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.