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.

Papa went to the Morandi estate ahead of me. I only set off after I'd finished organizing the custom suit and the other gifts I'd prepared for Cassiano.

Dario and Lina were standing side by side on the porch when I arrived. Lina's eyes were still red, and she was half-hiding behind Dario, looking as if she'd suffered some huge injustice.

When Dario saw me, his expression turned contemptuous. "And here I thought you were all calm and unbothered, Cecilia. Yet the second I get mad, you still come running like an obedient dog. You even dragged your father over to back you up, huh?"

He came down the steps toward me, every step radiating pressure. "Apologize first."

I didn't move.

He stopped right in front of me, looking down at me imperiously. "Apologize to Lina. Say it to her face. Tell her you shouldn't have threatened her father, nor should you have blocked her."

Lina peeked out from behind him and said softly, "Dario, just let it go. Maybe Ms. Vito was just in a bad mood…"

The more she spoke, the more wronged she seemed, and she started crying again.

Dario's expression turned even colder. "Did you hear that? She's even asking me to go easy on you. What are you still standing there for?"

I looked at him and said slowly but clearly, "I'm not going to apologize, Dario. I already told you that I'm not marrying you."

The look in his eyes became dark and probing.

"You're not marrying me?" He laughed. "Then who are you going to marry?"

I didn't answer.

"Quit fooling around." He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "The engagement between our families was decided by our grandparents. You think you can just announce that you won't do this and walk away? Our elders are announcing the engagement today. Be smart and fix your attitude, or you're not getting through the front door."

He smiled a little after saying that. I knew that smile all too well—it was the one he'd worn in my previous life every time he thought he had everything under control.

He thought the announcement was about his engagement to me. He thought he still had everything firmly within his grasp.

Rage burned so hot in my chest that it hurt. I didn't want to argue with him anymore, so I started to walk past him into the house.

Right on cue, Lina's sobs grew louder, and Dario immediately yanked me back. My foot slipped; I crashed into one of the decorative columns by the door, and my forearm split open.

Just then, both sets of parents walked in from deeper inside the house. Papa was at the front. His brow tightened the second he saw my arm. "What happened?"

Don Morandi was right behind him. His expression darkened as well when his gaze swept over Dario and Lina. And then, I heard footsteps. They were heavy and measured.

A man stepped out of the shadows. He was incredibly tall—a good half a head taller than Dario, and he had shoulders so broad they looked like they were about to burst through his black shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing a web of interlaced scars from his wrist all the way to the crook of his elbow.

His expression was cold, and his features were chiseled. His eyes were light-colored, somewhere between gray and green. Those eyes landed on my wound with unerring precision.

When he spoke, his voice was low. "Who hit you?"

Lina instinctively shrank further behind Dario. The mockery playing on Dario's lips vanished. He stepped forward, his gaze wary and guarded. "Cassiano, Cecilia is my fiancee. It's none of your business."

Cassiano ignored him and walked straight up to me. He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across my cheek, his touch feather-light.

"I asked who hit you," he repeated. His tone hadn't changed, nor had his volume, but everyone there could feel the killing intent rolling off him.

I drew in a deep breath and smiled at him. "It's no big deal."

Dario barked, "Get your hand off her face!"

Cassiano didn't move. He merely shifted his gaze from me to Dario, the motion slow and deliberate. It actually made Dario step back.

Just as things were about to boil over, Don Morandi stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, kids, calm down. The reason we've gathered here today is to formally announce the engagement between our families."

Dario smoothed out his expression and slipped back into his effortless smile. He reached a hand out toward me. "Cecilia, come here."

I didn't even look at him. I simply extended my hand to Cassiano with a bright smile. "Cassiano, are you ready to spend the rest of your life with me?"