Chapter 2

Elena tugged lightly on Luca’s sleeve, her voice soft enough to melt steel.

“It’s fine… Let’s just go check the security room. It won’t take long.”

At that moment, I actually believed seeing the cameras would clear my name.

I was naïve.

The guard in charge of the surveillance room didn’t even look up when he said,

“Sorry, kids. Cameras on that hallway were down since this morning.”

My mind blanked.

Luca exhaled sharply, lifting one shoulder in a lazy shrug as if to say See? I knew it.

He leaned casually against the railing in the crowded hallway, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Sofia Colombo, you really went all out to make Rossi look bad, didn’t you?”

“Afraid she might somehow threaten your place in my eyes?”

I hadn’t done anything—and yet, shame and helplessness washed over me in a sudden, suffocating wave.

My nose burned.

Tears blurred my vision.

I hadn’t touched Elena’s keynote draft.

I hadn’t even been near her desk.

Yet humiliation wrapped around me like barbed wire.

Luca and I had been promised to each other since childhood.

The Valenti and Colombo families lived in the same private compound.

He was older by a year, and he used to shield me from every danger—every scraped knee, every insult, every childish fight.

He used to say I was his principessa, the girl he would protect no matter what.

That one day, I would be his Donna.

For ten years, he never let anyone lay a hand on me.

Not even scold me too harshly.

And I… grew used to that version of him.

Until Elena Rossi arrived.

Valenti voice low and laced with concern.

“Rossi’s always been small, fragile… her father’s a drunk, her home’s no place for a girl. If it weren’t for her grades, teachers and even the authorities would have stepped in long ago. She’s been surviving on her own, juggling school and work just to get by. She’s had it rough… ”

Then he looked at me, frustration carved on his face.

“Not everyone grows up like you—carefree, spoiled, protected. If I don’t look out for her, no one will. Try using a little compassion.”

And with Elena, he had plenty of compassion.

Now she sniffled twice, perfectly timed, and Luca’s expression hardened even more as he turned back to me.

“What are you crying for?” he said, voice sharp as broken glass.

“You think tears are going to make me soft? You screw up and still play the victim—Sofia, it’s pathetic.”

Right then, Elena’s thoughts brushed my mind again:

God, this man is useless. Even if he doesn’t believe his precious childhood fiancée, he really didn’t need to go this far. If I were Sofia, I’d be bleeding inside.

And he dares to call her his favorite princess? Pathetic. This moron—wave a finger, and he’s prancing around like a trained dog.

Rich, stupid suck-ups are always fun to have around, anyway.

A bitter laugh escaped me, even as my tears burned my cheeks.

It suddenly hits me—what if he ever got a peek into Elena Rossi’s mind?

done with arguing, done with hoping.

But Luca grabbed my wrist, his grip cold and unforgiving.

“Going somewhere?”

“Apologize to Rossi.”

“No.” My voice trembled, but I forced steel into it.

“I won’t apologize. I have no reason to. I didn’t touch her keynote draft, nor did I tear it up.”

I straightened up, lifted my head, and blinked back the tears, keeping my gaze fixed on him with unyielding defiance.

Around us, the academy students—children of various Mafia families—whispered like a pack circling blood.

“Obviously Luca’s into Elena now. Sofia’s just jealous she’s being replaced.”

“Yeah, jealous enough to destroy Elena’s project? That’s low—even for her.”

“I’m not getting involved with Luca anymore. What if Sofia snaps and comes for me next?”

“Make her apologize. It’s the least she can do.”

No one heard me.

They heard what they wanted.

Every accusation fell like another stone on my chest, crushing the breath out of me.

And Luca… he was the first stone.

He slammed his fist against the wall beside my head, the sound cracking through the corridor.

“Fine,” he spat, fury twisting his features. “If you won’t apologize, then from now on—don’t come to me. Don’t say my name. Don’t pretend we’re anything.”

Elena gasped dramatically, grabbing his hand as if she were the one in pain.

“Luca, please—don’t hurt yourself. It’s not worth it.”

Her voice wavered, perfectly fragile.

“Even if she apologized, my keynote is gone… I have to rewrite everything…”

Luca looked like he wanted to keep fighting, but the class bell rang and the hallway emptied quickly.

Leaving me standing there, swallowed whole by a crime I never committed.