Chapter 3

I practically smashed the doors of the Rossi estate open.

In the grand hall, my father lay pale on the sofa, clutching his chest in agony, gasping for air.

My mother was on her knees next to him, trembling as she cried.

"Where is the doctor?!" I rushed over, holding my dad's ice-cold hand with shaking fingers. "I told the assistant my dad has a history of heart issues. There's supposed to be a doctor on site at all times!"

My mother sobbed, barely able to speak. "The doctor was here... but... but Marcello called him away..."

My heart dropped into a block of ice.

Just then, the door to the adjacent room opened.

Valerie was leaning softly against Marcello's chest.

Marcello was looking down at her hand, his voice gentle. "Does it still hurt?"

I stared at them, dead-eyed.

My father was out here fighting for his life, and he took the only doctor away to flirt with another woman?

Anger completely snapped my sanity.

I lunged forward, raised my hand, and slapped him with everything I had.

A resounding slap echoed through the hall.

A red mark rapidly formed on Marcello's face.

The entire hall went dead silent.

I was shaking, my eyes bloodshot as I pointed at him. "Marcello, are you insane?! My dad is having a heart attack, and you called the doctor away?!"

"You said you'd take good care of them. Is this how you take care of them?!"

Marcello's head was knocked to the side.

Before he could say a word, Valerie suddenly started crying her weak, fragile tears.

"Cora, don't blame Marcello. I accidentally cut my finger earlier." She held up an index finger wrapped in a Band-Aid, tears in her eyes. "Marcello was afraid I'd get tetanus, so he had the doctor look at me first..."

I laughed out loud from pure rage. "Because you got a little scratch, you stole an emergency doctor from a man having a heart attack?!"

"Enough!"

Marcello shielded Valerie behind him, looking down at me from his high horse.

"I'll let this slap slide."

"But Cora, you're about to become the Don's wife. You can't act like a shrew. Your father just has an old condition; he'll be fine with some meds. But Valerie plays the piano. If her finger gets infected, can you take responsibility for that?"

Plays the piano.

I looked at this man I had loved for three years, and I felt nothing but absolute disgust.

In his eyes, my father's life wasn't worth as much as Valerie's piano-playing finger.

"Cora..." From the sofa, my father weakly reached out to me, his voice faint. "Don't... don't make the Don angry... Dad is fine..."

Seeing my father struggling to breathe yet still trying to appease them for my sake, my tears finally fell.

Watching me cry, Marcello seemed to think I'd thrown enough of a fit.

He sighed, stepped forward, and opened his arms to hug me.

"Alright, stop being mad. I'll have the doctor look at your father right now." His tone held a hint of charitable forgiveness.

I stepped back in disgust, avoiding his touch.

"Don't touch me."

I ignored his instantly darkening expression and pulled out my phone.

"Hello, 911? This is the Rossi Estate. I need an ambulance. Yes, a heart attack."

I hung up and looked at Marcello coldly.

"From now on, whether my father lives or dies is none of your concern, Don."

Half an hour later, I had my father transferred to a downtown hospital.

By the next afternoon, his condition finally stabilized.

I took a cab back to the estate alone to pack the rest of my things.

Since I was leaving, I was leaving for good.

I had just shoved a few clothes into my suitcase when my phone rang.

It was my wedding planner.

"Miss Cora, I'm sorry to bother you." The planner sounded awkward. "Mr. Marcello just instructed us to cancel the VIP main table seats reserved for your parents. I wanted to verify with you..."

I hung up the phone.

The door opened just then, and Marcello walked in.

I gripped my phone tight, giving him a cold stare.

"Did you cancel my parents' seats at the reception?"