Someone knocked on the door.

Lucrezia Calderon stood there with that cloying smile of hers.

“Amelia.”

Her voice was neither too soft nor too loud, but it was just enough for the servants in the hall to hear. “I just finished briefing Don Vitelli on some family business. He seemed a little off and said he wanted to go to the bar for a drink. I was wondering if it was all right for me to go with him?”

Her words were polite, yet the trace of smugness in the corner of her eyes could not be hidden.

For the past six months, she had always been like that in front of me.

She played sweet, acted soft, yet she was unable to completely suppress that little self-satisfied glow.

When had Enzo started to change?

At first, he clearly disliked Lucrezia. He said she was incompetent and her ambitions ran too wild. He was going to get rid of her.

He even complained to me that she was always hanging around him. It greatly annoyed him.

Then there was also that negotiation with the Eastern Bloc crew. Someone slipped Enzo something. He went down to a warehouse.

I was out in Redshore collecting a debt and could not get back.

Word was that Lucrezia drove over by herself, dragged him out of there, and stayed two days in the hospital by his bedside without a wink of sleep.

Since then, Enzo’s attitude toward her changed.

First, he made an exception and allowed her to become an official member of the family. Later, he constantly kept her close. Eventually, he started telling people she was like a little sister to him.

Every mafia family in New Avalon knew that Enzo Vitelli had found himself a little sister.

On the other hand, behind my back, they called me “the woman Enzo keeps at home.”

Every time I heard that, my face would darken.

Enzo did not care. He would just smile and put his arm around my waist. “What is all this ‘at home’ and ‘out there’? Don’t listen to them. I only love you.”

Was that still the case?

Would he still dare to say he only loved me?

I curled my lips and watched the woman at the door playact.

Lucrezia was still smiling. “Amelia, are you upset?”

Before her voice even faded, Enzo was already striding over. His dress shoes were clicking hard against the marble floor.

“Lucrezia, didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the garage? What are you doing here?”

“I… I could not decide.” She twisted her fingers together, her eyes going red at the rims, her voice soft and sweet. “I was afraid Amelia would be upset, so I wanted to ask for her permission first.”

Enzo’s expression softened immediately.

He glanced at me, then turned to her. His look went tender. “I don’t need anyone else’s permission to drink with you.”

Lucrezia lowered her head. The corners of her mouth curled up, though her words still came out haltingly. “But it’s only right to let Amelia know.”

Enzo turned to me with impatience flashing in his eyes. “She’s being respectful enough now, right? She asked your permission just to go have a drink at a bar. What about you? You’re pulling a long face at her just over a prank.”

He still thought that altering my transfer order without permission and treating my future as a prank were merely insignificant pranks.

On top of that, I was the one being unreasonable.

Why should I endure this?

I snorted.

“Respect me? The last six months, how many little shows has she put on for you, right in front of me and behind your back? Are you really blind to it? She was showing up every day in a low-cut dress to bring you coffee while pressing herself against you right in front of me. Do you call that keeping proper boundaries? Even after all that, she keeps clinging to you, saying you’re like her brother to her. Even if she doesn’t feel any shame, watching it certainly makes me sick. Do you, Enzo Vitelli, actually find someone like that appealing?”

Lucrezia’s face paled instantly.

Her skin drained of color. Her tears started to roll down her cheeks onto the floor.

Enzo’s expression darkened completely.

“Amelia, since when have you become so cruel?”

He looked at my expressionless face and suddenly let out a mocking laugh. What he said next struck like a dagger. “With your temper, you’re not fit to be my wife. On top of that, you’re not even fit to be my mistress.”

It felt like someone had stabbed me in the heart.

I had never imagined that Enzo would mock me with words like that.

Who did he think he was? Who did he think I was?

Also, what did he mean by saying that? Was he breaking up with me?

I stared at him without moving.

He grew uneasy under my gaze and looked away first.

I knew he was recalling all these years we had shared.

We had been together so long and always supported each other. We had never hurt each other.

Something fundamental had changed.

He clearly cared about Lucrezia more than me.

“Lucrezia is reasonable. She wouldn’t take it to heart. Just apologize to her, and we can put this behind us.”

A single sentence had shown me that six years of trust, love, and promises were all gone.

I shook my head. My voice came out soft. “I’d never.”

Enzo’s tone turned cold and sharp. “Amelia, is this really how you want to play it?”

How else was I playing it?

Every word out of his mouth felt more absurd than the last.

Suddenly, I did not want to fight for any of it anymore.

“I’ve always been like this, Enzo. You didn’t meet me yesterday.”

I pushed them out and slammed the door.

I sat back down in the chair and stared at the transfer notice again.

Less than an hour remained.

The transfer would go into effect in the next hour.

I would have to leave this city I had lived in for eleven years and go to Bellarosa for the first time in my life. I did not know a single thing about that place.

Yet I still did not press cancel.

I simply sat there and watched the countdown tick away.

The display eventually switched to “Confirmed.”

I exhaled slowly.

It turned out that leaving Enzo was not that difficult, after all.

In fact, it felt as though something deep inside me had finally let go.

My phone lit up.

Texts from my best friend Layla Pedro came pounding in like bullets.

[Amelia, I just ran into your fiance at the bar!

[Enzo and Lucrezia are here! Your family is all assembled there too!

[They’re insane. They’re cheering him on to do a mouth-to-mouth shot with her! My goodness, that woman is practically glued to him!]

Then, she sent me a video.

The camera shook violently. The lights were low and red.

Enzo was surrounded in a booth, his suit undone and his tie crooked. He had a broad grin on his face.

Lucrezia pressed up next to him with her face against his shoulder. She blushed as the crowd cheered.

Someone shouted, “Don Vitelli, rules are rules! You lost. You have to either do a mouth-to-mouth shot with a lady here, or you call your fiancée Amelia to come get you! Pick one!”

“Yes, yes, call her! Let’s see if Amelia will do you the favor and show up!”

The energy surged to a fever pitch.

Everyone knew we were fighting. They delighted in the drama, egging it on even more.

Lucrezia looked at him with eyes full of hope.

Enzo furrowed his brow, clearly irritated by the noise.

After a few seconds of silence, he pulled out his phone.

Lucrezia’s face went pale instantly.

The call connected.

Enzo’s voice was flat. “Amelia, I got carried away earlier, but I’m calm now. Come over and apologize to Lucrezia in person. We’ll forget what happened before.”

I said nothing.

Enzo’s patience burned out fast. “Say something! Is it that hard for you to swallow your pride and say you’re sorry?”

“Yes, Enzo. I did nothing wrong. You want me to apologize? Over my dead body.”

“Fine! Amelia, you have some nerve!”

He roared with anger, “In that case, listen from the other end while I kiss her in front of everyone!”

I immediately hung up.

Layla’s video came through again.

The footage was chaotic. Enzo had smashed a glass. Liquor was spilled all over the table.

Lucrezia’s voice trembled. There were tears in her eyes. “Don Vitelli, let’s stop the game. Please don’t be mad.”

“Who says we’re stopping?”

Enzo suddenly looked up and stared straight at the camera.

He had known Layla was recording the whole time.

“Don’t bother hiding. Keep filming! Let your best friend watch who I’m kissing right now!”

He grabbed the back of Lucrezia’s neck.

Amid the crowd’s gasps, he kissed her fiercely.

In spite of myself, my heart still ached at the sight of that.

However, the sting came fast and faded just as quickly.

I turned off the video and went back to clearing my things off the desk.

Enzo and I stopped speaking entirely.

To be precise, I had stopped speaking to him entirely.

His last text before the silent treatment was this.

[Did you cancel the transfer?]

[That’s none of your concern.]

[You’ll cancel it. We’ve been together six years. You can’t leave me, Amelia. You must apologize to Lucrezia. Until you do that, I’m not saying another word to you.]

I blocked him and blacklisted him.

Three days before I was to leave for Bellarosa, one of Enzo’s associates came looking for me.

“Ms. Ross, Don Vitelli is hosting a victory celebration party tomorrow night. He insists that you attend.”

I could not get out of it. So I went.

When I walked into the banquet hall, I understood exactly why they had made me come.

Lucrezia was standing by the entrance in a strapless lace dress. She was beaming like a flower in full bloom.

When she saw me, she glided over all warm and sweet. “Amelia, there you are! Come in! I’m co-hosting this party with Don Vitelli.”

Her tone was as sweet as cream. “It’s my birthday today. So I begged Don Vitelli to move his victory party to tonight so we could do it together.”

I said nothing.

After all, even though nobody said it out loud, everyone knew by that point that Enzo and I were done.

So for her cheap little show, I could not even bother to feel a thing.

After greeting some friends I knew, I found a seat in the corner. I planned to wait it out until the party ended and then leave.

Enzo, however, came over.

He arrogantly stood before me. His voice was controlled but simmering with anger. “Amelia, why are you hiding here? Sit at the main table.”

I refused.

He took a deep breath and lowered his voice through clenched teeth. “You’ve had me blocked for eleven days. Are you still not over it? Do you have to embarrass me in an event like this?”

I remained silent.

His words drew the attention of those around us.

Some close friends jumped in to smooth things over, gently but insistently guiding me to the main table.

Enzo’s pride was bruised, but he chose to let it go.

I noticed an empty seat beside him.

A moment later, Lucrezia glided over and sat down with effortless composure.

“Amelia,” she said, her eyes curving as she beamed a smile. “Enzo and I were just talking about going hunting next week. He said he would teach me how to shoot. Will you come with us?”

My hand, which was holding a wine glass, stiffened.

I remembered not long ago, when Enzo had promised he would take me to Mount Alderpeak hunting grounds once the busy period was over. He said he would teach me how to use a sniper rifle.

He had said he had a little surprise for me.

At that time, his ears had gone red when he said it. His voice had carried that rare nervous edge.

But now my heartbeat was steady, and a wave of nausea churned in my stomach.

I recalled the video from that night at the bar, the image of them kissing.

“You should go without me. I’ve been busy lately. I can’t get away.”

I raised my glass. My gaze was emotionless.

Lucrezia’s eyes lit up instantly. A grin was spreading almost ear to ear.

Enzo’s expression, however, was as dark as storm clouds.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist under the table. His grip was so tight that it felt like my bones were being crushed.

After the party ended, he cornered me in the hallway outside the restroom.

“Amelia, what was that about?”

“Nothing.”

“How long are you going to keep this up? Didn’t you already cancel the transfer? Lucrezia said she was going to tell you. You just happened to find out first. She would’ve told you herself even if you hadn’t.”

Really? I did not believe that.

However, I did not want to argue about it again with Enzo.

“Oh, how nice of her.” My tone was so indifferent that it was as if I was talking to a stranger.

“Drop that attitude,” he growled. “I’m picking you up for Mount Alderpeak tomorrow morning at seven. You promised you’d go.”

Then, he turned and walked away.