Chapter 4

On the wedding day, I was roughly dragged out of the basement room.

"Get dressed, now!" a maid snapped at me as she flung a plain beige dress at my face with a condescending expression. "Mrs. Cassano said not to waste good fabric on you."

Outside the manor, a row of sleek wedding cars stood in wait, all part of Leon's convoy.

Camilla spun around in her diamond-studded wedding gown, her expression triumphant. "See this? This is how a respected bride is treated on her wedding day. As for your fiance…"

She looked me over tauntingly before continuing, "The Marras didn't even send a decent car over. I guess your new husband doesn't care much about you."

Nodding, I responded curtly, "You're absolutely right."

Pissed that her barbs weren't achieving the intended effect, Camilla scowled. "Stop pretending. Do you really think you can act all confident just because you have some stupid cuff? Leon's family is filthy rich, and I'm about to become his wife, Mrs. Carbone."

After flashing her diamond ring at me, she continued, "Not only that, but I'm also a genius weapons designer. Soon, Leon and I will become the perfect power couple, while you'll be heading off to a life of poverty and suffering."

At last, I couldn't resist laughing. "It's one thing for you to fool others, but how are you even fooling yourself?"

"What did you say?" Camilla snarled, her gaze sharp.

I calmly stared right back at her. "Ever since we were young, you've been stealing my ideas. Now that you're about to marry Leon, what are you going to rely on to fool him? Will he still love you once he finds out you're completely useless?"

"You shut your mouth!" Camilla snapped, her face pale. "Leon loves me for who I am, not what I can do!"

"You'd better hope that's true," I remarked with a shrug.

As I walked past her, she grabbed my wrist and said darkly, "Listen up. Don't assume you've found someone to back you up just because you're getting married. Lorenzo is poor and ugly. How are you going to compete with me?

"You'd better keep your mouth shut. Don't you dare run your mouth about the design schematics."

Then, her eyes flickered, and she added, "Of course, if you give me another 15… no, 20 designs a month, I'll consider protecting you, ensuring that Lorenzo won't kill you after he's had his fun with you."

"You'll protect me?" I scoffed, flinging her hand off. "Actually, I'm more interested in seeing who'd be able to protect you once Leon and the Carbones realize you're absolutely useless."

Outraged, Camilla shrieked and lunged at me. I deftly avoided her, and she ended up stumbling into the vanity table. All of the makeup crashed onto the floor.

"What's going on?" Leon's voice rang out from the doorway.

Camilla immediately took on a different attitude. She threw herself into his arms, wailing, "Leon! She stole my engagement ring, and she hit me when I asked her to give it back!"

Leon's vengeful eyes fell on me. He'd harbored resentment toward me ever since I injured him.

"Since you're so fond of being a thief, you can forget about keeping your hands."

Eyes widening, I turned to flee, but Leon clapped his hands, and two bodyguards immediately came forward to subdue me. One of them wrenched my hand backward so hard that I nearly fainted from the pain.

"Let go of me, you lunatics!"

Camilla cackled in malice, while Leon simply scoffed. Just as I thought that the bone in my wrist was about to snap, I heard the sound of a gunshot.

The bodyguard who was grabbing me howled as a bullet pierced right through the palm of his hand.

I turned toward the source of the sound and saw a tall figure slowly entering from the doorway, the light behind giving him a halo effect. His black suit accentuated his flawless figure, and the gun in his hand was still smoking.

"Touch her again, and your wedding will become your funeral."