I thought that I would need a long time to pack my belongings, but when I opened my suitcase, I realized that I didn't have anything to take with me.

Nearly all the clothes I had were given to me by Antonio.

"You're the Principessa of the Corleone family, Elena. Of course, you have to dress in the finest clothes."

Those same clothes were soiled and stained at that moment, emitting a foul scent.

Instead of a Principessa, I had turned into a useless piece of trash in Antonio's heart.

I moved the clothes aside and looked at the scattered photos on the ground.

Matteo loved taking pictures of me when we were younger, saying that he wanted to record my image during every moment of my life.

Every time we took pictures, Antonio and Matteo would fight over who got to stand next to me.

However, at that moment, someone had drawn a red cross over my face in all of our photos.

Unwilling to look at them any longer, I stuffed everything into a trash bag.

Antonio happened to see what I was doing when he was leading Sophia downstairs. Surprise flickered in his eyes. I had treated my belongings as if they were precious treasures in the past, after all.

He scoffed and said, "I see you have no hesitation to squander the Corleone family's fortune at all."

In the past, Antonio was willing to spend a fortune on me to make me happy. However, after Sophia appeared, everything that I did was wrong from his perspective.

I didn't try to argue or explain myself. "I'll return your money, Antonio."

"The Corleone family doesn't need your money. You just have to remember your place. Don't upset Sophia again."

Sophia grabbed Antonio's sleeve and batted her lashes at him. "Don't waste your time on her, Antonio. I want to look at the stars in the secret base. Let's go."

My hands froze in place.

Antonio had built the secret base for me when I was 16 years old.

Maria had been swamped with work that year. She didn't have time to take care of me, so she passed on that responsibility to Antonio, who was five years older than me.

Antonio had given me all the best things in the world. He called me his star and personally designed a sea of stars that would never go out.

He used optical fibers and glass to create a small dome on the villa's rooftop. When he flipped the switch, countless lights began to slowly move across the dome, reminiscent of a real galaxy.

Antonio had looked at me under the sea of stars and said, "This starry sky belongs to you, Elena. It's also my promise to you. My love for you is like the stars in the galaxy that will never go out."

I had believed him.

Over the next 14 years, we finished building the secret base little by little. It harbored so many secrets that could never be revealed to another soul, and it also hid the unspeakable and tender feelings of my youth.

In the last few years, whenever I couldn't decide between Antonio and Matteo, I would head over to the secret base to be by myself for a little while.

However, Antonio and Matteo no longer loved me. They had found a new lover.

Antonio had forgotten that he had created that starry sky for me—forgotten that he had promised to love me forever.

It was fine.

I took a deep breath as I picked up the trash bag and headed outside.

I didn't need the stars anymore, just like how I didn't need Antonio and Matteo anymore.

Sophia suddenly grabbed my wrist. Her freshly manicured nails left scratches on my arm.

"Why are you never willing to listen to me, Elena? Do you hate me?"

I hissed in pain and shook my wrist free.

Sophia fell backward and shouted, "Save me, Antonio!"

Antonio immediately steadied her, his face twisting in anger. He then slapped me hard across the face before I realized what was going on.

Matteo sprinted toward us and roared, "Why are you always picking a fight with Sophia, Elena? If the Corleone family didn't take you in, you would have been sold off a long time ago and would be living in the slums. You ungrateful bitch!"

I covered my face. There was a loud buzzing in my ear.

It was the first time in my life that someone had struck me.

I felt as if my entire world was falling apart at that moment.

Antonio also seemed to realize that he had struck me as he looked at his hand. He opened his mouth and said, "Elena, I—"

"Va bene," I said as I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. "I don't blame you."

I would treat the slap as repayment to Antonio for saving my life all those years ago. I had settled the score. The two of us no longer owed each other anything.

I turned around and tried to leave, but Matteo continued to block my path.

"Don't leave just yet. Apologize to Sophia right now!"

There was a fierce glint in his eyes. It was as if he were a completely different person compared to the young boy who would run around calling my name in the past.

I knew how ruthless Matteo could be.

In the past, when a foreigner harassed me in a bar, Matteo had led his men to drown the foreigner in the Porco River.

Antonio had handled the aftermath, smoothing out any trouble that arose from the incident.

I never would have imagined that Matteo would use the same ruthless methods on me one day.

I looked into Sophia's smug eyes. I shook my head and said, "I won't apologize. I didn't do anything that I need to apologize for."

Besides, I was already planning to leave. There was no need for them to chase me away.

Matteo looked like he had more to say, but Antonio held him back. He softened his tone and said, "Forget it. I acted impulsively just now. I'll bring your favorite strawberry cream cake for you when I return."

He paused before continuing, "But you have to promise me never to upset Sophia again."

It seemed that Antonio wanted to smooth things over by extending a sweet olive branch to me. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that I was lactose intolerant and couldn't eat cream cakes.

It was hard to believe that Antonio had switched countless chefs in the past to cater to my diet. He even brushed up on his nutrition knowledge to create personalized recipes for me.

Meanwhile, Matteo had monitored my mealtimes like a hawk, making sure I always ate on time.

However, both Antonio and Matteo had forgotten everything they had done for me in the past.

The March breeze whistled through the gaps in the door.

I was freezing in the soaked clothes that clung to me like a second skin. I could feel a fever coming on.

Just as the awful feeling reached its peak within me, Matteo collided right into me.

"You're putting on an act again."

Black spots exploded across my vision before I collapsed on the stairs.

A hint of hesitation flickered in Antonio's eyes when he turned to look at me. But in the end, he still left with Sophia, flanking either side of her with Matteo.

I had no idea how long I lay on the ground. I struggled to crawl back to my feet before calling 911.

The doctor was furious when he saw the condition I was in. "How did you end up like this when you just left the hospital? You're drenched in cold water when your stomach hasn't recovered yet. And why did you continue wearing these wet clothes when it's so windy outside? Do you have a death wish?"

I was too weak to explain and obediently checked myself into the hospital to be monitored for the next three days.

After my fever broke, I discharged myself from the hospital.

I had to leave as soon as possible after being delayed for so many days.

I returned to the Corleone family, wanting to bid farewell to some of the members with whom I had built a good rapport.

A Soldato shot a strange look at me before asking, "What are you doing here, Ms. Zanelli?"

"Why shouldn't I be here?" I asked.

"Mr. Antonio ordered us not to let you participate in the family business."

He hesitated for a moment before adding in a low voice, "Also, the family members who were close to you were sent abroad by Ms. Volpe. The ones who were left behind are too scared to talk to you now."

"Where's Antonio? Tell him that I'm here to see him."

"Please wait a moment."

I ended up waiting at the entrance for four hours before they finally informed me that Antonio and Sophia had gone to Moramo.

Everyone looked at me strangely as I muttered to myself.

It turned out that they had gone to the beach that I had brought up countless times in the past.

I had always wanted to visit Solena Beach, but I never got the chance.

I dropped my gaze. I had been worrying about how to explain myself, but it seemed that I had worried for nothing since no one cared about me.

The last thing I had to do was bid farewell to Maria. Once I was done, I would be free to leave the Corleone family without any strings attached.

In fact, it was better this way.

…

Maria cancelled all her meetings upon being informed of my arrival. Her eyes reddened the moment she saw me, asking, "When did you get so thin?"

I placed Mamma's card on the table and said, "Thank you for taking care of me for the past two decades, Mrs. Corleone. The card has all the money that I owe the Corleone family. Mamma wanted to make sure that you got it."

Tears streamed down Maria's face.

"Why are you acting like a stranger, Elena? It's my fault. I've been so busy with the family business that I neglected you in the last few years."

She grabbed my hand and brushed her fingers over it. "I was hoping that you would be my daughter-in-law one day, but my two foolish sons don't deserve you. Take your money back. Treat it as my gift to you.

"I might not be able to attend your wedding, sweetheart, but I truly hope that you will find happiness."

I forced myself not to cry as I hugged Maria tightly.

Maria had genuinely treated me well during my time with the Corleone family. However, it was impossible to change another person's feelings.

Just then, the door swung open.

Antonio, Matteo, and Sophia strode into the room.

The brothers' expressions soured when they saw me.

"Why are you talking about marriage? Who's getting married?"

Antonio frowned and said, "Are you spouting nonsense to Mamma again, Elena?"

Matteo hurried over to Maria's side and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense, Mamma. Antonio and I only proposed to Sophia to fulfill her wish. She didn't actually say yes."

Sophia hid behind Antonio with a bashful expression.

"Although Sophia doesn't have a good family background, she's strong and independent," Antonio explained languidly. "She won't casually agree to our proposals just because she's after the Corleone family's fortune.

"On the other hand, Elena's been spoiled rotten since she was a child. She gets jealous over the smallest things."

Maria hurled her glass onto the ground. "It's no wonder Elena wants to leave. You two bastards! Take this woman and get out of my sight!"

I comforted Maria for a long time after Antonio, Matteo, and Sophia left.

Maria's eyes were bloodshot when she walked me to the door. "Take care, Elena."

I left with Maria's well-wishes.

However, when I was descending the stairs, I tripped over something and tumbled down.

Excruciating pain exploded from my ankle.

I looked up just in time to see Matteo retracting his foot.

Sophia looked at me with reddened eyes and asked, "Do you hate me that much, Elena? You've already taken revenge for your family and your Padre. I lost Papa and my family. Isn't that enough?"

Antonio's expression darkened as he strode over to Sophia's side and pulled her into a hug. He looked heartbroken as he comforted her.

Meanwhile, Matteo grabbed my collar and dragged me in front of Sophia.

"Apologize!" he demanded.

Sweat poured down my back from the pain, but I still gritted my teeth and hissed, "I won't. I didn't do anything wrong."

Matteo stomped on my injured ankle the moment the words left my lips.

A bone-chilling sound reverberated around the room.

"Never forget what happened here today, Elena. This is the price you will pay for hurting Sophia. I'm not like Antonio. I won't tolerate your behavior."

I curled up on the floor, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.

My mind had gone blank except for a single thought.

I didn't owe Antonio and Matteo anything anymore.

Two decades of gratitude for taking revenge for my family… Two decades of feelings from being childhood sweethearts—everything had been wiped clean.