Then his expression turned serious again. "But I have one condition. You must promise not to make things difficult for Serena anymore."

There was an old saying: strike with one hand and reward with the other. That was exactly what he was doing now.

But Dante had forgotten something important.

I couldn't even eat chestnut cakes. My stomach had always been weak, and certain foods would trigger unbearable pain.

Years ago, he had gone to great lengths just to take care of me. He had tried countless cooks brought in through the compound kitchen, dissatisfied with each one, until he finally spent sleepless nights researching and crafting a medicinal diet tailored specifically to my needs.

At the same time, Nico had taken it upon himself to monitor everything I ate, making sure I followed that diet strictly, never letting anything slip.

Back then, they had remembered every detail about me.

Now, they had forgotten everything.

A cold gust of wind swept past me, cutting through my wet clothes. The chill seeped deep into my body, making me shiver uncontrollably.

Only then did I realize I was still completely soaked. My body, already weakened, couldn't take it. A fever was inevitable.

As I struggled to stay on my feet, Dante brushed past me roughly, his shoulder colliding with mine.

"You're still acting?" he said coldly, not even bothering to look back.

That final push was enough. The last bit of strength I had left drained away, and I collapsed directly into the mud.

Dante paused for a moment and turned slightly. There was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, something that almost looked like concern.

But in the end, he said nothing.

He left with Nico, placing Serena carefully between them, shielding her as if she were something precious. Two soldiers fell in step behind them without a word.

After a long struggle, I managed to push myself up. Every movement felt heavy and painful, but I forced myself forward and called an ambulance. My thumb pressed hard against the pulse point inside my wrist the entire time I waited, counting the seconds until the line connected.

When my doctor saw the state I was in, his face darkened with anger. He couldn't hold back his frustration.

"You just got out of the hospital, and you ended up like this again?" he scolded harshly. "Do you even understand how serious your condition is?"

"You're pushing your body to the limit," he continued. "At this rate, you're heading straight toward collapse."

I didn't dare argue. I simply lowered my head and listened, quietly enduring his reprimand.

I stayed in the hospital for several more days under observation. Only after my fever subsided and my condition stabilized was I finally discharged.

By then, I knew I had lost too much time. I couldn't afford to delay any longer. I had to move forward with my plans.

I returned to the front office to submit my resignation, hoping at least to say goodbye to the few associates I had grown close to over the years.

But when I arrived, I found that all of them had already been cut loose by Serena.

The few people who remained looked at me with cold avoidance, as if I were something contagious, something they didn't want to be associated with.

I stood outside the building for hours, waiting, hoping to see someone familiar.

In the end, I was told that Dante and Serena had left on family business.

The three of them had gone to the seaside, the very place I had loved since childhood, the place I had always dreamed of visiting but never had the chance to go.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I tossed my resignation letter aside. I had spent so much time worrying about how to explain my absence, only to realize that no one cared whether I was there or not.

At that point, there was only one thing left for me to do.

I needed to say goodbye to Naomi DeLuca.

Knowing that I would come to see her, she cleared her entire schedule and even canceled an important sit-down with an overseas associate just to make time for me.

The moment she saw me, her eyes turned red with emotion. "Why have you become so thin?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"I heard about your engagement to the Moretti family's heir," she continued softly. "He's a good young man. My dear child… I hate to see you leave."

I took out the bank card my mother had given me and placed it in her hands. "I'll come visit you whenever I can," I said gently. "Thank you for taking care of me all these years."

Tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Why are we being so formal?" she said, her voice trembling. "This is my fault. I was too busy with the family and didn't take better care of you."

She sighed deeply. "I even hoped you would become my daughter-in-law… but now…"

She pushed the card back into my hand. "Take this as part of your dowry. I won't be able to attend the ceremony, but I truly hope you'll be happy."

I held back my tears as I stepped forward and embraced her.

For all these years, she had treated me like her own daughter. But when it came to matters of the heart, no one could control how things turned out.

She held my hands tightly, unwilling to let go, repeating again and again that she didn't want to part with me.

Just then, Dante, Nico, and Serena returned.

The front door opened and the warmth of the sitting room changed. I felt it before I saw them. The way the housekeeper near the hall stiffened, the way voices from the kitchen went quiet. Compound instinct. When the DeLuca brothers entered a room, everything else adjusted.

The moment they saw me, their expressions darkened instantly.

"Bianca! What ceremony are you talking about?" Dante snapped. "Are you lying to my mother again?"

"Dante!" Naomi DeLuca's voice rose sharply. "Is that how you speak to your sister?"

Nico stepped forward quickly. "Mom, don't believe anything Bianca says," he said. "The only reason my brother and I ever talked about marrying her was to humor one of her childish dreams."

Behind Dante, Serena lowered her head shyly, a faint smile playing on her lips. Her fingers drifted to the pearl at her left ear and held there a beat too long.

Dante added calmly, "Serena may come from a humble background, but she is independent and strong. She would never agree to a union just for protection or money."

"Unlike Bianca," he continued coldly, smoothing an invisible crease from the front of his tie, "who has been spoiled by me and only knows how to bully others and stir up trouble out of jealousy."

Naomi DeLuca, who had been confused at first, suddenly slammed her cup down in anger. The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot, and the soldier posted near the hallway entrance flinched.

"No wonder Bianca insisted on leaving!" she shouted. "You two ungrateful fools. Take that woman with you and get out of my sight!"

After they left, I stayed behind for a long time, calming her down, soothing her until her anger slowly faded.

In the end, she let me go with tearful blessings, unable to keep me any longer.

I left with the last warmth she gave me, my heart filled with complicated emotions.

As I walked down the stone steps outside the compound's main entrance, lost in thought, my foot suddenly caught on something.

I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs.

Pain shot through my body as I struggled to lift my head. And then I saw him.

Nico, standing there.

He had tripped me.

"Why can't you just leave quietly, Bianca?" Dante said, his face dark with anger. "You even came here to complain and slander me in front of my mother. Are you trying to ruin me?"

Nico grabbed me roughly, dragging me up before shoving me toward Serena. "Apologize. Now."

I had thought they would finally let me go. But they still refused to release me.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I shouted, my voice trembling.

Before the words had even fully left my mouth, Nico's right thumb cracked against the side of his hand once, sharply. Then he lifted his foot and stomped down on my injured ankle.

A sharp, unbearable pain exploded through me, as if my bones were being crushed.

"Remember this, Bianca," he said coldly. "This is the price for hurting Serena."

"Unlike my brother, I won't tolerate your temper anymore."

As I curled up on the ground, the pain overwhelming my senses, only one thought remained clear in my mind.

Everything was over.

Twenty years of growing up together. Twenty years of shared memories.

Twenty years of love.

I owed them nothing anymore.

A kind passerby eventually found me and rushed me to the hospital.

After confirming that there were no major injuries, I left without hesitation.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in my swollen ankle, I boarded a plane and left, refusing to look back even once.

The next day, news of my alliance marriage to the Moretti family's heir spread across every channel that mattered, becoming the only thing anyone in the families was talking about.

Not long after, messages from the DeLuca brothers began to flood in.