On the day my mother passed away, Marco cried and promised her he would marry me.

But at our engagement party, he slipped the ring onto Sofia's hand instead.

"Why?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

All he offered me was a mocking laugh.

"Elara, I was comforting a dying woman. You actually took that seriously? Look at yourself. Did you honestly think you were ever good enough for me?"

Humiliation washed over me as I fled, their mocking gazes burning into my back.

I pulled out my phone, found the number I hadn't contacted in years, and dialed.

"Papa, is the marriage contract with the Moretti family still valid?"

"It is. But the Morettis have always insisted the arrangement be with Marco's uncle, the Don, Vincenzo…"

"I know. I'll marry him."

————————

1

My father was silent for a long moment on the other end of the line, then let out a long, satisfied sigh.

"Good. You've finally come to your senses. I'll see to it that you marry into the Moretti family with all the ceremony you deserve. A daughter of the Valenti family should never have to suffer out there alone."

My parents divorced when I was eight.

My mother left the Valenti estate with me, fleeing that heartless family that controlled the lifeblood of New York's real estate.

The day after we left, she had me take her last name.

It felt like a stain on my name, a truth I never dared to share with Marco.

If not for Marco's unbridled contempt, I probably would have never gone back.

"Elara? Are you having second thoughts?"

My father's cautious question pulled me from my thoughts.

I glanced back at Marco and Sofia kissing on the stage, then spoke into the phone.

"No. This time, it's my choice."

"Good. There's a perfect date seven days from now. I'll inform the Moretti family immediately."

"Don't let…"

"Don't worry. Marco's just a soldato; he has no say in his Don's marriage. He won't know a thing."

After the call ended, it felt as though a weight I’d carried for years had finally lifted.

Just as I was about to turn and leave the estate, a black car sped from a side street and crashed into the side of my car.

The impact sent my car flipping over.

Before I could process what had happened, I felt my body being thrown from the mangled steel.

Then, with a sickening thud, I slammed onto the asphalt.

Within seconds, a dark pool of blood spread beneath me.

The sickening crunch of metal silenced the celebration inside the estate.

A piercing pain shot through my calf.

When I looked down at my leg, my eyes met Marco's as he rushed out of the estate.

Almost instinctively, I looked to him for help.

But before I could speak, Marco frowned and said coldly,

"What is this, Elara? You tried to guilt-trip me with your mother's death once, and now you're pulling this stunt? You think getting hit by a car will make me marry you out of pity?"

He raised an eyebrow and let out a soft chuckle.

"Elara, stop dreaming. You've interrupted my special moment with Sofia. This will only make me despise you more!"

With that, he wrapped his arm around Sofia and started to turn back.

Sofia let out a delicate, slightly frightened cry from within Marco's arms.

"Marco, I think she's badly hurt. She's only doing this because she loves you. Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?"

"Sofia, you're the kindest person in the world. Don't worry, she's tough as nails; she won't die. We can't let her ruin our moment. Our wedding is in seven days, and this engagement ceremony has to be perfect. I don't want you to have any regrets…"

A metallic tang filled my mouth, turning to pure bitterness as it slid down my throat…

Through a blur of the other driver's frantic apologies, I was lifted onto a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.

Thankfully, the other driver had slammed on the brakes in time, so my injuries were all external.

After leaving the emergency room, I was wheeled directly into a high-security VIP suite on the top floor.

I didn't recall the Valenti family having any connection to this hospital.

While I was still trying to make sense of it, the middle-aged department head approached with a fawning smile.

"Miss Valenti, Don Moretti himself gave us strict instructions. You are to receive the best care. You and the Don must be very close, then? When you see him, please don't forget to put in a good word for me…"

I couldn't hear the rest of what he said.

A message came through on my phone. I opened it numbly.

It was from Marco. Just a few, cold words.

[Take care of yourself. Stop causing trouble.]

That suffocating feeling washed over me again.

Five years together, and it was always the same cycle of cruelty and kindness.

I was so sick of it. What did Marco take me for?

A pet he could summon and dismiss at will?!

A fire ignited within me. I hurled my phone against the wall.

Ignoring my freshly bandaged wounds, I stumbled out of bed and rushed out of the hospital room.

Behind me, I heard the doctor's anxious shouts.

"Miss Valenti, you have a cast on your leg! You can't be running around right now!"

But the determination to cut ties with Marco immediately overrode any sense of pain.

I limped my way downstairs.

Just as I reached the hospital lobby, I ran straight into Marco.

"Where are you going? You're injured and you're still trying to run out? Elara, do you have to keep making a scene?"

A voice tinged with anger came from above my head.

I recoiled as if I'd been shocked.

I met Marco's emotionless eyes.

"Where I'm going is none of your business. Move."

Marco didn't move, but Sofia, who was trailing behind him, stepped forward.

With her hands on her hips, her eyes glinted with mockery as she spoke.

"Marco, let her go! She's so badly injured and still in such a rush to get out. I bet she's rushing off to some secret rendezvous…"

"Marco, you've found your happy ending, but you can't expect Elara to stay lonely forever, can you?"

Perhaps it was my imagination, but I felt a gaze as sharp as a knife piercing me from somewhere above.

But right now, I didn't have the mind to care.

I shoved Sofia, who was standing in my way.

"Who I'm seeing is none of your business! Get lost! You're in my way!"

I had just come out of surgery and had barely any strength.

But Sofia used the momentum of my push to fall straight backward, letting out a piercing scream.

Her eyes flashed with defiance, but when she spoke, her voice was laced with feigned grievance.

"Elara, what are you doing? I was just speaking up for you. Why did you have to push me…"

Her tearful, delicate cry jolted Marco into action.

He strode over to Sofia and scooped her up from the floor.

Then, he grabbed me by the collar and shoved me to the ground next to Sofia.

"Elara, it seems I can't be nice to you! Apologize to Sofia!"

Marco's rough pull made my newly casted calf slam directly into the corner of the wall.

The piercing pain that shot through me in that instant brought tears to my eyes.

I struggled with all my might.

"She was blocking my way! What did I do wrong? Besides, I barely used any force! Marco, let go of me, you're hurting me!"

Large beads of sweat mixed with tears fell onto the back of Marco's hand.

A few seconds later, the grip suddenly loosened.

I gave a hard tug and broke free from Marco's grasp.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Sofia's pitiful, tearful voice from the floor.

"Marco, you can't just let this go! I like the bracelet on her wrist! Make her give it to me, and we'll call it even!"

The bracelet was the only memento my mother had left me. Normally, I couldn't bear to have it off my wrist for even a second, and Marco knew this.

His gaze lingered on the bracelet for a moment. He turned back to Sofia, about to speak, but Sofia clutched her lower back and started to wail.

"Marco, it really hurts…"

"Elara. Take off the bracelet. Give it to her."

I looked up in disbelief, meeting Marco's cold eyes.

"Marco, you know what this bracelet means to me. It's the only thing my mother left me… and I did nothing wrong today…"

"Elara, didn't you hear me? I told you to take off the bracelet!"

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

I leaned against the wall and stumbled my way out.

My wrist was suddenly seized. Marco slammed me against the wall behind me.

He twisted my wrist with all his strength.

"Marco, you're a bastard! An animal! This is something my mother left for me, you can't touch it! Let go of me!"

I cried and struggled with all my might.

But Marco tore the bracelet from my wrist.

Sofia took it, her eyes filled with mockery and defiance as she looked at me. "You're pathetic, Elara. Is a cheap little bracelet like this really worth all this drama?"

I lunged toward Sofia like a madwoman.

But before I could reach her, she suddenly tossed the bracelet out the window. "I don't care for this cheap piece of junk!"