On the day we were supposed to get engaged, my fiance, Christopher Vittorino, slid the ring—that was supposed to be mine—onto Lina Sorenzo, my stepsister's finger, right in front of the entire family.

Christopher's uncle, Don Mark Vittorino, was the one who had specifically ordered his subordinates to deliver the ring that symbolizes the wearer's status as the future Donna of the Vittorino family to Christopher himself.

I could only stare at Christopher's deep blue eyes in disbelief. Just as I was about to question him, he just gazed at me with a stony expression. Even his tone was cold and rigid.

"The Don intends to send me to Maravena for the next five years to develop my own business there. Once I return, I'll take over the family business.

"You don't have any skills at all, Isla. If you stay with me, you'll just be a hindrance to me and cause me unwanted trouble.

"Lina, on the other hand, is fluent in Maravenese. Not to mention, she knows how to expand the family business overseas. She will serve as a brilliant assistant for me."

After that, Christopher took Lina's hand and left the venue with her, not caring about the fact that the leaders of the other branch families as well as the elders kept murmuring among themselves. Because of that, I ended up becoming the laughingstock of the entire family.

Five years later, Christopher and Lina return to the country.

When he spots me showing up at a family gathering held by Mark with a ruby ring that signifies my status as the Donna on my finger, his expression changes instantly.

"I can't believe you learned to steal, Isla!"

I just ignore Christopher's accusations in favor of looking for the Black Rose Medal that my son, Toby Vittorino, has lost. That medal is a gift he received on his fourth birthday from Mark.

Poor Toby has been sobbing for a long time because of its disappearance. I need to hurry up and find it as soon as possible.

The grand, opulent ballroom was filled with Capos from all over.

Christopher Vittorino, dressed in a sharp gray suit, carried himself with the quiet authority of a man about to become the ruler of an underground empire.

Several Capos gathered around him, showering him with praise for how young and accomplished he was.

This was Christopher's first Famiglia gathering since returning to the country. Everyone tacitly understood that this banquet was held in his honor and that he was very likely to become the next heir to the Famiglia.

Someone noticed the woman standing beside him—Lina Sorenzo.

"You must be Mr. Vittorino's wife. You two look like a match made in heaven," the person commented.

An awkward expression flickered across Lina's face as she nervously twisted the onyx ring on her right hand.

"You've all misunderstood. We're not actually married yet. Chris said we'll get married after he officially takes over the Famiglia business. When the time comes, we hope you will all grace us with your presence."

Hearing this, the entire crowd fell silent.

Everyone knew that Christopher had personally placed that onyx ring—a symbol of status—on Lina's finger five years ago. And yet, after all these years, they still weren't married.

I was surprised too, but I didn't have time to dwell on it at the moment. My son had accidentally dropped his Black Rose Medal—a treasure personally given to him by the Don, Mark Vittorino—on the lawn outside the ballroom.

Right then, he was upstairs in the suite, sobbing his little heart out. I had to find it quickly.

I had just bent down to search when a shrill male voice pierced the air beside me.

"What are you doing? Stop messing around with the lawn. Hurry up and mop the floor in the ballroom instead. All the guests tonight are very important people. If there's even a speck of dust on the floor, you'll be in serious trouble!"

The man then noticed the apron I was wearing, and his expression darkened even more.

"That apron is an embarrassment to our hotel. Change into a proper janitorial uniform immediately!"

This apron was something I had found in the storage closet. It was clean, though a little faded, and it perfectly covered the designer gown my husband had custom-made for me.

My intention was to avoid troubling the hotel staff, but clearly the manager—the name badge indicated his name was Paul Caruso—had mistaken me for part of the cleaning crew.

"I'm not one of your staff," I clarified. "Please step aside. I'm looking for something."

But Paul didn't believe me and tried to quickly usher me away.

In the scuffle, I stumbled straight into the dessert table by the entrance. A seven-tier black truffle cake toppled over and smashed to the ground.

From inside the ballroom, many eyes turned toward the commotion.

Christopher spotted me, looking surprised.

"Isla Sorenzo?"

Paul, assuming we knew each other, immediately broke into a wide smile.

"Mr. Vittorino, is this an acquaintance of yours?"

Christopher instantly regained his composure. Turning his head away, he said coldly, "Not really."

With that, he angled his body away from me and continued chatting with others, deliberately putting distance between us—just like he'd done the night of our engagement party when he'd abandoned me.

Seeing Christopher deny knowing me, Paul's attitude flipped immediately.

"Do you have any idea how expensive that cake is?" he roared, grabbing my arm and pointing at the cake accusingly. "Now you've gone and ruined it! What a walking disaster!"

But all I wanted to do was find the Black Rose Medal quickly so that my son would stop crying.

"I'll have someone take care of the cake," I said sharply. "If you keep blocking me, I won't be so polite anymore."

I forcefully shook him off and headed toward the last patch of lawn to continue searching, but Paul tried to stop me again.

The commotion drew Christopher's attention once again, and he strode over impatiently.

"How much? I'll pay for it. Stop giving her such a hard time."

Then he turned to me, his voice carrying a sliver of warning.

"Isla, I can help you one more time. But please don't try to get my attention using these kinds of tricks again.

"Lina and I will be getting married soon. I know you weren't willing to accept our breakup back then, but feelings can't be forced. I hope you can keep things dignified."

I almost laughed.

"You're overthinking it. Let me congratulate you on your wedding in advance!"

With that, I crouched down and continued searching.

Right then, Lina hurried over too, shooting me a contemptuous glance.

"Isla, you've fallen so low you're working as a cleaner now? Can't you just behave yourself? The only woman Chris will ever marry is me, so stop clinging to him so shamelessly!"

Christopher pulled a black card from his wallet.

"I let you down when I gave the onyx ring to Lina back then. There's enough money on this card for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Stop doing such degrading work."

I had no need for his "charity". Firmly refusing him, I turned around and continued my search. But he stubbornly grabbed my right hand—then froze as if he'd been electrocuted.

"Isla, I can't believe you'd actually steal things."

As it turned out, Christopher had noticed the ruby ring on my right ring finger—a ring that only the Donna was entitled to wear. And now it was on my hand.

I was still thinking of how to explain when Christopher suddenly sneered. "I can't believe you'd go so far as to steal the Don's ring just to get my attention."

"The Don gave me this. I'm not a thief, and I'm certainly not short of money!" I snapped, pulling my hand free quickly.

If my husband saw this scene, he'd probably get so jealous that he'd kill Christopher right on the spot.

Seeing that I still refused to accept his card, Christopher let out a disdainful laugh.

"You're already in this state, so why are you still being so stubborn?"

His blue eyes actually looked a little misty.

"Part of the reason you're like this right now is because I abandoned you back then. Are you refusing my help because you want to punish me by letting yourself suffer?"

Lina, standing to the side, seemed to see right through everything. She immediately stepped forward and pulled Christopher closer to her.

Shooting several hostile glances at me, she said to him, "Darling, this has nothing to do with you. I'm sure she ended up like this because she was caught stealing and got kicked out. You know how she used to steal my things. It's a habit of hers."

At the mention of me stealing, the gazes of the onlookers around us immediately shifted to open contempt. To them, a thief was no better than a sewer rat.

"I'll say it again—I've never stolen anything!" I desperately tried to explain, but no one believed me.

The stares from the crowd stabbed at me like knives, and Lina's lips curved into a triumphant smile.

Christopher seemed to take pity on my embarrassment and stepped forward again.

"Enough. Stop being so stubborn. Even if the ring is fake, you still clearly look like someone who's in desperate need of money.

"I'm not an ungrateful person. Seeing you living like this, struggling, makes me feel bad. So why don't you just take this money as compensation? That way, it'll ease my guilt toward you, too."

His words left me momentarily dazed.

When I was young, I was out one day when I found Christopher in an alley after he'd been accidentally shot. I saved him.

For three whole days, I stayed awake by his side, taking care of him. When he woke up, he fell in love with me at first sight.

I had thought that Christopher and I would naturally get married one day.

That was until Mamma died, and Padre brought home his illegitimate daughter, Lina.

Lina kept slandering me in front of Christopher, saying that I was spoiled, arrogant, uneducated, and completely clueless about business.

Gradually, she grew closer and closer to him.

On the day of our engagement, he placed the ring on Lina's finger—and picked up a soda can pull-tab from the table and handed that to me instead.

He claimed that it was for the greater good and that if I couldn't accept it, I was free to leave.

What Christopher didn't know was that when I was still a kid, I'd lived with my grandmother for a time, so I'd been fluent in Maravenese since I was young. And by the time I was seven years old, Nonna had already begun teaching me how to run the Famiglia business.

But because Christopher had believed Lina so easily, I left.

Now, five years had passed, and I had a husband and a son who loved me. Christopher had long since become a thing of my past.

To completely erase his suspicions, I said, "Chris, you don't need to feel guilty. I'm doing very well now. I'm already married, and I've never thought about coming back to you. You can relax."

A mocking scoff escaped Lina.

"Please. Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror? Who would ever want you?" she said with a sneer, her eyes gleaming with smug satisfaction.

I looked at her, and my gaze unintentionally drifted to her chest. There it was—the Black Rose Medal I'd been desperately searching for.

"Why do you have that?"

I straightened instantly and reached out to grab it, but Lina sidestepped me before I could reach it.

Seeing me stare at the medal, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but she just as quickly tilted her chin up.

"This… This has always been mine. So of course I have it," she stammered in explanation.

"That's impossible! That medal can't possibly belong to you. It's my son's!"

Christopher's eyes bulged at my words, and he stared at me in utter disbelief.

"You have a son?"

I met his stare steadily and answered firmly, "Yes. I'm married. And I love my husband very much!"

He swayed slightly in shock. "There's no way! How could you go behind my back and marry another man?"

"Where's your husband?" Christopher pressed. "What kind of man lets you end up like this?"

I didn't answer.

A sharp laugh escaped him. "You almost had me. Pretending you're married just to get a rise out of me? Making up a kid to make me jealous? Well, you're wrong. I don't care in the least."

They knew how proud I was—I'd never marry just anyone or have a child just on impulse.

Lina didn't believe me either. She looked at me with utter contempt.

"Since you're so proud and strong-willed… Chris and I just so happen to need someone to tend to the horses at our estate. Why don't you shovel manure for us? Sure, it stinks, but it's still better than being a cleaner here."

I almost burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, but I have actual business to take care of. I don't have time to joke around with you two."

In all these years, she was the first person to publicly humiliate me like this.

If I so much as said the word, their entire family would be on their knees polishing my shoes. And she wanted me to slave away for them?

My repeated refusals made Christopher's face turn livid. Even Lina, who'd been pretending to be elegant the whole night, couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Voices rose all around us.

"Mr. Vittorino, this is just a broke, stubborn cleaner. Talking to her is a waste of breath."

"It's better to have the bodyguards drag her out before the Don sees her and gets mad."

Lina hooked her arm around Christopher's and smiled smugly, looking at me as if I were a joke.

"Exactly. Let's not waste time on someone so beneath us. Let's head over. The Don and the Donna will be here any minute. It won't look good if they can't find us.

"This is the Don's first big Famiglia banquet, and he's taking it very seriously. We need to think carefully about how we're going to leave a good impression on the Donna.

"I hear the Don is madly devoted to his wife, and that she's his only weakness."

They weren't wrong. The only person who could make the mighty Don yield… was me. But I just gave a light chuckle and didn't explain further.

Seeing Lina turn to leave, I quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Give me the medal back. Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next."

Lina jerked away, looking a little guilty. "What do you want exactly? You've stolen the ruby ring, and now you're eyeing my medal too?"

As we struggled, Christopher suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Isla, I can't believe you're this infatuated. You're actually still wearing this charm after all this time?"