Chapter 2

Vito stared at me, repeating the same words over and over.

“Why are you always so heartless?”

“It took forever for Mia to finally agree to our marriage alliance, and you still insist on going against her at every turn?”

His words snapped me back to reality.

I smiled and asked in return,

“Is Mia your mother? Do you need her permission to have your own wedding?”

Vito and I had been entangled for seven years, yet we had never been able to make our relationship official.

It was all because Mia suffered from severe anxiety. The slightest hint of intimacy between Vito and me was enough to trigger an episode, let alone the thought of a wedding.

After dragging things out for so long, I had finally managed to arrange a trip out of the city to meet my father.

And Mia had ruined that too.

Vito’s face turned livid after my retort, and for a long moment, he couldn’t utter a word.

I shook my head gently.

“I’m not going to apologize to her. And this marriage arrangement ends here.”

Vito stared at me in disbelief, clearly never expecting me to say something like that.

After all, over the past seven years, I had hinted countless times that I wanted us to make our relationship official.

He knew exactly how badly I wanted to marry him.

He had just opened his mouth when his communicator began to vibrate.

The moment he saw the caller’s name, he answered immediately, his voice softening at once.

“Mia? What happened?”

I didn’t know what she said on the other end.

Vito snatched up his coat and headed for the door.

“I’ll be there right away. Wait for me.”

After ending the call, he strode toward the exit.

But just as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, as if only then remembering that I was still standing there.

He turned back and opened his mouth.

“Mia, she—”

“I know. She’s having another episode. Go.”

For the first time, I was this understanding.

In the past, whenever something like this happened, I would always grab him and refuse to let him leave.

Clearly, my reaction this time caught him off guard.

He froze for a moment.

In the end, he said nothing.

He simply turned around and walked out.

At last, the estate fell silent.

I glanced at the flower petals scattered across the floor, too lazy to clean them up, and walked straight into the bedroom.

I opened the wardrobe, intending to pack my belongings.

That was when I realized there wasn’t a single piece of Vito’s clothing inside.

Oh.

I remembered now.

He had moved his things to Mia’s residence long ago so he could take care of her more conveniently.

To him, this estate was nothing more than a hotel.

If not for the fact that—

He really had treated me well in the early years.

Back then, he hadn’t yet secured his position as the Don.

He had promised that once he firmly established his power, he would marry me and bring me home.

I had clung to that last bit of warmth, deceiving myself year after year.

I should have woken up long ago.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too late.

At least this car accident had finally made me let go of all those foolish illusions.

Halfway through packing, I opened my terminal and replied to a work offer from Sicily.

The offer had actually been sitting in my inbox for a week.

I had mentioned it to Vito at the time, but he had used the excuse that our wedding was coming soon to pressure me into staying close and not going too far away.

Now that the marriage was off the table, I was finally free to pursue what I wanted to do.

After confirming that I would report for work in a month, I finally closed the terminal with peace of mind.

I picked up my phone, only to see Mia’s latest social media post.

It was a photo of her in profile, with Vito asleep beside her hospital bed.

Her caption was dripping with sweetness.

“Only you are willing to stay by my side forever.”

Vito’s brothers immediately flooded the comments.

“Vito cares about you the most, Mia.”

“Get well soon. Once you’re better, we’ll all go out together again!”

This wasn’t the first time Mia had posted photos and messages like this.

In the past, whenever I saw them, I would always make a scene with Vito.

But every time I did, Vito would look at me as if I were insane, accusing me of making trouble out of nothing.

Yet now, seeing another post like this, I couldn’t feel even the slightest ripple in my heart.

After all, one month from now, Vito and I would have nothing to do with each other ever again.