damn dramatic?"

"I already promised to marry you. And you're still bribing doctors and faking sick just to watch me? Is this fun for you?"

"Do you have any idea how suffocating you are?"

"Let me be clear, Colette. You pull one more stunt to spy on me, and I'll lock you in the manor until you learn what it means to be a Rizzo woman."

"There's no need for that. I don't need you to marry me."

In our six years together, he had always been free.

When he wanted to drink, I'd sit quietly beside him, never rushing him.

If I couldn't be there, I'd wait for his call and pick him up immediately.

When he was drunk, I'd care for him without a single complaint.

When he wanted to take his boat out with his men, I'd prepare everything, planning their itinerary.

Even when he handed me his encrypted phone, I never looked.

I loved him, and I refused to repeat my mother's tragedy, driving my father away with her suffocating control.

I thought I had always maintained a healthy distance.

At least, before his "accident," we were inseparable, still lost in a honeymoon haze.

But now, I finally understood. My love was suffocating him.

So, was that the real reason he faked a new personality? To escape me?

Our eyes met, and I couldn't find a single trace of affection in his.

The questions burning on my tongue died in my throat.

Alessio scowled at my stare, then snatched a bouquet of white lilies from his man, Rocco. He shoved them into my arms.

"Alright, you got what you wanted. Stop playing the victim. Take the flowers and get out of here."

He still thought I was that naive girl who could be placated with a simple gift.

He still didn't believe that I, the girl who would marry no one but him, would actually walk away.

I handed the flowers back to Rocco.

"These are for your new flame. It wouldn't be right for me to take them."

"Alessio, I'm not negotiating. I'm informing you. Our... agreement... is terminated."

A strange panic flared in Alessio's chest.

Shouldn't Colette be ecstatic?

Why did she keep saying she didn't need him to marry her?

Was she actually angry?

Anxiety flickered in his eyes. "Colette, I..."

His men coughed in unison, and he immediately corrected himself.

"Colette, I'm a man of my word."

But I just smiled.

"You should go. Be with your woman."

"I'm checking out now."

Hearing my calm dismissal, Alessio felt a flicker of panic.

She was different today.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but something had fundamentally shifted.

Seeing his hesitation, Rocco slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him away.

"Come on, Alessio, she'll see you looking. Don't want your precious Portia getting jealous, do you? It's a classic move: tragic victim, then playing hard to get. All women pull this shit. You're just too soft."

"Exactly! Look at the mess you made. You're not a kid. How could you let her bleed out like that? Good thing Portia is forgiving, not like some people who demand a wedding ring for a pint of blood..."

Listening to the words they intended for me to hear, I didn't feel the expected heartache. Just an icy chill that seeped into my bones.

Even under the bright sun, I felt no warmth.

After they left, I checked out of the hospital.

While Alessio was occupied, I hired a professional cleaning service to help me pack.

The manager stared at the newly decorated penthouse, stunned.

"Miss, this is all brand-new wedding decor. Are you sure you want to get rid of it?"

"Yes. The man is dead to me. None of it is needed anymore."

The manager immediately apologized and offered his condolences.

To spare me from the memories, they started by taking down the enormous wedding portrait of Alessio and me, along with dozens of photo albums.

In just half a day, the home I had so meticulously created was stripped of all joy.

A cold apartment, a cold me.

The manager glanced at the mountain of items by the door—all the evidence of a shared life—and couldn't help but sigh.

"Miss... my condolences. Please, try to take care of yourself."

I smiled and nodded.

After they were gone, I did a final sweep to ensure no trace of me remained, wiped my biometrics from the door lock, and walked out with my suitcase.