Chapter 3

When I went downstairs, Damiano was already sitting in the dining room.

The moment he saw me, his face lit up. He reached out and pulled me toward him. "Happy birthday."

He then kissed my cheek.

There was nothing on the table. Damiano took my hand. "What do you want? Jewelry? A car? Whatever you like, I'll get it for you."

I fought back the sting in my nose.

The year Julia independently led a team to complete her first mission, he had canceled all his evening plans just to celebrate with her.

But when it came to me, he said he would give me anything I wanted. All I wanted was to have his undivided attention for one entire evening, but Julia had managed to take that away from me so easily.

I forced a smile. "I don't need anything."

Damiano frowned. "Are you upset again?"

"No."

He gave me an exasperated yet impatient look before leaning over to kiss my cheek. "I have some family business to take care of this afternoon. I might be home late tonight."

I lowered my gaze and clenched my fists subconsciously. "Is that so?"

"Yeah."

He didn't mention Julia.

I lowered my head and smiled bitterly. "Okay."

Damiano tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "That's my good girl."

After he left, I began packing.

I only took my passport, private account documents, and a few changes of clothes. I left everything else untouched.

Halfway through, Mom called me on video.

On the screen, Dad was sitting at the other end of the long dining table.

A maid had just brought out the dish I had eaten every birthday since I was a kid. He glanced down at it before gesturing for Mom to turn the camera toward me.

Mom smiled and asked, "Where's Damiano?"

There was a faint glimmer of tears in my eyes. The smile immediately disappeared from her face. "Isadora?"

I lowered my head to hide my expression while forcing myself to hold back my tears. "Mom, Dad, the wedding is off."

Silence fell on the other end of the call. Fighting back my tears, I continued, "I'm coming home tonight."

That afternoon, I went to meet with my personal lawyer.

By the time I had signed the last few documents, it was nearly evening.

The lawyer placed the documents in a folder and handed it to me. "The driver will pick you up at ten."

I nodded and walked out of the building.

Right then, several people emerged from the private club across the street.

Julia was walking in front, and Damiano was right beside her.

I was about to continue walking when my steps suddenly stopped. I couldn't hide the stiffness in my expression.

That was when an unfamiliar vehicle drove past the security guards at the entrance and headed straight toward them.

The calm expression on Damiano's face vanished instantly. He yanked Julia behind him with one hand while the other reached for the gun at his waist.

The people around them immediately ran forward. A few seconds later, they stopped the driver. It turned out he had simply taken the wrong turn.

Even so, Damiano's brows remained furrowed. His hand was still resting on Julia's shoulder. "Did it hit your wound?"

Julia shook her head. When she looked up, she suddenly spotted me, and her expression froze. "Isadora–"

Damiano followed her gaze. When he saw the folder of legal documents in my hand, he froze in shock.