On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, I must choose a fiancé from among the heirs of three great families.

Everyone believes I will choose Dario Morandi—the man I have pursued for years. Instead, I pick up the photograph of his older brother, Cassiano Morandi.

Cassiano is known as the lunatic who was kidnapped by enemies at the age of five and thrown into an underground fighting pit. He survived on his own for ten years before the Morandis brought him back.

No one thinks he is worthy of me, the Vito family's Principessa.

In my previous life, I choose Dario.

On our wedding day, Lina Greco—the daughter of Papa's chauffeur—shows up in a white wedding dress with her pregnant belly on display, crying as she claims the child is Dario's.

Enraged, I have her thrown out.

But amid the chaos, she suffers a miscarriage.

Dario smiles and goes through with the wedding. But in the third year of our marriage, he steals classified intelligence and hands it over to my famiglia's enemies.

I die that very night.

Now that I have a second chance at life, I decide to fulfill his wish and let him be with Lina.

What I never expect is that he has been reborn as well.

The coming-of-age ceremony had yet to start, and a few of my elders were already getting restless.

My Aunt Francesca came over with a glass of wine and patted my shoulder. She sighed and said, "You've chased after Dario for so many years. Good thing you're finally getting what you want today."

Dario Morandi's uncle chimed in, "Tell me about it. The daughter of a Don has humbled herself for a man. Would anyone believe that?"

They laughed and shook their heads, like they were talking about something ridiculous that was finally coming to an end.

I didn't argue. They were right, after all. For the past six years, I'd done plenty of humiliating things for Dario.

He liked horse racing, so I'd bought an entire racetrack for him. He'd casually mentioned that he liked a certain watch, and I'd had one flown in from abroad the very next day.

Now, he stood not far away, watching me get mocked. I looked away in disgust.

All he did was laugh, set down his glass, and walk toward me. His steps were unhurried, and his gaze was steady and confident, just like in my previous life.

"Cecilia, don't pull a face in front of all these people," he said cockily. "Sure, our families have a promise to marry, but you should know that whether you get to marry me doesn't depend on how long you've pursued me. It depends on what you can bring to the table."

I snorted. "Dario, you're not the only son the Morandi family has, are you?"

The smug look on his face froze, and the snickering behind me cut off abruptly.

The connection between the Vito and Morandi families went back to my grandfather's generation. He and Dario's grandfather had fought side by side in Vidaly and agreed that their descendants would marry.

The marriage never happened in Papa's generation, so the engagement was passed down to ours. And Papa had made it clear that whoever in the Morandi family married me would gain the right to merge all of the Vito family's assets with the Morandi family's.

The Vito family controlled the most important port and three-quarters of the smuggling routes, not to mention countless legitimate businesses. Everyone knew how massive that pool of resources was. Obviously, Dario knew it, too.

After a moment, Dario regained his composure and even chuckled. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," I said. "I'm just telling you that you're not indispensable. Besides, don't you already have someone you like?"

I nodded toward Lina Greco, who was quietly edging closer to him.

The smile vanished from his face, and surprise flashed in his eyes. In my previous life, I hadn't found out until our wedding day. Still, knowing about this little affair ahead of time didn't make him realize I'd been reborn. Instead, he just wrapped an arm around Lina's shoulders.

"It's all the better that you already know," he said. "From now on, be nicer to her. As long as you don't interfere with us, I can still give you the status and dignity of being my wife."

I was so stunned by his shamelessness that I couldn't help turning to look at him. His gaze on me was as arrogant as ever.

How ridiculous. Did he expect me to react as I had in my past life? That I'd fly into a jealous rage and then try even harder to please him?

When I didn't say anything, he pulled Lina closer and asked, "What's wrong? Are you jealous?"

Lina lifted her head and glanced at me timidly. She said softly, "Ms. Vito, I'm only here to help. Please don't get the wrong idea…"

"I don't mind," I said, turning to leave. "You two can do whatever you want."

Behind me came the sharp crash of shattering glass. It was like someone had just realized I'd gone off script and had crushed their wineglass, unable to control their anger.

Lina deliberately let out a shrill cry, the sound following me as I walked away. "Dario, your hand is bleeding! Let me take you to the back to get it bandaged…"

Her voice grew louder. "But I'm afraid Principessa will be upset."

I turned to look. Dario immediately pulled Lina tightly into his arms and lifted his chin at me. "What's there to be upset about? There's no way I'll marry her if she doesn't even have the grace to tolerate this."

With that, he looked away from me and walked off with Lina in his arms.

The coming-of-age ceremony was almost over by the time Dario and Lina returned from the garden. Lina's lips were swollen, and Dario's collar was undone, revealing a few hickeys dotting his collarbone. The way they looked at each other was so sickly sweet that it made my stomach turn.

In my previous life, I probably would've already stormed over to demand answers, humiliating myself at my own coming-of-age ceremony. Now, I only found the situation laughable.

I downed my wine and turned, starting to walk away.

Dario stopped me. "Cecilia, are you actually thinking of leaving when I, your fiance, am still here? That's pretty rude of you, don't you think?"

My footsteps didn't even falter.

Dario's voice turned icy. "Get back here and apologize to me, or you're not getting a birthday gift this year."

This time, I stopped. He cocked an eyebrow smugly, thinking that his threat had worked. He opened a small jewelry box and handed it to me. Inside was a thin silver chain.

This was one of his tried-and-tested methods. For the past six years in my previous life, I would receive a "gift" from him on every birthday and celebration. A pen he grabbed from his desk, cufflinks that he didn't want, tie pins that he thought were too worn for him to use… Whatever was within his grasp, he would throw at me.

But back then, I used to treat them like they were treasures. I actually locked them up in a safe.

Once, after we'd gotten married, I'd pulled them out of the safe to show them to him. I'd thought the gesture would move him, but how had he reacted?

He'd said in disgust, "I can't believe you actually kept the trash that I tossed out. Do you realize how sick that is?"

Later, word somehow gotten out. At every gathering after that, the other rich wives and socialites had looked at me with contempt and mockery in their eyes.

Once, someone had even said to my face, "It's pathetic to see you humbling yourself to this extent, Ms. Vito. I wonder how a powerful Don like your father managed to raise a daughter like you."

Papa had sat alone in his study for a long time after hearing that. That was the first time I'd seen him smoke so much that his fingers had trembled uncontrollably.

My expression turned frosty when I remembered the humiliation I'd suffered in my previous life. "You can keep that for yourself. I'm not a trash can."

Dario looked stunned for a split second. The veins on his hand bulged as he tightened his grip on the box. "What did you say?"

Lina immediately took the box and carefully placed it in her palm. "Ms. Vito, Dario put a lot of thought into this. He'll be heartbroken if you don't accept it."

When she spoke, the ring on her ring finger sparkled underneath the lights. I stared at it and suddenly reached out. She thought I was going to take the necklace and held it out with a smile.

I didn't. Instead, I took her hand—the one with the ring on—and held it up in front of Dario. "This is a limited-edition snake-shaped ring that needs to be pre-ordered half a year in advance. It costs 180,000 dollars.

"Do you think I've never seen what a necklace that comes as a free gift with something else looks like, Dario? You sure drew a clear line between the amount of effort you put into the necklace and the ring."

I slapped the box out of Lina's hands and turned to walk away.

The look on Dario's face turned ugly. He grabbed my wrist and held on tight. "How dare you throw away my gift, Cecilia? Pick it up right now, wipe it clean, and put it on. Otherwise, the engagement is off! I might not even agree to it, even if your father begs me to!"

I looked down at his hand before slowly lifting my gaze to meet his. "I never planned on marrying you, Dario."

The ballroom fell silent for a moment. A few of the guests who had yet to leave turned to look at us.

Dario was taken aback for a moment. Then, he laughed contemptuously. "The whole world knows you've chased after me for six years, Cecilia. How could you possibly marry anyone else?"

He let go of me and stepped back, sticking his hands into his pockets and saying confidently, "It's not like you don't know the rest of my brothers and cousins. Marco is addicted to gambling, and Luca only loves men. Wait—there's also my precious older brother, Cassiano."

When he mentioned Cassiano Morandi, he sounded like he was talking about a sewer rat. "He was kidnapped when he was five and raised like an animal in an underground fighting pit for ten years. Is there anyone who doesn't know that he's a complete lunatic?"

Dario leaned in close and lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with malicious amusement. "Why don't you consider marrying him? Here's a gentle reminder, though. He broke a maid's arm with his bare hands last month, only because she accidentally touched his shoulder.

"No one in the Morandi family dares to get close to him, let alone think about finding him a wife. But if you're truly so against marrying me…"

He spread his hands, gesturing that I could do as I wished. "…Then he's your only choice."

I was just about to say that Cassiano was indeed the one I intended to marry when I remembered what Papa had told me.

"Cassiano is currently dealing with something and will only be back in three days. Before he returns, don't tell anyone about the engagement. I don't want anything to go wrong."

Papa had looked grave when saying that. In our world, "dealing with something" generally came with bloodshed.

In any case, the engagement was set. I wasn't in a rush to announce anything.

I'd never spent much time with Cassiano. In my previous life, even after marrying Dario, I'd barely ever seen Cassiano. His own father, Don Morandi, didn't dare to get close to him, yet he needed him.

Cassiano lived in the annex tucked in the deepest corner of the Morandi estate. When I occasionally ran into him in the hallways, he would just silently step aside to let me pass.

Then came the day I'd died. After Dario had given our enemies the intel, they'd burst in through the doors and ambushed us. Papa had collapsed in a pool of his blood after being shot thrice, and someone had grabbed me by the hair, pinning me to the floor.

That was when Cassiano had emerged from the darkness. He'd given Dario a shot straight to the head, then scooped me up and ran out. I'd already been on the brink then.

Ultimately, he'd been one step too late. As I'd died in the arms of this man, who'd been raised like a beast in that fighting pit, I'd felt him shaking all over.

In this life, I swore to make sure he lived out the rest of his life safe and sound.

At that thought, I suppressed my roiling emotions and gave Dario a cold smile. "You'll find out soon enough."

I turned and walked away.

…

When the party ended, Lina came running after me. She jogged up to me, panting slightly from the exertion. Her white dress fluttered in the wind, making her look like a fragile little flower.

She held up her left hand and turned it under the lights, making the snake-shaped ring on her finger gleam coldly. "Ms. Vito, Dario said that even though he'll marry you, I'm the only one he'll ever truly consider his wife."

She smiled and continued softly, "I'm the only one he'll ever buy rings for in this lifetime."

I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't be so jumpy, Lina. If you and Dario do end up getting married, I'll make sure to attend the wedding. I'll even prepare a huge gift."

Lina froze, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes. Then, she smiled, her timid expression fading away to reveal the disdain hidden beneath. "You can drop the act, Ms. Vito. No way you can let go of Dario after pursuing him for so many years. Not that it matters—I'm the only one he loves."

I nodded and turned away, getting into the car. I didn't care whether or not she believed me. I just wanted to watch the show that was about to be put on—would Dario still be so devoted to her when he lost access to the Vito family's resources and Papa's protection?

…

For the next three days, I kept busy picking out the things needed for my engagement to Cassiano. I even sent people to find out his measurements. He was incredibly tall and broad-shouldered; regular boutiques didn't carry tuxedos that fit him, so I had to get one custom-made.

And it was also during these three days that Lina became oddly active on her social media. She updated it at least three or four times a day.

Breakfast with Dario, winery dates with him, enjoying wine before the fireplace with him… Her latest update showed her grilling steaks in the kitchen, wearing an apron. It was captioned, "Cooking for my beloved is the most blissful thing in the world."

The comments were envious.

I was about to lock my phone when Lina texted me. "Ms. Vito, Dario hasn't left my side for the past three days. He told me he's never been happier. I'm so thankful you gave him to me."

She even sent me a photo of herself smiling while holding up a steak.

I stared at her smile for five seconds. At my wedding in my previous life, she'd walked into the church wearing that same smile. She'd worn a white dress that showed off her baby bump, and her smile had slowly turned to grief and tears.

All 300 guests had turned their gazes from her to me, and then to Dario. I would never forget the suffocating atmosphere of that day, as well as how Dario had killed my entire family for her dead baby.

I took a few deep breaths before replying to Lina. "Enjoy it while you can. I hope you can still feel so blissful when my family kicks your father out."

Then, I blocked her number.

Less than three minutes later, Dario called me. "What the hell is wrong with you, Cecilia? Lina is just a regular young woman, and her father has worked tirelessly for your family for 20 years. Why did you threaten her?

"She's just helping you take care of me. Do you know how upset and how badly she's crying now? Get the hell over here and apologize to her in person!" His tone was beyond icy, his rage barely in check.

He was the same as he'd been in my previous life, always siding with Lina and thinking that I'd bullied her. But in this life, there was a hint of something else in his tone, concealed beneath his rage—restlessness.

After all, my behavior had once again gone beyond his expectations. He thought giving me the cold shoulder for the past three days would've driven me mad with jealousy and that I would've sought him out already. Yet not only had I not gone to him, but I'd even threatened Lina.

I leaned against the leather backseat of my car and laughed. "Sure thing. I'm already on my way to the Morandi estate."

Dario sounded smug on the other end of the line. "At least you still have some sense in you. Bring a box of macarons on your way here. Lina likes them."

"I don't have time for that. I'm too busy meeting my fiance." With that, I hung up.

Cassiano was returning on this day.