Emilia's POV

The next day, Michele took my hand and introduced me to everyone at the party.

"This is my fiancee, Emilia."

I maintained a poised smile the entire time.

The party reached its climax. The lights in the entire venue went out, a single spotlight falling on Michele and me. Every gaze in the room converged on us.

Michele brought out the ring box and slowly got down on one knee.

Just as he was about to speak, his phone suddenly rang with the exclusive ringtone he had specially set for Gianna.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd, he instinctively pulled out his phone. The moment he saw the message, his expression drastically changed.

"Emilia, Gianna cut her wrist while slicing fruit in her apartment. She's lost a lot of blood and has been afraid of seeing blood since she was little. I have to go save her."

He snapped the ring box shut and stood up. Then, he casually patted my shoulder and said, "Be good and wait here for me. Also, help me explain things to the guests. I'll be back very soon."

With that, he pushed through the crowd and rushed out of the hall without sparing me another glance.

Hundreds of sympathetic gazes fell upon me. I stood alone beneath the spotlight, watching Michele disappear.

Calmly, I stepped down from the stage and entered the lounge. There, I took off the high heels that had been chafing my feet and changed into the ballet flats I had prepared in advance.

I glanced up at the time. It was 8:00 pm. There wasn't much time left before my flight was due to take off.

I pushed open the back door of the lounge and walked into the night.

…

Third-Person POV

At 10:00 pm, Michele sat on the couch in the apartment, watching Carlo tend to the shallow wound on Gianna's wrist.

Gianna leaned against Michele's shoulder, weeping.

"Michele, I'm sorry for causing you trouble again."

Michele comforted her, but his gaze kept drifting to his phone.

In the past, whenever he'd abandoned Emilia for Gianna, she'd call and message him relentlessly, demanding an explanation. But this time, there was nothing but silence from her.

Her unusual behavior gave rise to a growing unease within him.

Just then, his phone buzzed urgently. It was his Soldato, Luca Russo.

He immediately answered and asked irritably, "I sent you to the lounge to look for Emilia. Did you find her?"

The voice on the other end was filled with panic. "Mr. Barone, Ms. Amato wasn't in the lounge. We checked her exit and entry records. She applied for a visa and booked a one-way flight to the Listoria war zone tonight. According to the time, that flight took off 15 minutes ago."

Michele shot to his feet, startling Gianna.

"Michele, what happened?"

He ignored her and kept dialing Emilia's number instead, only to have a cold, automated voice tell him, "The subscriber you are trying to reach is not available now. Please try again later."

Right at that moment, breaking news flashed across the television screen.

"Latest update—the cross-border flight bound for Listoria, which departed at 9:45 pm tonight, has lost all contact with ground control after encountering a severe thunderstorm."

Michele stared blankly at the news. Listoria was a perilous region, a constant hotbed of conflict.

With trembling hands, he contacted the airline. "Can you please check the passenger list to see if there is a passenger by the name of Emilia Amato on board?"

After a brief silence, the airline staff replied, "Sir, Ms. Amato is indeed on the list."