Chapter 2

The fakeness made me sick.

Isabella was Vito's childhood friend.

Back then, her brother pulled some dying man stunt, wanting her to marry Vito. And that bastard Vito? He took the wedding I'd spent six months planning and turned it into a proposal—to her.

He even had the nerve to tell me it was just for show, that he'd divorce her later and marry me.

I refused. We had a huge fight. Then Isabella set me up.

And Vito?

He didn't even bother to investigate. Just threw me in a dungeon without asking a single question.

"Wait, what's that in your hand?" Isabella suddenly asked.

Vito's eyes followed hers and landed on the corner of a medical file sticking out of my bag.

Before I could say anything, Marco the lapdog rushed over and snatched it from my bag.

"Let's see what treasure you're hiding!" Marco flipped it open and shouted dramatically, "Late-stage pancreatic cancer? Diagnosed yesterday!"

Vito's face changed instantly.

He looked me over, frowning, his expression somewhere between confused and distant.

"So this is what happened after you disappeared for three years? You married some dying man just to spite me? Cecilia, you're pathetic."

"That's not mine. It's my assistant's—"

"Save it." Vito looked at my linen dress with disgust, his eyes full of condescending arrogance. "Wearing cheap market clothes. Compared to that closet full of custom silk you used to have, your taste has really gone downhill."

The guards and workers around us started whispering, looking at me with doubt and mockery.

I just dressed simple. I didn't expect to get insulted for it.

The angrier I got, the tighter I clenched my fists. "Keep talking shit and Lorenzo will have your tongues cut out."

Vito laughed coldly and stepped closer. "If he's really your husband, then call him. Right now. Have him come here with his men to pick you up. If he shows his face, I'll apologize immediately."

He stood there like he was watching a show, clearly not believing a word I said.

I bit my lip and pulled out my new phone.

The second I opened my contacts, my mind went blank. I froze.

I'd just gotten back to the country. Everything happened so fast that I hadn't even saved Lorenzo's private number—the one he never gave out—into my phone yet.

I held the phone, my finger hovering over the screen, unable to move.

"What's wrong? Dial button broken? Or did you forget your 'husband's' number?" Vito's cold laugh echoed harshly across the empty gate.

Isabella doubled over laughing, tears practically streaming down her face.

"It's okay, you don't have to keep pretending. Even if you're not doing well, we won't laugh at you."

"I know you and Vito are over, but the Rossi family's doors are always open. We knew each other once—we'll still give you a meal."

Now that Vito promised to marry her, she didn't even bother pretending anymore.

Vito looked at me with what seemed like heartbreak, clearly disappointed beyond belief.

"Cecilia, if you need help or if you regret this, is it really that hard to just admit it to me?"

"I still don't get why a wedding venue mattered so much. Was it worth staying mad at me all this time?"

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't.