Chapter 2

Evelina gathered the signed papers without a word and walked straight toward the estate's front doors. I watched her leave without so much as a backward glance, her car kicking up dust as it disappeared down the drive.

The toxin surged, and an endless darkness swallowed my vision.

When I regained consciousness, the sterile scent of hospital medication hung in the air, and Lola Rinaldi was sitting at my bedside.

She was Evelina's closest friend since childhood, one of my most capable assistants, and someone I considered a trusted friend. She was also the one who had introduced Evelina and me all those years ago.

If she had never brought us together, I would never have met Evelina, and I would never have walked into a marriage where I was the only one in love.

The moment I opened my eyes, Lola's gaze flooded with worry. She placed her fingertips gently over the back of my hand. "Don Valenti, how are you feeling? Has the burning from the toxin eased at all?"

I managed a faint smile. "I'm fine."

Her eyes reddened instantly, her voice strained against a rising sob. "How can you be fine? The doctors told me everything."

I said nothing and looked away.

Lola gripped her phone, her voice turning urgent. "Does Evelina know? Why isn't she here?"

I raised a hand to stop her. "Don't tell her. We've already decided to get divorced."

Before Enzo's return, I might not have stopped Lola from telling Evelina the truth about my condition.

However, every cold, cruel word Evelina had spoken the day before was still echoing through my mind, each one cutting straight through my chest.

I did not dare imagine how she would react if she found out I only had days to live. She might stand by my bedside and pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

She might even say something like, "A man who does nothing but destroy other people's happiness should go straight to hell and repent."

If I ever heard her say that, it would destroy me completely.

"Divorce? Is this about what happened back then?" Lola's voice grew frantic.

"The truth behind the forced marriage isn't what she thinks it is. Let me go explain everything to her and clear up all the misunderstandings."

I reached out to stop her again and shook my head gently. "No. Let the truth be buried with me."

Evelina had always believed that I used the Valenti family's power to pressure her parents, strip her of her freedom, and force her to abandon her first love to marry me.

The truth was that Enzo had left her behind and gone overseas on his own.

Her parents had seen through him. They recognized his vanity and his shallow nature, and feared their daughter would follow him only to suffer.

They came to me of their own accord and begged me to play along, to stage a forced marriage, so that Evelina would stay.

I agreed for one reason. I had fallen for Evelina the moment I first saw her.

I had planned to win her over slowly, to wait until she had truly let Enzo go before revealing everything. However, years of devotion, of pouring every ounce of tenderness I had into our life together, had done nothing to thaw her heart.

We were husband and wife in name, but she had never stopped seeing me as the man who tore her away from the love of her life.

Things had come this far already. It was better for me to shoulder the blame alone and let her go on hating me. The poison had already handed me my death sentence, and I would not be alive much longer anyway.

Just then, the encrypted phone on my nightstand buzzed. The contact name on the screen read ‘My Love’.

I answered, and her familiar cold voice came through again. "I'm at the VIP entrance of the courthouse. Bring your ID, and come finalize the divorce."

My voice remained steady. "Okay."