I couldn't even remember how I got back to my apartment, the place where "Lorenzo" and I had lived for the past three years.

I stood at the entrance, staring at the door. Every time I pushed it open, I would always be welcomed with a warm pair of arms and a series of hot, lustful kisses. I would always see the smile on "Lorenzo's" face as he welcomed me home and told me how much he missed me.

However, I'd only just realized now that the person who hugged me and kissed me every night was never the person I thought he was.

I went inside and began packing.

I packed up the jewelry Lorenzo bought me, the clothes Vincenzo bought me, and all our couple items over the past three years before throwing them into the recycling center downstairs.

I watched as the items sank into the dark abyss of the huge recycling truck and felt a sense of hollowness in my chest.

When I got back to the apartment, the door suddenly opened.

"You're back, darling. Did you just take out the trash? What did you just throw out?"

This voice was very, very similar to Lorenzo's. I had been hearing this voice countless times over the past three years as he whispered sweet nothings and dirty talk into my ear.

But I only found out today that this voice belonged to someone else called Vincenzo.

I turned around and finally looked at him seriously for the first time.

His face was almost identical to Lorenzo's, but the flippancy and cynicism in his eyes were completely different from the cold indifference in Lorenzo's eyes.

It had been three whole years since I slept with this man, but this was the very first time I was finally taking a good look at him.

"I just threw out all the things you gave me last time. And you're saying that you don't remember what they are?"

My voice was calm and flat, and he couldn't read my emotions from my tone alone. Only I knew how I felt.

I dug my nails firmly into my palm.

Vincenzo froze for a split second. Then, he chuckled and approached me, trying to hug me as he always did."

"Alright, alright. Don't stay mad anymore. I've already settled everything related to the leaked photos and suppressed the rumors about them. I'm sure it was leaked by a rival Famiglia, trying to attack and undermine our morale.

"It also doesn't matter if your promotion falls through because of this. I'll be taking care of you anyway. You can just resign and become a full-time housewife instead. I'll still be able to support both of us."

He would take care of me?

They destroyed my career, ruined my reputation, and completely crushed the past three years of my life, and yet, Vincenzo could still casually say that he'd "take care" of me and "support" me?

Before I could speak, Vincenzo hugged me from the back, pressing me back against his warm, burning body. He then planted kisses on my neck as his breathing turned quicker.

"Don't keep thinking about these anymore, darling. I missed you so damn much…"

His familiar touch and scent would have immediately made me go putty in his arms if this were in the past, and I would have responded wholeheartedly to him.

But now, I could only feel waves of nausea surging within me.

I shoved him off with all of my might as I spoke in a cold, icy voice.

"Don't touch me."

Vincenzo froze as a flicker of surprise and a hint of hurt appeared in his eyes. However, he quickly masked them and shrugged instead, then turned and walked into the bathroom.

I lay on the bed with my back to the bathroom.

The water sounds soon stopped, and the door opened. The mattress sank behind me as he climbed into bed, releasing cool, dampish steam.

I kept my eyes shut and didn't move a muscle.

Then, I felt Vincenzo pressing his body against mine and rubbing against me relentlessly.

His touches, which used to make my heart flutter, now only felt suffocating to me.

Finally, at the moment of his release, I heard him moan in my ear in the most tender voice I'd ever heard.

"Fiore… I love you…"

My eyes shot wide open at once, tears silently flowing down the corners of my eyes and dampening the pillowcase underneath my face.

So, that was how it was.

Lorenzo wasn't the only one obsessed with Fiore. Even Vincenzo was in love with her too.

As it turned out, I couldn't even be considered a substitute at this point. I was just a tool for Lorenzo and Vincenzo to relieve their unrequited lust and desire for Fiore instead.

Vincenzo sighed heavily in content and satisfaction, turned over in bed, and quickly fell asleep.

I kept my eyes wide open and stared at the Deyork moonlight outside the window until daybreak.

Every night of the past three years had been nothing but a pathetic joke.

The spot next to me was already cold by the time I woke up the next day, just like how it had always been for the past three years.

I used to always come up with excuses for Lorenzo, saying things like him just being used to waking up early, or being too busy with work, or naturally disliking intimacy after sex.

But now, I learned that it wasn't because he disliked intimacy. It was just that he disliked intimacy with me.

I suppressed the nausea in my guts, cleaned up the mess left from the previous night, changed into my work clothes, and headed toward the company.

I realized that something was wrong as soon as I set foot into the company.

Everyone's eyes were still fixed on me, but even more blatantly, disdainfully, and with more schadenfreude than yesterday. It was like they were waiting for some drama to unfold.

My colleague next to me, Nadia Russo, cautiously tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Eliana, there's a problem with the database from the case you were handling. The Underboss wants to see you at his office."

I felt my heart sink.

I pushed open the door to the Underboss', Claudio Bianchi's office, and saw that Fiore was already seated inside.

She was wearing a white suit with exquisite makeup on her face. She even gave me a fake smile when she saw me walking into the room.

"Eliana, you and Fiore had been jointly managing the database for the Famiglia's cases. But now, all the core data has been corrupted, and it's all garbled. Explain this."

Claudio spoke while rubbing his temples, looking exhausted.

I was just about to speak when Fiore immediately cut in first and said, "I know that I locked the computer after checking the database with my other colleagues that night. Only Eliana and I have access to the computer, and I was with the other colleagues for the entire night. They can vouch for me."

She then paused and looked at me with a sly expression on her face. "As for Ms. Torre… Nobody knows where she was that night."

I quickly thought back about that night, my mind racing.

I was with Vincenzo at the apartment that night. He had prepared a candlelit dinner for me and even opened up a bottle of wine he claimed was a special brew from Rotugal. It tasted a little funky, but I didn't think much about it and drank it all up.

After that, I fell into a daze and made love with him all night long.

So, Vincenzo hadn't been romantic that night after all. It had just been a scheme all along.

He had spiked the wine long before I drank it so that I would blank out and give them enough time to frame me for the blunder, and so I wouldn't be able to defend myself.

"I was with Don Caputo that night," I said, gritting my teeth as I spoke.

I had no choice but to expose my three-year secret relationship with Lorenzo to save myself. However, the office door opened just then, and Lorenzo walked in, expressionlessly tossing an iPad onto Claudio's desk.

It was video footage from the office surveillance cameras, showing him entering the office together with Fiore on the exact night the data was corrupted.

"I was with Fiore discussing a new dock project that night, and this is the full CCTV footage as proof. It's impossible that Fiore was the one who did it."

Lorenzo didn't even spare me a glance, speaking in such a calm manner that he might as well just be describing the weather.

All my blood ran cold at that moment.

His Plan A was to expose my intimate photos and ruin my promotion. Meanwhile, he came up with a Plan B to frame me for the database error so Fiore could maintain a clean record.

If the photos didn't ruin me first, then this disgrace of me ruining the database would ensure that I could never recover in this industry.

They had set up a trap for me from the very start, luring me in step by step, completely removing me as an "obstacle" from Fiore's path to her promotion.

"I understand," Claudio said with a sigh. "Since you're unable to provide an alibi, Eliana, then you will be held responsible for this. Rebuilding the database will cost millions of dollars. But considering you're a long-time employee in the Famiglia, you can just pay the fine, and we'll leave it at that."

"It wasn't me!" I exclaimed in a shaky voice. "I never did it!"

Claudio waved his hand dismissively at me and stopped me from fighting back. I could only walk out of his office in a dejected manner.

I'd only just reached the hallway when I heard Lorenzo's voice from the back.

"You don't have to worry about the fine. I'll pay it on your behalf. You've already lost the chance at the promotion because of your photos, but Fiore must have no stains on her record at all. Just admit the fault and take one for her."

I stopped in my tracks, looked up, and forced the tears back in.

So to him, my career, reputation, and life could never hold up to Fiore's career—something that couldn't get a single stain on it.

"I'll make dinner for you myself tonight to make it up to you," he added in a self-righteous tone he probably thought was a gentle one.

I didn't look back at him nor stop walking forward.

I couldn't afford to eat the dinner he was planning to make for me. The price for it would be my entire life in his hands.

I went back to my seat, turned on my laptop, and opened a blank document before typing out my resignation letter.

All three years of our relationship were only worth this thin sheet of A4 paper now.

I printed it out, signed my name, and went knocking on Claudio's office. I set down the letter before him.

"Thank you for the Famiglia's support. This is my week's notice for my resignation. I've already made up my mind about leaving. Kindly acknowledge it as soon as possible."

Claudio looked at me with shock in his eyes.

"Are you really planning to resign, Eliana? Someone's already agreed to pay the fine on your behalf. You—"

"I've made up my mind."

He looked at me for a while. Then he sighed and signed off on my resignation letter, acknowledging that my notice period and the resignation procedures would be completed within the week.

I took a copy of the letter back from him. It was very light, but it weighed down heavily on me, almost suffocating me.

I would be flying off to Grayland in exactly one week as well.

And when that time came, I would be 30,000 feet above sea level in the air, leaving behind this utterly rotten city and never returning for the rest of my life.

When I walked out of the office, I heard a commotion outside.

I walked over instinctively and saw Lorenzo in the middle of a fight with another middle-aged man while Fiore stood to the side, her eyes red and bloodshot and looking extremely pitiful.

I caught wind of the whispers and gossip from the colleagues around me.

"This is one of our old clients we've been working with for decades! All he did was just tease Fiore a little, and the Don ended up beating him to a pulp like this!"

"The Don also immediately brought video surveillance proof to save Fiore regarding the database issue just now. He really is so fond of her! Do you think they're going to be getting together soon?"

"Oh, my heart! This is so romantic! I'm shipping them both together!"

I stood away from the crowd, watching as Lorenzo kicked the middle-aged man to the ground, completely passed out.

Fiore then tugged on his arm and said tearfully, "But Don Caputo, he's our biggest business partner for the dock project!"

Lorenzo turned around and looked at her with such tender eyes I'd never seen before. It made him look like a complete stranger to me.

"He never should have touched on you. You're my bottom line. So what if the Famiglia loses a supply chain? Anything is worth it as long as it's for you."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed in my chest. It hurt so much that I couldn't even breathe anymore.

I recalled the last time I'd accidentally dripped a single drop of water onto a contract.

It hadn't caused any losses or issues in the end, and I'd even taken care of it as quickly as possible. However, Lorenzo lost his shit over that and yelled and berated me in front of the entire office for a whole hour.

I always thought that he was someone who always prioritized the Famiglia's profits over anything else, but as it turned out, it wasn't like that. He just never thought I meant anything to him after all.

I turned around to leave without looking back.

Lorenzo turned around to stare at me just then, as if by clockwork, but all he caught was my back silhouette leaving determinedly.

He didn't know why, but right at that moment, he felt a sudden ache in his chest as his heart thumped wildly for a second.

…

Over the next few days, I proceeded to hand over my job and duties and packed up, watching the entire company celebrate Fiore's promotion as if I were nothing but an outsider.

Vincenzo would always come home every night. He probably realized that something had changed about me and thus began putting in a little more effort to woo me.

He would ask me where I wanted to go on a trip and what I wanted to do. He even brought up the one time I casually mentioned I wanted to try pottery and try out some of the food trucks that had opened up in the alleys.

I had wanted to try pottery for a long time, but because Lorenzo found it dirty and disgusting, he refused to keep me company.

I had also wanted to try the food trucks for a long time, but Lorenzo said that the food was unsanitary and refused to even touch them.

But now, Vincenzo was telling me that he was willing to come with me.

I knew that these were just instructions from Lorenzo. After all, the official announcement for Fiore's promotion hadn't been made yet, so they were probably worried that I'd find out something fishy about it and cause a ruckus that would eventually harm Fiore.

That was the main reason why he told Vincenzo to keep my emotions in check to "stabilize" me.

Yet, for some reason, I still went along with it and followed Vincenzo out.

We spent the rest of the night taking pottery classes. He held my hands in his as we shaped the vases with the clay on the wheel.

We had some spicy food from the food trucks afterward. It was so spicy that I couldn't stop crying. He fumbled around trying to hand me some water and wipe the food stains from my mouth.

We even managed to catch a slow, artistic film in the cinema, with Vincenzo holding my hand throughout the movie without falling asleep impatiently like he used to last time.

Around dawn, while walking past a 24-hour convenience store, my gaze had simply lingered on the hot cocoa option for a short while, but Vincenzo noticed and immediately went in to queue up and buy it for me.

I stood at the side of the street, watching his tall, lean figure mingling in the crowd, looking just like a regular boyfriend.

I felt a dull ache in my chest.

It would have been great if only all of these were real.

It would have been great if I had never heard their conversation in the office the other day.

Just then, someone slung their greasy arm over my butt and breathed alcohol all over me.

"Hello, precious. Wanna come drinking with me?"

I screamed and tried to run away from him, but the drunk pervert grabbed me by my wrist and refused to let go.

He was so strong that I simply couldn't shake him off, no matter what I did.

The passers-by all turned to look at us in shock, but nobody stepped up to help me.

Just then, Vincenzo rushed up toward us, kicking the drunkard off and shielding me behind him, his eyes cold and fierce like a predator.

"Stay away from my darling!"

The drunkard then got into a huge fight with Vincenzo, but he was no match for him. However, the drunkard suddenly grabbed a brick from the roadside and struck Vincenzo in the head with it.

Blood gushed out immediately, and some of the warm, sticky blood even splatted onto my face.

Vincenzo fell to the ground at once.