Chapter 4

"Isadora!" Damiano quickly caught up with me and grabbed my wrist. His brows were tightly furrowed. "That car had no identifying marks. I was simply protecting the person closest to me."

"I know."

He tilted his head and frowned. "So there's no misunderstanding? What's wrong then?"

I turned my face away, refusing to look at him. Tears glistened faintly in my eyes. "There was a car following behind her, and you noticed immediately."

Damiano's expression gradually turned tense.

I looked at him again. "Do you remember the bullet someone sent me at the charity gala last year?"

His expression darkened. "I had someone escort you home that day."

"And what about you?" I asked.

"Those negotiations concerned the entire port." Damiano frowned, and his voice grew sterner. "I couldn't just walk away."

I fought back my tears and finally managed a self-deprecating smile. "What about today?"

Damiano looked at me.

"Which port was having trouble today?" I asked.

He was at a loss for words.

I continued, "Julia needed you to show up, so you did. Isn't that right?"

Julia had already caught up with us. "Isadora."

Her face was pale. "It was my men who wanted to see him today."

She put on that familiar, exaggerated expression of apology. "I didn't know it was your birthday. I'm truly sorry."

I looked at her. "You've been following him for so many years. He's always made a big show of celebrating my birthday. How could you not know?"

Julia froze. Tears quickly welled up in her eyes, but they looked entirely fake.

"I'm sorry." She lowered her head. "I'll move out tonight. From now on, I won't go anywhere you two live unless it's for work."

Damiano's brows suddenly furrowed. "Julia."

She turned her face away while trying to hold back her tears. "It's my fault for upsetting Isadora in the first place."

Damiano pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to me. "She's already agreed to move out, Isadora. Surely you have no reason to be upset with her now."

I could no longer hide the hurt in my eyes. In the end, I simply lowered my head and managed a bitter smile. "Fine."

Damiano froze for a moment.

When I looked up again, my expression was calm. "Let's leave it at that."

His brows were still furrowed, but he seemed considerably more relaxed.

Right then, one of Julia's subordinates hurried over.

"Boss, the men we sent to the private clinic are in bad shape."

Damiano's expression darkened. He then turned to me. "I need to head there. Are you coming?"

"No." I turned around and reached for the car door.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Damiano glanced at the message and frowned. "The wedding coordinator says the church reservation has been canceled. Did you change the date?"

I looked at him calmly. "No. The wedding has already–"

A call from the private clinic suddenly came through, and Damiano answered immediately.

As he listened, his expression grew darker by the second.

After hanging up, he no longer had time to question me.

He simply said in a hurry, "Make whatever decision you want about the wedding."

He then turned around and left.

I stood where I was. My fingers dug painfully into my palms as the hesitation in my eyes slowly faded.

At ten that night, the driver arrived right on time.

I reached for my already packed luggage. I had left my engagement ring behind in my room.

As for the keys to the seaside estate, I had never taken them in the first place.

At eleven, the private jet departed Sicily..

It wasn't until one in the morning that Damiano finally returned to the mansion.

He pushed open the bedroom door, only to find it empty.

His brows furrowed. "Isadora?"

There was no answer.

He walked inside and noticed that the room seemed strangely bare. When he opened the wardrobe, he discovered that all my important documents and frequently worn clothes were gone.

Damiano's expression grew darker by the second. He poured himself half a glass of whiskey from the liquor cabinet before retrieving his phone and calling the wedding coordinator.

"When did Isadora change the wedding date to?"

The person on the other end hesitated. "Sir? Ms. Moretti didn't change the date."

Damiano froze. His expression briefly went blank.

The coordinator continued, "She canceled the church reservation, reception, and all guest arrangements today. She said the wedding would no longer take place."

The half-glass of whiskey slipped from Damiano's hand and shattered on the floor. "What did you say?"