Chapter 3

I turned and headed for the castle's basement, where my toolbox and design blueprints had been sealed away for years, untouched.

The moment I wiped the dust off the precision instruments I hadn't used in ten years, they gleamed as bright as the talent that had never left me.

I inspected every piece carefully for damage.

Years ago, when Dante's funding had collapsed and rival organizations had intercepted his arms shipments, it was I who'd stayed up night after night, modifying weapons, machining precision components, and earning enough from one contract after another to stabilize the situation.

I'd hidden my talent and made myself smaller, choosing to support him from the shadows for ten years. From now on, I would live only for myself.

The next morning at dawn, a sharp pounding shattered the silence.

I opened the door to find Dante in full black tactical gear, his expression carrying its usual cold severity.

"You were gone all night. The estate had no one on watch, and logistics fell apart. Do you have any idea how close we came to a security crisis?"

Instead of scrambling to apologize the way I always had, I kept my head down and continued organizing my design instruments.

Seeing that I didn't react, Dante's gaze swept over the equipment in my hands, his tone dripping with contempt. "Why are you still holding on to this outdated junk?"

Junk?

"Dante, have you forgotten that this so-called junk is exactly what turned the tide for you?"

Dante's face darkened. He had no understanding of my restraint or my heartbreak. He pressed impatiently, "Did you finish preparing everything I assigned you yesterday? I'm leaving soon."

"No." My voice was flat as I continued packing my things.

"Valentina!"

His tone turned sharp, carrying the full weight of the Don's authority. "This deal determines the Family's survival. Can you afford the consequences of holding things up?"

"Handle it yourself." I straightened and met his gaze, my eyes holding nothing but indifference. "I'm tired. I don't want to clean up after you anymore."

Dante stared at me in disbelief, as if seeing me for the first time. "You sit around in logistics all day with everything provided for you, and handling a few small tasks wears you out? Stop throwing a tantrum."

He turned and sat down on the sofa. A servant came in from outside, wheeling in a three-tiered buttercream cake. The moment the servant noticed me, his expression tensed, as if he were hiding something.

It obviously wasn't meant for me. Colette's name was written across it.

I remembered ten years ago, right after we'd survived the most dangerous faction siege, hiding out in a border town just to stay alive.

A bakery window on the street had displayed cakes of every kind. Dante had pulled a burger from inside his jacket and pressed it into my hands. His voice was quiet. "Do you want some cake?"

We'd just barely escaped with our lives. We had no money.

I shook my head quickly. "Just looking. I like burgers better anyway."

Dante slammed his fist into the snowbank on the roadside and swore to me, "Val, once I've made it, I'll buy every bakery on this street and have them all bake for you."

But later, when we were out and passed a bakery and I was about to bring it up, he'd cut me off with irritation. "How old are you? You still want kid stuff?"

Those promises had just been empty words to keep me going.

I took out my phone and calmly called the Family's ceremonial office, canceling the engagement ceremony that was supposed to formalize our ten years together.

Dante's eyes went cold. "Why are you canceling the engagement ceremony?"

"It's off. Our engagement is void."

Dante studied me for a long time, dismissing it as a tantrum. His reassurance was half-hearted at best. "We've been together ten years. A title is just a formality. There's no need to make an issue of it."

I looked up at him suddenly.

"If I left one day, walked away from you for good, what would you do?"

Dante froze for a moment, then laughed out loud, dripping with arrogance. "Valentina, everything you have came from me. Without my protection, where would you even go? You wouldn't dare leave, and you couldn't if you tried."

Every word was a blade, crushing the last trace of attachment I had left.

After everything I'd given him over ten years, he saw it as nothing more than a way for me to cling to him for survival.