He Played Dead, I Played the Headlines

When the line of text first appeared in front of me, I thought my grief had overwhelmed me, making me see things.

But after a moment, it was still there. And it kept changing.

"If Annie goes up to the mountain now, she'll see Matteo. He bought a whole villa up there for his mistress. It's being renovated right now."

"Easy for you to say. Annie hasn't eaten properly in three days because she's so sad. She can barely walk without support. How is she supposed to climb a mountain on her own?"

I looked at the live chat, then headed straight up the mountain without looking back.

My weak body felt unbearably heavy. When I was close to the summit, I heard Matteo Cassimo's voice.

"The funeral she held for me isn't over yet?"

One of his men, Tony Delmonte, replied, "Not yet. Ms. Morello even invited a priest today to pray for you. It seems that she doesn't realize that you faked your death."

Matteo smiled coldly, then said with mocking amusement, "She really believes anything I tell her."

"Ms. Morello has always listened to you."

Matteo smiled, tossing out the words "Go comfort her for me" as if he were doing a favor before turning to leave.

Tony froze in place, hesitating for a moment, then hurried after him. "Don Cassimo, forgive me for asking, but have you really fallen for Ms. Rossi? You've even faked your death just to delay your wedding to Ms. Morello."

My chest tightened. I leaned against a nearby tree, my body trembling uncontrollably.

Then, I heard Matteo say, "I don't know either. But for now, I don't want Julie to leave me."

Tony asked again, "Well, what about your wedding with Ms. Morello?"

Matteo casually said, "Postpone it. Once I've had my fun and get bored, I'll show up and marry Annie. But I can't spend my whole life with just one woman. That would be too boring."

"Yes, sir."

When I heard that, my whole body turned stiff. A gust of wind cut through my skin like a blade, sharp and freezing.

Those past few days, I prayed to God again and again for Matteo's safety. I was even willing to trade my own life for his.

I had never imagined that this was the truth.