Chapter 2

As Rocco spoke, he took out a velvet box with the one-carat diamond wedding ring. That was the moment my heart finally died.

My love was worth so little to him.

Rage and bitterness filled my heart.

Just then, his phone rang, and he stiffly avoided my gaze as he took the call. It was from Emilia.

I didn't know what she said, but Rocco suddenly grew frantic. "Wait for me! I'll be right there. Don't cry!"

Without sparing me a single glance, he turned on his heels and walked off.

My vision blurred with tears.

Well, since he wanted to toy with me like that for Emilia's sake, I was going to play this game with him and see it to the very end.

Once again, Rocco stayed out all night.

I started sorting through everything in my room, cutting up and destroying everything that had anything to do with him, such as the hundreds of photos we'd taken together and the personalized items he got for me.

With each ruined item, my heart ached a little more.

Out of nowhere, my phone buzzed. An unfamiliar number had sent me a link to an Instagram account. Once I clicked on it, I was greeted with intimate photos of Rocco and Emilia.

"My darling took me ring and dress shopping today! He said he wants to give me the best of everything!"

"As we stood under the northern lights, he held me close and told me he loved me."

"He had the scare of his life when I fell and got a scrape today!"

The latest post showed Rocco crouching in front of Emilia with an affectionate expression as he carefully bandaged her ankle.

That unfamiliar number sent me another message. "He kept calling me 'baby' when he was in bed with me last night. He doesn't love you at all."

It was followed by an indecent photo taken in bed.

My stomach churned. Resisting the urge to vomit, I texted back, "Is that so? Do you think he'll still feel the same way if he finds out that you've been impersonating me the whole time?"

There was no reply to that. It was just as I'd expected. These messages were coming from Emilia.

After a while, she replied, "He won't find out about that. He'll only trust me. Oh, right. I forgot to show you a gift I got."

She sent me a photo of a sapphire necklace—the one Grandma gave me!

"Rocco gave this to me," Emilia texted.

This explained why I hadn't been able to find the necklace recently. I couldn't believe Rocco had given her one of my belongings!

I couldn't take it anymore.

After checking her latest updates, I confirmed that she was currently at a hospital. My anger got the best of me.

I dashed straight to the hospital. Immediately, I spotted Emilia, who stuck out in the crowd. She was wearing Grandma's necklace.

"You filthy impersonator!" I screeched as I marched up to her and yanked the necklace off her neck.

Emilia clutched her neck and screamed. Glaring daggers at me, she lashed out, "You shameless woman! How dare you! Rocco gave that to me!"

"Did he?" I snarled as I held the necklace tightly. "But you know very well it belongs to me!"

Emilia stared at me. That face that resembled my father's so much abruptly curved into a smirk. "Really, now? But who do you think Rocco will believe, hmm? The daughter of the Leone family who ran away from home?"

Then, she suddenly let out a high-pitched scream, wailing as she begged, "No! Don't hurt me, Cassandra! Please, I beg you!"

A powerful shove pushed me aside. I slammed into the wall and immediately felt a shooting pain down my back.

"Emilia! Are you okay?" Rocco asked as he gently consoled the sobbing Emilia.

Not once did he look at me.

Two sleepless nights had left my body in a dire state of exhaustion. Before I could even say anything, I blacked out.

…

When I woke up, I was lying in bed. Rocco's eyes were bloodshot as he asked me, "Are you still in pain? I'm sorry. I was just a little too anxious earlier."

"You hurt me," I said emotionlessly, keeping my eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra. It was just in the heat of the moment. I didn't mean to push you," he said, avoiding what I said.

Staring him straight in the eye, I questioned, "Why did you give her my necklace?"

Rocco was silent for a moment before he slowly replied, "It's hers in the first place. I already know who you are, Cassandra. You're an illegitimate daughter of the Leone family, and you stole that necklace."

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. I laughed at my foolishness for having loved a man like him for so many years.

"What if I told you that the necklace is mine, and she's the illegitimate daughter?"