Chapter 4

My suitcase was already packed.

All I needed was my mother’s sapphire comb. Once Damian returned it, I would leave the apartment and never come back.

The lock finally turned at one in the morning.

Damian entered smelling faintly of hospital disinfectant. When he saw me sitting in the living room with the ceremony book and an empty jewelry case on the table, he frowned.

“You’re still awake?”

“Where is my mother’s comb?”

His hand stopped on his tie. “Sienna has another video shoot in the morning, so the stylist left it with her overnight.”

I stood. “Have it brought back now.”

"I'll have it back by morning."

He said it like a concession, not an apology.

"But you can't stand that she borrowed it for one night. At some point, you need to admit that you're asking for too much."

I stared at him.

I was asking for the return of the only wedding heirloom my mother had left me, yet Damian looked at me as though I were greedy for refusing to share it with Sienna.

Before I could answer, Luca called him.

“Damian, we have a problem,” he said as soon as Damian picked up. “The sapphire comb is missing.”

My entire body went cold.

Half an hour later, we reached the hotel’s bridal suite. Makeup brushes, jewelry trays, and garment bags covered the counters. Sienna sat in front of the mirror wearing Damian’s coat, her eyes swollen from crying.

The sapphire comb was the only item missing.

“Where is the security footage?” I asked the hotel manager.

He looked uncomfortable. “The camera covering the service hallway went offline this afternoon. Our security team is checking the system now.”

Of course it had.

I turned to Sienna. “Give me the comb.”

Tears immediately rolled down her face. “I don’t have it. The stylist removed it after the camera test, and I never touched it again.”

“Then I’m calling the police.”

The color drained from her face.

Suddenly, she pushed away from the vanity and rushed toward the wall.

“This is all my fault. I should never have touched anything that belonged to Alessandra. Maybe everyone would be happier if I were dead.”

Damian caught her before she reached it. Luca rushed forward at the same time, and the two of them closed around her, one on either side.

Damian looked back at me, his expression colder than I had ever seen it.

“Apologize.”

For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him.

“What did you say?”

“Apologize to her. She’s already falling apart, and you’re still pushing her.”

“She lost my mother’s comb.”

“She said she didn’t take it.”

“And you believe her without question?”

“Do you have proof that she’s lying?”

I had no answer. The hallway camera was conveniently useless, Sienna was crying in Damian’s arms, and Luca was already looking at me as if I had caused everything.

“Just apologize,” he said quietly. “You already have Damian and the wedding. Why do you need to humiliate her too?”

I looked at the three of them and suddenly felt too tired to keep fighting.

Sienna had received the grand prize, the vacation I had planned, a place in my vows, and the right to wear my mother’s heirloom.

Still, Damian and Luca called her the one who had nothing.

I could not explain myself clearly enough to matter more than her tears.

“All right,” I said.

The room fell silent.

Damian frowned, apparently unsettled by how quickly I had agreed. Luca looked equally surprised.

I turned to Sienna, who was still sheltered behind Damian’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry I accused you without proof.”

Luca’s lips parted. “Alessandra—”

I removed my engagement ring and placed it inside the empty jewelry case on the vanity.

“Keep the welcome film, the reading, and the vows exactly as you planned them. The wedding can go ahead tomorrow. Don’t let me spoil it for any of you.”

Damian stared at the ring. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Before I could answer, Sienna pressed a hand to her neck.

“Damian, it hurts again.”

He turned toward her automatically, and Luca did the same.

That single moment was all I needed to walk out of the bridal suite.

By the time they looked toward the door again, it had already closed behind me. Neither of them followed.

I returned to the apartment and canceled every wedding contract bearing my signature.

The event director sounded alarmed when she answered my call at two in the morning.

“Does Mr. Valenti know?”

“He doesn’t need to.”

I packed my clothes, identification, and the business files my mother had left me. The wedding gifts and apartment keys remained on the dining table.

Before sunrise, I left for the airport.

At ten that morning, Damian visited the family jeweler.

He chose a pear-shaped emerald ring almost immediately. As the jeweler placed it in a velvet box, Damian studied the stone and said, “She’s loved this shape since she was twenty-one.”

Beside him, Luca held a black umbrella with Alessandra’s name engraved into the handle.

“This should work too,” he said. “She never forgot the night I gave Sienna the only umbrella and left her standing in the rain.”

Damian glanced at him. “So you do remember.”

The amusement faded from Luca’s face. “I remember.”

After a moment, he added, “She apologized too quickly last night.”

Damian closed the ring box.

“She was exhausted. After arguing all night, she finally realized she had gone too far.”

Luca nodded, though some uneasiness remained in his expression.

“Alessandra has always been softhearted. Once she sees the ring and the umbrella, she won’t be able to stay angry.”

By the time they reached the hotel, workers were removing the welcome display from the lobby. The flowers had already been carried away, and the large sign bearing Damian and Alessandra’s names lay facedown on the floor.

Damian stopped.

“Who told you to take this apart?”

The event director turned toward him in surprise.

“Mr. Valenti, didn’t Miss Russo tell you?”

She hesitated before continuing.

“The wedding was canceled last night.”