Chapter 4

I pulled my hand free from his grasp, my voice calm.

“I threw away some trash.”

Trash that neither of us wanted anymore.

Vito didn’t look into it.

He merely shoved me impatiently toward the bathroom and told me to wash the cigarette smell off me before coming back out.

I had no intention of arguing with him.

I still had a month before I left, so for now, I had to keep using this place as somewhere to stay.

After my shower, I realized I had forgotten to bring clean clothes.

Wrapping myself in a bath towel, I walked out.

Vito was lounging on the sofa, flipping through the family’s intelligence files.

Hearing me, he turned his head.

His gaze lingered on me for two seconds.

“What? You’re not going to get dressed?”

I was just about to explain when he stood up and walked straight toward me.

He grabbed me and forced me down onto the sofa.

His warm breath brushed against my neck, and a dark look surfaced in Vito’s eyes.

“Trying to seduce me on purpose? Hmm?”

As he spoke, his hand began wandering over my body.

I raised my leg to keep some distance between us and pinned his wrist down with one hand, my voice cold.

“Doesn’t Mia have a thing about cleanliness?”

Vito’s expression darkened.

Without another word, he began pulling at the bath towel wrapped around me.

“I think you’ve been throwing this tantrum for long enough these past few days.”

“Fine. Just give in to me for once. Let’s see if you can still come up with so many excuses—”

Before he could finish, the vibration of his communicator interrupted him.

Vito immediately pushed himself up and answered the call.

We were close enough that I could clearly hear the tears in Mia’s voice on the other end.

“Vito, it’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you and Serafina wouldn’t have ended up like this. Maybe I should just die.”

A moment later, there was a sharp metallic clang as something that sounded like a blade hit the floor.

Vito instantly panicked.

“How could this be your fault? I’m coming over right now!”

As he spoke, he grabbed me and pulled me up from the sofa.

“You explain to Mia that we didn’t have a fight!”

I took the communicator from him.

Looking at Vito’s anxious face, I smiled.

“We didn’t have a fight, Mia. You don’t have to keep pretending—”

“Slap!”

A sharp slap landed across my face.

Vito glared at me in uncontrollable fury.

After ending the call, his face had turned livid.

“Serafina, what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, Mia is pretending?”

“You insist on making a scene, don’t you? Fine. I’ll see how you manage without me!”

With that, he called his underboss right in front of me and ordered him to freeze the black card reserved exclusively for my use.

Only after doing all that did his expression ease slightly.

He looked down at me condescendingly.

“Don’t you feel wronged? Don’t you think you’re the one in the right?”

“The day you refuse to apologize to Mia is the day I refuse to restore access to that card.”

With that, he grabbed his coat and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

I lay quietly on the sofa.

There wasn’t the slightest ripple in my heart, though the corners of my eyes grew slightly damp.

In the past, whenever I fought with Vito because of Mia, I had always held on to the little affection left between us, afraid to say what I really thought.

I had never truly seen Vito for the man he was.

Now that I had finally let go completely, I realized that in Vito’s eyes, I was nothing more than something he could control whenever he pleased.

I shook my head and stared at the door he had slammed shut, feeling nothing but desolation.

What Vito didn’t know was that the card he had given me had already been taken by Mia.

In all these seven years, I had never spent a single cent of his money.

Vito didn’t come back after that night, and I was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

But that peaceful life lasted less than two days.

Vito suddenly returned to the estate, wearing a rather complicated expression.

Seeing me sitting at the table eating a simple meal, he said nothing and went straight into the kitchen.

Before long, three dishes and a soup were set on the table.

He threw the meal container in my hand into the trash, pulled me into a seat, and began serving food onto my plate.

I didn’t touch my utensils.

He gave me a heavy look before letting out a sigh.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that Mia had taken the card?”

My heart tightened.

I looked at him instinctively, only to hear him continue.

“You should’ve told me. I could’ve just given you a new card. It’s not a big deal that Mia used the other one.”

“Now look what happened. Her card got declined at a luxury boutique, and she was humiliated in front of everyone. It took me forever to calm her down.”

He pulled a brand-new black card from the inner pocket of his suit and pushed it across the table toward me.

“Take it. It’s a new card. Consider it a little compensation for everything I’ve owed you over the years.”