Chapter 2

Most of the time, Isabella was the reason Aldo and I fought.

Our worst fight was when I found out he had lent her the signet ring that was supposed to be mine. It symbolized the status of the Donna, and now it was sitting on another woman's finger.

Furious, I rushed up to Aldo, barely able to contain my anger, and confronted him. "Do you even remember who your fiancee is? I am! And now you're telling me nothing is going on between you and Isabella?"

Aldo's brows furrowed as he snatched his phone from my hands. "In two days, Isabella's coming with me to the Vitaly family's territory to discuss business.

"The ring is a sign of her identity. If she didn't wear it, she could be mistaken for someone else, and they'd hurt her.

"Celia, can you find something else to do? Stop being so suspicious of me all the time. I'm really busy. I don't have time to deal with your petty little tantrums."

With that, Aldo immediately ordered his butler to throw me out of his study.

I stared at the closed door as tears spilled uncontrollably down my cheeks. When we first got together, he was always the one clinging to me and getting jealous of other men.

Now that I had grown used to relying on him for everything, why did he find me so annoying?

Aldo and I gave each other the cold shoulder for an entire week. He left home early and came home late every day. Sometimes, he didn't come home at all.

The entire estate was so quiet. It felt like I was the only one there. The silent treatment was almost enough to make me break down.

In the end, I was still the one who gave in first. I took the cufflinks I had picked out for Aldo and hurried over to the winery he frequented. As usual, I threw myself into his arms and apologized.

Aldo held me tightly in his embrace, sounding helpless. "Can you stop getting upset with me over the little things?

"You know Isabella and I have been close friends for years. You're the only one I love."

In the past, after we made up, I would always be over the moon. But this time, I couldn't bring myself to feel even a little excited. A strange sense of calm washed over me. All I felt was numbness.

On the third day after we reconciled, I happened to come across his schedule. Among his work notes were some personal comments.

They were all from Isabella. She had written them when they went on a trip to Nusset, as he had to negotiate an acquisition of a winery.

"The sunshine here is wonderful. The tan made me look a little healthier. I'm glad you got me a swimsuit in advance."

There was another comment from Isabella, which she had sent while they were in Sirdon. "The macarons here are way too sweet. I can barely stomach them."

Aldo had replied to her, "You insisted on taking a detour to try them. Stop complaining."

The two of them went back and forth like that. There must have been hundreds of pages of their messages. It seemed endless.

I stared at the screen. By the time I was done reading through everything, tears were already streaming down my face.

I had dreamed of going to Sirdon for years, but Aldo had already been there with Isabella four times.

After drying my tears, I booked the earliest flight available to Sirdon. I sat alone at a cafe along the Neins River, watching the sunset slowly cast its glow over the entire city.

For the past five years, Aldo had promised to take me to Sirdon, yet it only took me a few hours to fulfill that promise myself.

Once I was back in Lindaum, I agreed to the transfer the headquarters had offered me. I decided to go to New Ridge to work on my own collection.

Viola Cuoco gave me a knowing look. "Didn't you say you'd be getting married soon? That's why you refused to go back then. What's going on? Did you just have a fight with the Don?"

I shook my head. "I finally get it. My career is way more important."

Viola seemed to understand what had happened and quickly processed my transfer.

"I hope everything goes well for you in New Ridge."