On the day my boyfriend, Antonio Vinci, proposes to me, his adoptive sister, Lucia Falcone, remarks on a whim, "How romantic. It makes me want to get married now as well."

On the very same night, Antonio gives me an agreement.

"You should leave. Here's a 50-million-dollar compensation. I'm going to get married soon."

If this were to happen in the past, I'd have kicked up a huge ruckus and threatened to take my own life if Antonio didn't marry me.

But now, I just ask for another 50 million dollars calmly.

When I'm about to sign the agreement, I hear Antonio talking on the phone in another language.

"Thank goodness I gave Daniela a marriage agreement. Otherwise, she'd seriously think I'd break up with her. I knew that Daniela would be perfect as my wife. She's obedient and docile, just like a loyal mutt.

"As for Lucia, I can give her everything but a legitimate position by my side."

My hand pauses momentarily. Then, I scribble Lucia's name on the agreement.

What Antonio doesn't know is that I have an ongoing bet with Lucia.

If I can ensnare Antonio's heart in ten years, she will back out of our relationship.

If I fail to do so, I'll disappear permanently from their lives.

Daniela's POV

After Antonio Vinci hung up the phone and saw how swiftly I had signed, he suddenly smiled.

He slid his arms around my waist and intimately asked, "Why are you so obedient, Daniela? If I asked you to die for me, would you do it?"

"Maybe."

Resting his chin on my shoulder, he closed the folder and said, "This is a marriage agreement. Are you happy that I'm finally marrying you?"

I gave a slight nod. "Weddings are a lot of work. That includes setting the date, picking the rings, dress fittings, and arranging the guest list. We're going to be busy."

"Our tenth anniversary is two days from now. Let's have the wedding then. I'll have everything else arranged, while all you have to do is wait to be my bride," he said and brushed a kiss against my ear.

The air between us turned thick and heavy with intimacy. Antonio gently lifted me onto the desk and tilted his head up to kiss me again and again.

"It's been ten years, Daniela Valenti. Will you resent me for taking so long to give you a title?"

Why would I?

In the past ten years, I had never asked for anything, yet Antonio had given me the world.

When I woke up from nightmares in the middle of the night, he would fly across half the globe just to keep me company, only to fly back to work the next morning.

When I was kidnapped, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 500 million dollars plus his life. He paid the money and drove a blade into his chest right in front of them.

"Come for me however you want. What kind of men threaten women?"

The kidnappers were later wiped out, but Antonio was bedridden for six months and left with a permanent condition. He fainted whenever he got too emotional and nearly lost his Vinci family inheritance rights to an outsider over it.

Antonio's love was intense, so how could I not have been moved?

It wasn't until today, when Lucia Falcone reminded me that my ten-year term was almost up, that I understood I had completely lost.

Antonio hadn't rushed home in the middle of the night to soothe me through my nightmares; he was there because Lucia had been hospitalized for heart palpitations.

As for the kidnapping, it wasn't for me. The kidnappers had taken Lucia, too.

A sudden clatter snapped us both back to reality, and we turned toward the door at the same time. Lucia stood there with disheveled hair and a nightgown so short it exposed herself with the slightest movement.

Her eyes were red-rimmed as she stammered, "I-I'm sorry… I didn't know you were… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Then, she ran off in tears.

Antonio immediately let go of my waist.

Caught off guard, I fell hard onto the floor. My arms and knees were mottled with bruises as I slowly got back up onto my feet.

For a long time, I stared blankly at his panicked figure as he fled.

"Antonio, what were we for ten years?"

Perhaps none of that mattered anymore because in two days, I would disappear for good.

I hired someone to arrange a new identity for me. Then, I staged my death and took a special drug.

It was an emotional suppressant developed by Antonio's company, designed to strip a person of their passion and desires.

I found a trial sample in his study and swallowed it without a second thought. It was so bitter that I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

I believed that this would be the last time I ever cried for him again.

…

At dawn the next day, Antonio finally returned, bringing the morning chill with him.

He didn't explain. He just deftly handed me a check before pulling me in for a tight hug. "Daniela, you said you'd even die for me. If I've made a mistake, will you help me fix it?"

"Tell me about it."

Only then did he lift his head and force a sheepish smile. "Can we switch the bride at the wedding to Lucia? Dad protected her too well growing up, and she was terrified by what she saw last night, so this is an apology to her.

"We can hold our wedding the next day…"

As he spoke, his voice trailed off, losing its conviction.

I had been fiercely protective since falling in love with Antonio.

There was a time when I was nearly manic. I had threatened to kill myself just to force him to get rid of his mistresses, checked his phone, and tracked his location every single day.

I thought he would resist, but every time, he cooperated with endless patience.

Over time, I finally let my guard down.

"If… you don't want to, it's fine. I'll just find another way to make it up to her," Antonio said, walking over to pull me into his arms, still as gentle as ever.

"You're the one I love most, so I can never bear to see you hurt."

I let him move and kiss me like a marionette on strings, while my phone kept buzzing with messages from Lucia.

"Antonio stayed with me last night, but please don't be mad at him. I begged him to teach me things an adult should know, and he was a good teacher. He taught me how to lift my legs high so I would be comfortable. He showed me how to arch my back so he could go deeper… It was our first time last night."

Her crude words grated on my nerves nonstop.

As Antonio leaned in for another kiss, I gently shoved him away. "Let Lucia have it all. I've recently got a lot on my plate anyway."

"Really?"

Antonio ecstatically lifted me. His fingers put pressure on the bruises I got from my fall the night before, but I barely felt any pain. Perhaps the drug was starting to work.

"You're the perfect wife, Daniela! To have your love is the greatest blessing of my life!"

Even as he spoke, he was already on the phone, ordering his men around to make wedding preparations.

The door clicked shut again, and the room returned to its deadly silence.

Just as I was about to pack my suitcase, Lucia suddenly called.

Her voice was as soft as ever. "Daniela, I was just cleaning up when I found the rings Enrica left behind. Do you want to come over and pick them up?

Enrica!

I had a gut feeling that nothing good was waiting for me at Lucia's, but I had no choice but to go for Enrica Sartori's keepsake.

Antonio's place wasn't far from the main house.

Ten minutes later, I stood in Lucia's apartment while she sat poised at the vanity with a wooden box beside her hand. It contained a pair of exquisite gemstone rings.

"These are the rings Enrica left behind. You were closest to her while she was alive, so I figured you'd want them."

I hesitated, then stepped forward to take the rings. However, when I was two feet away, she suddenly smashed the rings onto the floor.

"That old hag! Why couldn't she just die a clean death instead of getting between Antonio and me? She even arranged for a pathetic loser like you to seduce him!"

She looked like she finally had her long-awaited revenge.

"You think I wanted that ten-year bet? That old hag's will forbade me from joining the Vinci family for a decade!

"Wretched woman! She's such a nuisance even when she's dead!"

Lucia glared at me sharply. "Antonio and I were childhood sweethearts. Who do you think you are? You had ten years, and you still couldn't win his heart. That just proves he doesn't love you!"

With that, she pulled out a fruit knife and aimed it at her heart. Then, she shifted it a few inches to the side and smiled sinisterly.

"Lucia! You've lost your mind!"

I lunged forward to stop her and grabbed the knife with my bare hands, so the tip barely grazed her skin.

"Ah!" she screamed and abruptly shoved me away.

The bedroom door was kicked open before Antonio came charging in. After taking one look at the scene, his first move was to scoop Lucia into his arms.

Then, he turned to shoot me a cold look. "I'm so disappointed in you, Daniela. Go and take your punishment."

"Antonio! Are you really going to side with Lucia like that? What about me? Do I even matter to you anymore?"

Ignoring the pain in my hand, I chased after Antonio and demanded an answer. He didn't answer, but the bodyguards behind me pinned me down and dragged me straight to the basement.

Three years ago, Antonio had proposed to me, but the Vinci family forbade marrying commoners. He had endured 100 lashes just to have that rule abolished.

Now that I thought about it… Lucia's background was nothing special, either. Her dad had been Lorenzo Vinci's driver, and the latter had only adopted her because her dad had saved his life. Was Antonio's rebellion back then really for me, or was it for her, too?

The whips came down on my back, one after another, until the pain threatened to swallow me whole.

"Tomorrow," I told myself. "Tomorrow I can leave Antonio and the Vincis."

Just as I was about to pass out, I thought I saw Antonio running toward me. He carefully cradled me in his arms and screamed at the guards for being too heavy-handed. Then, he apologized and said that it was all his fault.

When I forced my eyes open, all I saw were the bodyguards' expressionless faces. Antonio never came at all.

I let out a cold, mocking laugh and spiraled into the darkness.

…

When I woke up again, I was on a small bed in the attic storeroom. Antonio sat by the side of the bed.

"Lucia isn't a threat to your status at all, Daniela. Why do you have to make things tough for her?

"Could you stop being so paranoid? How much longer do I have to keep coddling you?

"Do you know what people out there are saying? They're saying that your love is pathological and that you're insane!"

I looked down and said, "I understand. It won't happen again."

Seeing my lack of reaction, Antonio gave me an odd look. He had expected me to fight back and argue my case, or threaten my life to force him to give in, just like before. However, I didn't. All I did was silently look at him.

He reached out and stroked my cheek. "Behave, Daniela. Both my love and I are yours.

"Stay here and recover until the wedding's over tomorrow. I'll come back for you afterward."

I numbly nodded. Before leaving, he ordered the maids not to let me out and to guard the place tightly. He was terrified I would leave and ruin his wedding with Lucia, but I didn't have the strength for that anymore.

Ten years. How many decades did one person get in a lifetime?

I took out the ring I had hidden in my clothes. Under the moonlight, it looked softer and warmer than before.

Enrica was the only person in this world who had been truly kind to me.

"But Enrica… Loving someone is so exhausting."

I gave the best years of my life to Antonio from the age of 19 to 29, so from now on, I would only live for myself.

The sky began to brighten. I could hear the frantic steps of the staff outside the door as they were busy preparing for Antonio and Lucia's wedding.

I dialed a number. "I'm ready. You can start."

"Understood."

After waiting ten minutes, I received a reply indicating that I could make my move. Then, I pulled out a lighter and set the curtains ablaze.

The roaring flames reflected in my eyes, but I couldn't feel a ripple of emotion.

"We'll never have to see each other again, Antonio."

…

Third-Person POV

Antonio felt an inexplicable surge of panic in the middle of his vows before he saw thick smoke billowing from the villa in the distance.

Was the villa on fire?

No! Daniela was still inside!

He bolted toward the villa, just to run into his assistant, Mattia Marino, who was racing toward him to report the news.

"Bad news!" Mattia cried out. "Daniela… S-She jumped!"