Chapter 2

[Elena's POV]

In my previous life, I hadn't been this meek and accommodating. I'd been proud, stubborn, and unyielding. I would never have allowed anyone to trample my dignity.

I hadn't believed for a second that the text was from my so-called son from the future. It hadn't taken me long to find out it was nothing more than a prank Eva had carefully planned. I'd dug up the evidence and gone to confront her, only to walk in on her and Giuliano entangled in bed.

Giuliano had grabbed me in a panic and tried to explain. He'd claimed he was only "teaching her a lesson". He'd said I was the only one in his heart and that getting close to Eva was just part of his revenge.

But I'd been rational and clear-headed. How could I have possibly believed something that ridiculous?

I'd lost it and caused a hysterical scene, exposing every filthy, disgusting thing Eva had ever done to the world.

Backed into a corner, Eva had snapped. She'd gotten into a car in the middle of the night and driven straight at me.

The tires had crushed my body. My baby's heart had stopped beating on the spot, and the nerves in my legs had been severed for good. I'd ended up crippled for life.

I'd hated Eva down to my bones and had thrown everything I had into trying to make her pay. However, Giuliano had been the chosen heir of the Corleone family. With just one word from him, no one had dared to avenge me.

He'd stepped up in person to tell the outside world that my injuries had been from a simple fall, that they'd had nothing to do with Eva. He'd even spread rumors that I was mentally unstable, delusional, and maliciously framing an innocent person.

In the end, he'd also been the one to send me to the family's private psychiatric hospital. It was a "sanctuary" the mafia family kept completely off the radar.

I'd been locked away there for seven whole years. My mother hadn't had anyone to look after her or pay her treatment bills. Not long after I'd been admitted, she'd died with resentment still in her heart.

By the time I finally made it out of the psychiatric hospital and learned the news of her death, I'd jumped from a high-rise building.

I would never forget any of that.

When she was still a minor, Eva had gone street-racing. Drunk on speed, she'd crashed into Giuliano's mother, killing her on the spot.

Because of the Bianchi family's power and the huge sum they'd paid in compensation, the Corleone family hadn't pursued the matter. Instead, they'd smoothed it over and buried the entire incident.

It was my mother who'd taken Giuliano in when he was drowning in despair, stumbling through his days like a ghost. And it was me who'd stayed by his side, pulling him out of the darkness little by little, walking with him all the way to where he was now.

But in the end, for the sake of the woman who'd killed his mother, he'd destroyed me, my mother, and everything we'd ever had.

I was full of hate and regret. Thankfully, the heavens had given me a second chance at life.

In my previous life, I'd thought that Giuliano was just bewitched by Eva. I'd thought he hadn't had a choice because she refused to leave him alone.

It wasn't until after I'd died that I finally understood he'd genuinely fallen in love with her—the woman who'd killed his mother.

For Eva, he hadn't hesitated for a second to sacrifice my mother and me.

In this life, I refused to be the third wheel standing in the way of their epic love story. If they loved each other that much, I would just step aside and let them be together. I only hoped they wouldn't regret it.

I dragged my thoughts back to the present and looked up at Giuliano, meeting his eyes that were full of shock and confusion. He asked, "Elena, why have you suddenly… turned into this?"

My nails dug hard into my palm, nearly breaking the skin, yet I still kept a gentle smile on my face. "You've always hated her, haven't you? I'm your fiancee. Of course, I should be on your side and help you get what you want."

"Now, you're being smart." Eva snorted.

She picked up a shoe and flung it at me without the slightest courtesy, her tone arrogant and bossy. "Why are you still standing there? Go clear out the bedroom for me."

The way she strutted around, so mean and entitled, made me want to lunge at her and tear her to shreds right then and there.

But before I could move, Giuliano's expression darkened. He snarled, "That's enough, Eva. Don't take things too far!"

She wasn't the least bit afraid. In fact, she kicked over the fruit platter on the coffee table, her tone downright defiant. "I'll take things as far as I want. What are you going to do about it?"

Giuliano strode forward, grabbed her roughly, and dragged her toward the stairs. He growled, "This is my turf and my house. Drop your spoiled-princess act here! I'm going to make sure you understand who really calls the shots here, you wretch!"

I followed without thinking, but the second I reached the bedroom door, I froze. The two people who'd been at each other's throats just moments ago were now tangled up on the bed, limbs wrapped tightly around each other.

Giuliano leaned down and kissed Eva's neck with a feral hunger, his voice low and edged with violence. "Just wait. I'm going to make you beg me in tears."

She looped her arms around his neck and deliberately glanced toward the doorway, flashing me a triumphant smile amid her moans and gasps.

"Come on, babe. I want to see if you really have what it takes to make me beg."

It felt like a sharp needle had been driven straight into my heart. I yanked my gaze away. Inside my chest was nothing left but a numb, icy emptiness.

Sure enough, everything was unfolding exactly as it had in my previous life. Not a single detail had changed.

I turned around, went back downstairs, and quietly started packing my things.