Chapter 5

My thoughts snapped back to the present.

I had finished packing.

The wind knocked over a photo of Matteo and me. I used to treasure this photo. Now, I stepped over it without a second glance.

Matteo was already dead to me.

As I left the Cassimo residence, Carla was still shouting insults behind me. "You're storming off now? You'll come crawling back anyway. Without my son, you're nothing."

I didn't respond. But the live chat didn't hold back.

"Old lady, you've got it backwards. Without Annie, Matteo is nothing."

"Exactly. With Annie's family's wealth, she was basically living a downgraded life with Matteo."

Tony walked me to the door, saying, "Ms. Morello, if you ever need help, just say the word."

I didn't reply.

He added, "Actually, a priest once said that Don Cassimo's accident might not be what it seemed."

"Oh, please! Now they're pulling this shit? They're just afraid that Annie's leaving will take business away from the Cassimo family."

"It's a good thing Annie knows the truth now. She won't fall for this nonsense again."

I smiled.

My father had given me several properties before. But I'd sold them to cover the Cassimo family's financial problems.

For now, I couldn't bring myself to tell Dad. So, I accepted Maria's suggestion to stay at her brother's empty apartment.

When Maria handed me the key, I still asked, "Your brother really doesn't live there?"

She nodded firmly. "Of course not. He stays at his villa. This place is just sitting empty. That's why I have the key. Don't worry."

Half-convinced, I moved in.

A few days later, Maria asked me out to a cafe, where we happened to run into some of Matteo's old friends. I turned away, not wanting to greet them.

But they snapped a few photos of me and sent them to Matteo. "Matt, guess who we just ran into?"

Matteo replied, "Why is Annie there? Has she not gotten over it yet and gone out to clear her head? I really didn't handle this whole thing well."

Then, another message came from him. "But maybe it's for the best. Only after losing me will she cherish me more when I come back."

Impressed, his friend replied, "Always the master strategist, Matt."

The live chat scoffed.

"Who does Matteo think he is? It's fine if he wants to fool himself, but Annie's not buying it anymore."

"What kind of strategy is that? If Matteo had guts, he'd actually die. That way, he could become Annie's perfect memory forever."

Just then, my phone buzzed with a notification. Julie had posted on Instagram again.

This time, it was a video, captioned, "A private seaside trip with him. Countdown to our goodbye. I'm so sad."

In the comments, someone asked, "Why are you separating again? Didn't he already win you back? Why leave now?"

Julie replied, "He has a fiancee. He can't be with me all the time. I'll need to keep a low profile after this, so I won't be posting anymore."

Another commenter said, "Seriously? In this day and age, he's still choosing his fiancee over you?"

The comments in the live chat snapped back.

"Can these people have some morals? A mistress is still a mistress."

"Keep a low profile? Please. She would be off flaunting it in front of Annie in no time."

"I want to shoot this bitch!"

I watched Julie's video. Seeing how intimate they were, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. It was cold and painful.

The last traces of attachment I had slowly turned into disgust.

And suddenly, I felt grateful—grateful that I had learned the truth, so I could walk away from that bastard Matteo.

But didn't they enjoy making others envy their relationship? Fine. I could help with that.

I forward Julie's video to a friend, saying, "Here's an exclusive for you. It's guaranteed to go viral."