Chapter 4

I heard the sound of a wine glass hitting the floor and shattering. I then saw a teary-eyed Emilia running upstairs right after Andrea pulled away from me.

Arturo offered an apologetic smile and said, "I'm so sorry about that. Emilia accidentally dropped her wine glass. You can keep going, Don Pietranera and Donna Pietranera."

Andrea immediately let go of me, his gaze cold as he tracked Emilia's departure. He sat on the couch in a daze as the party went on around us, completely ignoring me.

It was only when Arturo walked over and gave him a telling look that he snapped out of it. "How about we talk upstairs for a second, Don Pietranera?"

Andrea brought me a few pastries and placed them in front of me. He then said gently, "I have something to deal with. I'll be back in a while, so stay here and wait for me, Carina."

I nodded and watched them make their way upstairs. Andrea was in such a hurry that he probably didn't even realize that he was walking faster than Arturo.

I didn't bother waiting for him. I sent him a message, telling him that my friend was close by and would give me a ride home. He simply replied with a terse "Okay," and that was the last I heard from him.

I returned to our villa and spent the whole night sitting on the couch.

I heard a noise outside the door just as dawn broke.

Andrea pushed the door open and walked in. He wasn't expecting to run into me right as he opened the door, so he was slightly caught off guard. He then instinctively reached up to button the top of his shirt to cover the fresh hickeys around his collar.

I pretended not to notice them.

Andrea held up the takeout bag in his hand and said apologetically, "I have a pretty tight schedule today since I'll be leaving for Borelia soon. I won't have time to make you breakfast, so I've brought you pasta from your favorite restaurant."

I went straight to the window on the top floor of the villa as soon as he put down the takeout bag and hurried away.

Just as I expected, Emilia was standing beside Andrea's car, waiting for him. They had only been apart for a few minutes, yet they were already wrapped up in each other by the car door, making out for a long time.

Andrea seemed to recall something as he suddenly let go of Emilia, took out his phone, and tapped away at the screen.

I suddenly felt my phone buzzing. I took it out and saw the message from Andrea. "Amore, the cream of mushroom soup is still hot, so take your time with it."

I let go of my phone, causing it to hit the floor with a loud thud. I then burst into tears, bent over, and began gagging violently.

I had no idea how much time had passed when another message popped up on my phone. It was from Emilia's alt account. I opened it and saw that she had sent me a video she had secretly recorded. In a room on the second floor of Arturo's villa, Andrea removed the tie from around his neck and skillfully tied it around Emilia's wrist.

Emilia giggled as she held up her wrist, asking, "Isn't this the tie Ms. Russo gave you, Andrea? What if it gets dirty—"

Andrea kissed her before she could say anything more.

I watched until the progress bar for the video slowly made its way to the end. Andrea had already put his clothes back on. He reached over and playfully poked Emilia's cheek.

"You shouldn't use this kind of provocation next time. It's so childish. You also picked the wrong person to provoke me—Arturo doesn't have the balls to mess with my woman."

Emilia wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him, putting on a coquettish expression. "Who cares if it's childish? You still got jealous, didn't you?"

Andrea didn't deny it.

Upon seeing that Andrea was in a good mood, Emilia spoke in a soft, pleading tone. "Please come take a wedding photo with me once we're done with the prenatal checkup tomorrow, Andrea—just one photo will do. I'm not asking to be your Donna. I'll be happy as long as I'm on your mind every now and then, Andrea."

Andrea didn't reply immediately. He toyed with her long hair and thought about it for a second, then finally said, "I can do that, but keep this in mind—Carina is my bottom line. She can't find out about this under any circumstances, Emilia."

Emilia nodded obediently. She placed her hand behind her back, hidden from Andrea's view, and discreetly flashed a victory sign toward the camera.

Emilia sent me another message using her alt account. "It seems like I've won, Ms. Russo. I heard you took your wedding photos with Andrea at Tessaria Cathedral. Guess what? Andrea actually wants to take wedding photos with me there too!

"Just watch me, Ms. Russo—if I could get him to let me have his baby, then I can easily get him to divorce you! If you have any self-respect left, pack up and leave on your own before he kicks you out!"

Emilia seemed almost addicted to sending me photos and messages that day. "You should really do something about Andrea, Ms. Russo. He actually gave me a diamond ring right in front of my friends. Who even gives someone a diamond ring just to celebrate the end of an internship? Isn't he basically proposing to me, Ms. Russo?"

I stared at the messages, feeling neither anger nor pain. I was completely numb at that point. I set my phone down and checked the time, noting that there were still less than eight hours left until the appointed time.

I had received a message from my mentor earlier. "Your application for top-level security clearance has been approved. Your convoy will be waiting across from Tessaria Cathedral at 5:00 pm to pick you up, Carina."