At a party, Leonardo’s mother teased him, “I hope you and Katrina don’t get into any trouble while handling that shipment in Sicilia.”

I instinctively asked, “Is Enotria that unsafe right now?”

The moment I said it, everyone around us froze.

Leonardo was the first to speak. “Mom, Katrina and I aren’t dating. Stop joking.”

His mother winked at me.

I took the hint and said lightly, “You two are well-matched. It would be a strong alliance if your families joined through marriage, don’t you think?”

This time, Leonardo’s face went completely dark.

His deep gray-blue eyes locked onto mine, a dangerous spark igniting within them.

The party wasn’t over yet when Leonardo grabbed me and dragged me upstairs, shutting the bedroom door behind us.

He pushed me hard against the heavy oak door and kissed me hard. His lips carried the scent of tobacco and whiskey as he bit at my lips in a punishing way.

“What do you mean, ‘well-matched’?” he growled hoarsely in my ear.

I finally managed to catch my breath. Blinking with damp eyes, I said, “Well, you are well-matched.”

One was the most outstanding heir of the Vitale family. The other was the most favored only daughter of the Castellano family.

They were well-matched. If their families form a marriage alliance, it would be the strong joining forces.

After hearing that, Leonardo didn’t kiss me again.

He looked at me, surprised. “Violet, didn’t you use to hate hearing Katrina’s name? What’s wrong with you today?”

Actually, nothing was wrong.

I just didn’t care anymore.

Leonardo and I grew up together. We were childhood friends.

The summer after we graduated high school, our families went on a trip to Vice City.

While our parents were chatting, we were playing in a private pool.

As we played, he suddenly leaned in and kissed me.

That was the third year I had a crush on Leonardo.

That day, the ambiguous line between us broke, and our friendship turned into love.

After the kiss, he pulled away, breathing hard.

“Violet, let’s wait until we decide to get married to tell our parents.

“Otherwise, if you don’t want me anymore in the future, it’ll be too embarrassing for me.”

So we started dating in secret from our families.

Later, Leonardo went to Columbine University to expand his family’s business. I didn’t want to leave my parents, so I stayed in Hill Valley for college.

In the third year of our long-distance relationship, I secretly bought a ticket to Mayruelle on Valentine’s Day.

I carried a cake I had made myself, planning to surprise Leonardo.

That was the first time I saw Katrina.

She wore a backless dress. Standing outside Leonardo’s apartment building, she stopped me.

“Miss, Leonardo doesn’t accept gifts. You should go back.”

Fortunately, Leonardo saw me at that moment.

“Violet, what are you doing here?”

“Is she your girlfriend?” She looked me up and down, then smiled playfully. “Oh, sorry. I thought she was one of your admirers.”

Katrina was very familiar with me from the start. When she added my contact, she complained, “On days like this, so many women come to give Leonardo things. You have no idea how popular he is.

“By the way, I’ve never seen you before. Which family are you from?”

After I told her, I caught the flash of disdain in her eyes.

Leonardo had mentioned Katrina to me before.

Over the past three years, they’ve had frequent contact because of family matters. Leonardo didn’t hide his appreciation for her and often mentioned her.

However, I didn’t expect their relationship to be so close.

“Why didn’t you tell me Katrina is so beautiful?”

He laughed. “You never asked. Besides, she’s not as beautiful as you.”

Leonardo cut my steak as he asked, “What, are you jealous?”

Bluntly, I said, “I don’t like Katrina. She offended me.”

“That’s just how she is. She speaks very directly.”

He poured me a glass of wine. “Once you spend more time with her, you’ll see she doesn’t have any bad intentions.”

Leonardo said this with bright eyes, his tone tinged with admiration for Katrina.

From then on, Katrina’s name was like a fishbone stuck in my throat.

I couldn’t swallow it, nor could I pull it out.

That meal was very uncomfortable.

Even after I got home, I stayed sulky towards Leonardo.

I started having frequent nightmares.

In them, Leonardo held Katrina close, speaking to me with disgust. “Violet, don’t come looking for me anymore.”

Gradually, I became anxious and insecure.

After graduation, I decided to leave Hill Valley and move to Mayruelle to be with Leonardo.

However, more than a month passed, and he was busy every single day. He barely had any time for me.

Eventually, we had a huge argument.

Leonardo promised that once he got through the next few days, he would take me on a trip so I could relax.

A few days earlier, I had accidentally seen notifications about Sicilia on his phone. So I became full of anticipation.

I carefully made travel plans and even packed my luggage in advance.

Then one day, while I was out shopping, I suddenly felt like I was being followed.

I quickened my pace while calling Leonardo for help.

He only picked up on the third call.

“Violet, my phone’s about to die. I’ll call you later.”

Before I could say a word, he hung up.

All that answered my trembling voice was the rapid, empty dial tone.

After I got home, I was still shaken.

Then I suddenly saw a post Katrina had just made.

[Thanks to a certain photographer who drained their phone battery taking pictures for me.]

In the photo, she was smiling brightly.

Behind her was a building that looked just like the Panormus Cathedral, with rosemary lining the streets.

The location was tagged below: Sicilia, Enotria.

Late that night, Leonardo finally called me back.

For every question I asked, he gave a short answer.

“Yes, I’m in Sicilia right now. I’ll be back this weekend.

“How could I be here for vacation? Our family has a joint project here. I came for a few days just to discuss it.

“Of course there are others. Besides me and Katrina, her father and two of her cousins are here too.”

Suddenly, I felt tired.

It was as if all the energy had been drained out of me, and I lost the desire to say anything more.

“If that’s the case, why did you hide it from me?”

“I didn’t want you to overthink it.”

After a long silence, I seemed to hear him sigh.

“Violet, you weren’t this jealous before.”

This wasn’t the first time Leonardo and I had argued.

However, now, separated by 7,412 kilometers and a six-hour time difference, neither of us reached out first.

A few days later, he unexpectedly had someone deliver me sage.

Over the phone, Leonardo’s voice carried a smile.

“So your anger’s gone? Finally decided to contact me?

“I’ve just boarded the plane. I got you a limited-edition Hermès bag, and your favorite tiramisu.

“That tiramisu was really hard to get. I waited in line for hours to buy it.”

Just like that, I was coaxed into feeling better.

But when I went to the airport to pick him up, I saw Katrina sitting on a suitcase, tugging at his sleeve as she acted spoiled.

“Leonardo, my father said you’ve already agreed to let our family establish a new base in Sicilia, and that your focus will shift there too?

“Does that mean you’ll be staying in Sicilia? I’ll go as well to be with you then.”

It was silent the entire way back to the apartment.

I felt absent-minded.

I bumped my knee against the shoe cabinet, and the pain made my eyes tear up.

In the end, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You’re going to Sicilia?” I asked Leonardo.

“I’m not certain. It depends on my father’s arrangements.”

He crouched down and gently rubbed my knee, coaxing me softly.

“No matter what, it’s just for a year. It’s not like I’m staying in Enotria and never coming back.

“Violet, we got through four years of long distance, didn’t we?”

Four years of long distance, and Leonardo said it as if it had been easy.

However, my ticket holder was stuffed full, packed with all the tickets from my trips back and forth between Hill Valley and Mayruelle over the years.

What about him?

I could count the number of times he took the initiative to visit me at school on one hand.

When I came to Mayruelle just to be closer to him, he was preparing to go to Sicilia.

While I was buying furniture for our home and planning our future, he was studying the distribution of family powers in Sicilia.

I looked at him, smiling through tears. “You’re already preparing to go to Sicilia with Katrina. What makes you think I’ll wait for you?”

He frowned slightly.

“Violet, I don’t understand why you’ve always held such hostility toward Katrina.

“This is a rare opportunity. I’m going to Sicilia because of family matters, not because of her. Besides, she and I are just friends. I don’t know why you keep thinking I’d cheat with her.

“When we were younger, you even helped others deliver love letters to me. Why are you so sensitive, suspicious, and unreasonable now?”

My emotions ignited instantly.

I shouted at him, almost hysterically, “Back then, I was just your friend. Now I’m your girlfriend. How is that the same?”

Leonardo looked at me calmly for a long time.

“I’ve been thinking these past few days that perhaps we’re not suited to be a couple. Maybe we’re better off as friends.”

His voice grew colder little by little.

“I’ve already been very tired lately with family matters. I don’t want to argue with you over this.

“Let’s take a break. We can both calm down for a while.”

Just like that, Leonardo broke up with me unilaterally.

In the first month after the breakup, every day felt gray.

A physical tightness in my chest and heartache made it hard to eat. It felt like the air was filled with onions, making my nose sting and my eyes want to tear up.

I didn’t dare check social media and avoided all gatherings and parties.

I cut off every channel through which I might hear news about Leonardo.

Until one day, my mom called. “Sweetheart, did you receive the Parma ham and salami I had sent over?”

Looking at the half-meter-tall box by my feet, I felt a headache coming on. “Mom, it’s too much. I can’t finish it. Don’t send so much next time.”

“If you can’t finish it, give some to Leonardo. Don’t you live pretty close to him?”

At the mention of Leonardo, my mom suddenly became talkative.

“I heard from Mrs. Vitale that Leonardo has a girlfriend now. Do you know about this?”

“They say she’s the principessa of the Castellano family. Pretty, tall, and slim, she’s a lively one.

“When are you going to bring a boyfriend home?”

I don’t even remember how I ended the call.

At one in the morning, it was as if I’d lost my mind. I grabbed a bag of salami and went straight to find Leonardo.

After not seeing him for a month, he had a new haircut, still looking polished and handsome as ever.

“Don’t listen to my mom’s nonsense. Katrina just happened to be going to Hill Valley with friends, so I acted as a guide for half a day.”

Leonardo seemed to have expected that this misunderstanding would reach me. He had also expected that I wouldn’t be able to hold back and would come to him, asking to get back together.

When he took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders, I wrapped my arms around his waist and spoke softly in his arms.

“You’re right. It’s only a year.”

As soon as we entered the apartment, Leonardo pushed me against the wall and kissed me impatiently.

By the latter half of the night, we had used up the entire box of protection in the bedside drawer.

After Leonardo fell asleep, I looked at him. The confusion in my eyes gradually faded into calm.

Over the years of long distance, we had argued many times, big and small.

Leonardo seemed used to me being the one to give in first.

However, this time, I wasn’t trying to save our fragile relationship. I was preparing myself to leave him completely.

I quietly got out of bed. Then I replied to the message my dad had sent me.

[Violet, my dear, are you really leaving your mother and me to go to Sampa alone?]

[Yes, Dad.]