Signed in Lies, Sealed in Sunlight

For the past two years, for the sake of the love I shared with my fiancé, Rex, I, Aria Costello, had silently endured the cruel torment of his sister, Juliana. I thought my patience would earn his understanding and protection.

However, when Juliana threatened to kill herself, forcing me to smash the token of our love with my own hands, and my pleas for help to Rex were met with deafening silence, I finally understood that some bonds, once shattered, could never be mended.

In that moment, I decided to end this one-woman show and take back everything that was rightfully mine.

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1

For two years, I, Aria Costello, had bent to their every whim.

At first, it was just Rex Gallo's sister, Juliana, forcing me to clean up glass she'd deliberately shattered, my bare hands picking up the shards. Later, she made me slap myself in front of the entire family. She even locked me outside the manor gates on a frigid winter night to endure the biting wind alone. Each new cruelty was more vicious than the last.

"It's all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on dragging Rex to some art exhibition, I wouldn't have been kidnapped!" Juliana stood on the edge of the rooftop terrace, her body trembling with agitation, the glint of madness in her eyes. "Now! Take the letter opener from Rex's desk—the one with the family crest—and smash it! Smash that antique pocket watch he gave you, his precious token of love!"

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Juliana suddenly pressed the sharp point of the letter opener to her own throat. "Or I'll just die right here! Try explaining my dead body to Rex!"

I closed my eyes, resigned. "Don't move. I'll do it."

I took the gleaming letter opener from her hand and, under Juliana's predatory gaze, aimed the tip at the watch's crystal face. I pried it open, then smashed down relentlessly until the precious antique, engraved with both our initials, was reduced to fragments. Only then did Juliana leave with a satisfied smirk.

I crumpled to the floor, the breath knocked out of me as I stared at the ruin scattered around me. I pulled out my phone and sent Rex a message: "Rex, Juliana needs to see a psychiatrist. Today, she..."

The message was marked as read, but no reply ever came.

I stared at the screen for a long, long time. Finally, I pushed myself to my feet. I had to see Don Alaric.

When I arrived at Don Alaric's estate, the grand hall was occupied only by a few grim-faced Soldato.

I told Don Alaric what had happened. After his Consigliere pulled up the Gallo family's legal files, he frowned. "Principessa, according to these documents, your engagement to Mr. Rex Gallo was legally annulled."

"What?" My mind went blank, my voice a trembling whisper. "I never agreed to end the engagement..."

Don Alaric's Consigliere turned the documents toward me. "It says here all procedures were completed. It became effective a month ago."

I gripped my phone tightly, my fingertips going numb, my hand shaking uncontrollably.

I suddenly remembered a month ago, Rex handing me a legal document in Italian, telling me to sign what he claimed was for "us to set up a family trust fund together." At that moment, Juliana was in the next room, smashing things and screaming for me. I couldn't decipher the complex legal jargon, so I just signed it.

The Soldato behind me started whispering.

"The paperwork is finalized. She's wasting the Don's time."

"What a fool, getting played by that Gallo punk and not even knowing it. Serves her right..."

I don't remember how I walked out of that building.

The afternoon sun should have been warm, but a chill pierced me to the bone, and I could feel my teeth chattering.

I marched straight to Rex's office.

The office door was ajar, and laughter drifted out. I froze, instinctively holding my breath. Through the crack in the door, I saw Juliana—the same Juliana who supposedly suffered from agoraphobia after her trauma and hadn't dared to leave the house for two years—now sitting on the sofa, smiling brilliantly.

Roxanne Ricci was nestled beside Rex, leaning intimately over his plate to cut a piece of his steak for him.

"Rex, did Aria come complaining again? All she ever does is cry and whine," Juliana said smugly. "Don't you dare go soft on her!"

Roxanne said gently, "Juliana… Aria has taken care of you for two years. It hasn't been easy for her."

"She deserved it!" Juliana's voice rose to a shriek. "If she hadn't been clinging to Rex, stopping him from picking me up, would I have been kidnapped and tortured by those animals?!"

My nails dug deep into my palms.

Rex frowned, a complex expression flashing across his face, but he said nothing. His silence was his answer.

"Rex," Juliana cooed, changing the subject. "When are you going to tell her the engagement is off and kick her out of our house?"

Rex's voice dropped. "Juliana, she has nowhere else to go. Besides…"

Juliana cut him off with a shrill cry, "Don't tell me you still have feelings for her?! Look at Roxanne! She's a hundred times more useful to the family than Aria!"

Rex's voice was quiet but firm. "Let's not startle her for now. I have other plans."

Juliana sneered, her eyes full of malice. "Fine. If she stays, I'll make her life a living hell. I'm just getting started."

"Don't go too far," Rex murmured, his tone more indulgent than warning.

I stumbled backward, hot tears blurring my vision. My engagement was over. And I was the last one to know.

I walked out of the building and watched the black sedans speeding past, a faint, bitter smile touching my lips.

I'd been watching this farce for two years. It was time to bring down the curtain.

Since I was destined to be an outsider, I would leave on my own terms.

Two years ago, for Rex's sake, I had a falling out with my family. I even swore I would rather die than accept the marriage Don Alaric had arranged for me since childhood with the Callahan Group.

Since the engagement was already void...

Alright then.

I was going back to marry the man I should have married all along.