Chapter 3

I only drifted into a light sleep when the first light of dawn broke.

The door creaked open, and Renzo tiptoed in. He walked to my bedside and tenderly tucked me in.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Holding my hand, his gaze was gentle. "That's enough, Perina. Don't make a fuss anymore. I've already contacted a wedding planner.

"We'll hold our wedding in three months, and you'll become the Donna of the Romano famiglia. The ceremony will be decorated according to your taste, with 999 red roses as the finishing touch. How does that sound?"

Renzo rattled off all of my preferences, his eyes filled with sincerity. However, he had just forgotten our fourth anniversary.

I lowered my gaze, feeling nothing but bitter irony. I refused to look into his eyes and see the affection he pretended to have for me.

Renzo, however, assumed he had successfully made me feel better. Wrapping his arms around me, he patted my back softly. "Go to sleep, Perina."

All of a sudden, I remembered that I was someone who was deeply insecure and had always suffered from severe insomnia. In the early days of our relationship, he'd hold me in his arms every night until I drifted off.

Yet, after he became the Don of the Romano famiglia, noticing the exhaustion etched onto his face, I decided not to add to his burdens. I forced myself to face my fears and learned to handle everything on my own.

Everyone marveled at my astonishing transformation. None of them knew how many times I had broken down in tears in the middle of the night.

The memory of the man Renzo used to be made my chest tighten, and I couldn't help but feel a little reluctant to leave him. However, the very next second, I caught the scent of jasmine from his neck.

It was Simona's perfume. A wave of nausea hit me. I shoved him away and bolted into the bathroom, vomiting until I was lightheaded.

I was a fool to delude myself. Renzo was no longer the man he once was.

Footsteps gradually closed in behind me. He reached out from behind and took hold of my arm, but I forcibly broke free from his grasp.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh. "Let me get you into bed, okay?"

The overwhelming drowsiness began to cloud my thoughts. Leaning against Renzo's shoulder, before I knew it, I slipped into unconsciousness.

…

I lost track of time until the sharp ringing of my phone jolted me awake.

I answered the call, and the anxious voice of the Capo came through the line. "Don Romano suddenly had someone shut down the casinos in the dock area. However, we already have several high-profile guests who reserved VIP rooms for the night. Now, they're demanding three times their deposit back as compensation. The situation's spiraling out of control!"

"Hold on until I get there." I grabbed my coat, rushed out the door, and burned rubber to get to the casino.

On the way there, I roughly calculated the losses from that evening. It was almost equivalent to half a year of profits.

I walked into the lobby, where Renzo was sitting at a table in the VIP lounge, absently fiddling with a stack of poker chips out of sheer boredom. Simona was seated beside him, with a mountain of chips piled up in front of her.

I approached them and placed the folder in front of him. "The casino's sudden closure brought total losses—including the deposits that must be refunded to the VIP guests and the additional compensation—to a total of 32 million dollars. Should this expense be recorded under the famiglia's accounts or paid from your personal account?"

Renzo looked up, the smile on his lips fading slightly. "Can't you pick another time to discuss this, Perina?"

"When it concerns the famiglia's interests, there's no such thing as the right time or place."

Renzo frowned and was about to retort when Simona paused and leaned over to peer in our direction. "Renzo, who's here?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Keep playing. I'm in charge here."

Simona beamed before turning back around, focusing on the game in front of her.

Renzo then shifted his attention back to me. "I'll cover this expense out of my own pocket. Mona just returned from abroad and wanted to go somewhere to kick back and relax. Is that so much to ask?"

I couldn't help but ask him, "Did that really have to cost us more than half a year's worth of profits?"

Renzo looked at me and sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness. "You're overstepping, Perina. I'm the Don of the Romano famiglia. Do I not even have the authority to call the shots? When will you learn to be more considerate and gentle like Mona?"

"You're overstepping." Those words hit my chest like a ton of bricks.

It brought back memories of what Renzo had once told me. "Perina, no matter when, I'll always value your input. You've never been a woman who hides behind me. We're partners who stand shoulder to shoulder and fight together!"

At that moment, it hit me that Renzo, who was now firmly seated in the position of Don, might no longer need a partner who stood beside him and fought alongside him. All he needed was Simona's admiring gaze.

Clutching my aching chest, I silently left. There was no point in dragging this out anymore.

As it turned out, when a person was hurt beyond their limits, they became numb.

Tonight, I would board a flight to Solaria. Everything here would no longer have anything to do with me.