That night, the port partner hosted dinner.

Bella was there at first.

After too much wine, the partner let his hand brush over hers.

Bella's eyes reddened immediately, and she stepped behind Moretti.

Moretti's expression cooled, but he did not start a war at the table.

He only called me over.

"Iris, you take the second half."

I looked at him.

"If she can't handle it, I can?"

Moretti frowned.

"I'll have men posted outside."

"Half an hour. I'll come back for you."

He sounded serious.

But I thought of the night before, when he had also promised to come back soon.

Once the private room emptied, the partner finally dropped the act.

"Moretti really does trust you, Miss Underboss."

He poured me a drink.

The rim of the glass clicked against the table.

I did not touch it.

Still, a few minutes later, my head began to sink.

There was a faint sweetness in the air.

I stood at once.

He blocked the door, his smile filthy and open.

"Why pretend to be sober?"

"Your Don left you here. We both know what that means."

My limbs were already going weak when I reached for my phone and called Moretti.

He answered quickly.

"Iris?"

I leaned against the wall. My voice shook so badly I barely recognized it.

"Moretti, it happened again."

"Come get me."

Something crashed on his end, like a chair knocked hard against the floor.

His voice went ice-cold.

"How dare they?"

"Where are you? I'm coming now."

For one brief second, warmth rose in my chest.

This time, at least, he was not making me wait.

Then Bella cried out on the other end.

"Moretti, I can't breathe. My medicine. I need my medicine."

Moretti's breathing changed at once.

I held the phone and could almost hear the struggle in his silence.

"Iris."

His voice dropped.

"I need to take Bella to the hospital first."

"I'll send Luca for you."

The warmth that had just risen in me went cold.

So it was the same after all.

As long as Bella needed him, I could always be handed to someone else.

The call ended.

Footsteps approached behind me.

I bit my tongue hard.

Blood filled my mouth, and the pain gave me just enough strength to move.

I grabbed the bottle on the table, smashed it toward him, and ran for the hallway while he dodged.

When Luca arrived with men, I was already curled in the corner of the elevator, my palms slick with cold sweat.

When I returned to the manor, Moretti still was not back.

Bella's message came first.

【Iris, are you all right? That man wouldn't really have touched you. Are you still mad that Moretti took me to the hospital first?】

I did not reply.

Near dawn, Moretti finally returned.

His face was dark.

"Bella said you were emotional tonight."

I lifted my eyes.

"What else did she say?"

Moretti was silent for a moment.

"She said you've been upset because I took her to the hospital first."

"Iris, I know you were wronged."

"But you know how serious her panic attacks are. She's your sister. You can't possibly be jealous of her."

I could not even laugh.

When I first met Moretti, he was not New York's youngest Don.

Back then, he was only an heir the Valtieri family did not believe in.

I was the one who fought through the worst ports with him until he stood where he stood today.

When the elders tried to corner him, I stayed up all night combing through ledgers until I found the flaw that saved him.

When he was ambushed at the docks, I took a bullet for him, and the scar on my shoulder still aches.

He once held my hand and said,

"Iris, once I secure this seat, I won't let anyone wrong you again."

Then Bella came.

All she had to do was tear up, and the scales in his heart tipped toward her without hesitation.

This Moretti was no longer the man who had promised to protect me.

I went upstairs.

In my drawer, my resignation as underboss lay waiting.

I picked up a pen and signed the last line.

After I submitted my resignation through the family system, Moretti called me into the study.

I thought he had finally seen it.

But he brought up something else.

"Bella wants her own birthday this year."

"You two don't need to celebrate together."

I stood before his desk and nodded.

"All right."

Moretti looked up, as if my calm answer had surprised him.

After a pause, he took a box from the drawer.

"Your birthday gift."

I accepted it without opening it.

The box was so light I did not need to open it to know it was not the necklace he had studied so carefully.

When I left the study, a crowd had already gathered downstairs.

Bella stood at the center of it, the emerald necklace shining at her throat.

Under the lights, the stones were almost painful to look at.

Someone smiled.

"Bella looks like the princess of the Valtieri family."

Bella blushed and looked at me.

"Iris, what did you get?"

I opened the box.

Inside was a matching brooch.

Beautiful.

Perfect for her necklace.

I closed the box and handed it to her.

"Happy birthday."

Bella froze.

Moretti looked over too, his brows faintly drawn.

I said nothing.

On the night of the birthday banquet, the manor was filled with guests.

Most were Bella's friends, or people who wanted to please Moretti by pleasing her.

I stood at the top of the stairs and watched them circle around her, laughing and flattering.

For a moment, I remembered every shared birthday we had ever had.

I handled the guest list, the menu, and the security.

She stood in the candlelight and made the wish.

When the cake was pushed out, the hall fell quiet.

The name on it was not Bella.

It was Iris.

Bella's face went pale.

I stood beside the cake, my voice calm.

"Sorry."

"For years, Bella and I have shared a birthday."

"This year, I want mine back."

Whispers stirred through the hall.

Bella's eyes turned red almost instantly.

"Iris, are you still blaming me?"

Then she turned and ran.

Moretti's face went cold.

With one motion, he overturned the cake.

Cream splashed across the hem of my dress.

"Iris, Bella is your sister."

"You know how fragile she is. Why do you have to fight her over this?"

He looked at me, his disappointment cold and clear.

"When did you become like this?"

Then he went after her.

The crowd scattered quickly.

No one dared look at me for long.

I lowered my head and wiped at the cream on my skirt, but it would not come off.

In that moment, the last warm thing in me went cold.

So that was what he thought.

Wanting my own birthday back was me fighting her.

Wanting him to choose me once was me fighting her too.

Then my phone lit up.

The family system sent a notification.

【Underboss resignation approved.】

Approved by: Moretti.

He had not even read it.

At four in the morning, I left the manor with my suitcase.

The airport was bright and quiet.

When boarding was announced, I looked at my phone one last time.

No calls.

No messages.

Only a photo from Bella, sent half an hour earlier.

Moretti sat beside her, head lowered as he wiped her tears.

I turned off the screen and walked through the gate.

As the plane rolled onto the runway, a pale gray light spread along the horizon.

When the cabin door closed, I took off my underboss ring and slipped it into the pocket of the empty seat beside me.

Moretti, may we never meet again.