Chapter 2

Later that night, after both engagements had been announced, the champagne reception began.

At eleven forty, a waiter placed a glass beside Dante.

I recognized the moment.

In my first life, that drink had destroyed both engagements.

Before I could decide whether to warn him, Dante pushed the glass away untouched.

“Bring me an unopened bottle,” he told one of his guards.

His gaze shifted to me.

I looked away before he could read my face.

Maybe he had noticed something wrong with the drink.

Maybe it was only a coincidence

The next day, my father ordered a search of my rooms.

His men went through my phone, my desk, my jewelry cases, and the luggage under my bed.

My mother watched me coldly.

“You accepted your engagement and returned the bracelet Dante gave you on your 21st birthday in front of both families,” she said. “Were you trying to make everyone believe Sofia had stolen him from you?”

My father threw a stack of letters at my feet.

"You pursued Dante for three years, then changed your mind in one night. Who would believe that?"

The letters were mine.

I had written every one of them to Dante.

Most had been returned unopened.

The letters lay scattered at my feet.

Looking at them, I suddenly realized how foolish I had been in my first life.

"It doesn't matter what I say," I replied. "You've already decided what it means."

I gathered the letters, tore them into pieces, and dropped them into the wastebasket.

Two years of unanswered devotion ended in a pile of scraps.

My mother watched until the last page blackened.

Her expression softened.

"Are you truly willing to step aside for Sofia?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Yes."

Sofia came to my room that afternoon with coffee.

"Don't be angry with Mom and Dad," she said. "They're afraid you'll do something you'll regret."

She placed the coffee beside me, then hesitated.

"You didn't take the agreement just to stay close to Dante, did you?"

I looked up.

"What?"

"The brothers share the Caruso estate. If you marry his brother Nico, you'll see Dante every day."

Even Sofia believed my future had to revolve around her fiancé.

"If that worries you, Nico and I can live in his Manhattan townhouse."

Her smile tightened.

"That isn't what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

Her eyes filled almost at once.

"I'm only afraid you'll regret this."

Footsteps sounded outside.

Dante appeared in the doorway just in time to hear her last sentence.

He crossed the room and positioned himself beside her.

"Sofia came because she was worried about you. Why do you have to corner her?"

I did not argue.

Instead, I opened the drawer of my bedside table and took out a silver Saint Michael pendant on a broken chain.

The Caruso crest was engraved on one side.

I held it out to Dante.

"Since you're here, take this too."

His eyes sharpened.

"Why do you have my pendant?"

It was the pendant Dante had lost during the shooting at Pier 19.

That night, I had followed a trail of blood behind the shipping containers and found him unconscious.

I tore the hem from my red dress and used it to stop the bleeding.

Then I ran to find help.

Before I left, I spotted the pendant in the bloodstained gravel beside him.

The chain had snapped during the attack.

In my first life, I had believed it would prove that I was the one who saved him.

But when I showed it to him, he had only asked, "Did you steal this from Sofia?"

Now, the same suspicion darkened his eyes.

“You stole this from Sofia?”

Sofia went pale.

"Dante, maybe I left it in Eva's room by accident."

I placed the medal on the table.

"Call me a thief if that's easier."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I already told you the truth."

I looked straight at him.

"Would you believe me if I told you again?"

He stopped.

The answer was written across his face.

I turned away.

"Then why ask?"

A knock came at the bedroom door.

A servant entered with a narrow velvet box.

“This was delivered for Miss Rossi.”

Inside the box lay a bracelet with one dark ruby.

The card beneath it held a single line.

[Your choice deserves an honest answer. Mine is yes. – Nico]

It was the first time anyone had accepted my word without asking what hidden scheme lay behind it.

Dante stared at the bracelet.

“Don’t read too much into it,” he said. “He’s only honoring the agreement.”

I looked at him.

"I know. I’ve already learned what happens when I mistake courtesy for affection."

Dante’s jaw tightened.

His fingers tightened around the silver pendant.