I was walking out of the Carlo family's parlor with my father when we ran into Giovanni Carlo and his brothers.
The others quickly dispersed, leaving Giovanni standing there alone.
"Estella's here for Giovanni again?"
They sneered as they left. "She really doesn't hold back when it comes to chasing a guy. Guess the Vinci family's heiress has no shame."
Giovanni looked at me coldly. "This is business between our fathers. What are you doing here? Trying to get my father to talk me into it again? Give it a rest.
"You've been clinging to me, using every trick you can to force me to marry you. You've embarrassed me enough. Whether I'd even consider marrying you is still up for debate. No one can change my mind."
His disgust was just as strong as it was in my past life. I let out a breath, realizing how ridiculous I'd once been for obsessing over a man like him.
"What does it have to do with you? Uncle Michael invited me. Tomorrow is my 20th birthday. Once they're done discussing business, he and Papa are going to plan my party," I said.
The air grew heavy with tension.
They might have looked down on me, but the Carlo family elders had always treated me kindly. That was especially true for their boss, Michael Carlo.
He had promised long ago that when I turned twenty, I could choose one of his sons to marry, and that man would become the heir to the Carlo family.
The others wasted no time offering Giovanni their insincere congratulations.
"Giovanni, don't forget us once you take over the family."
"Giovanni's clearly the most capable one here. No doubt he deserves to be heir. Shame he has to marry her, though."
Giovanni shot me a mocking glance. "You're probably more excited than I am. You finally got what you wanted after chasing me all these years."
He stepped forward and casually lifted my chin. "Let's get one thing straight. After we're married, we each live our own lives. You don't get to question what I do or who I'm with. That's the only way I'll agree to this."
His words caught me off guard. This wasn't how he reacted in my past life.
Just then, my adopted sister Eleanor Vinci appeared, coughing weakly as she walked toward Giovanni.
"Why are you here? Weren't you sick?" he asked worriedly.
Giovanni quickly reached out to steady her, and Eleanor conveniently fell into his arms.
"Papa asked me to keep Estella company," Eleanor said softly, playing innocent. "He was worried she might get lonely."
Giovanni pulled her closer, his eyes full of concern.
He shot me a furious glare. "How could you be so selfish? You knew Eleanor was sick and still made her come?"
He lifted Eleanor into his arms and walked away right in front of me. Before leaving, he threw one last threat at me. "Estella, if you keep being this unreasonable, there's no way I'm marrying you."
The resentment I'd carried through two lifetimes finally exploded. "Unreasonable? Giovanni, I brought my sister here and gave you the perfect chance to take her to your bed. Wasn't that considerate enough?" I said coldly.
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