Chapter 3

Valentina's POV

After waiting till dawn, I numbly dragged my suitcase out of the villa and took a cab to the airport. I checked in for my flight and stood alone in the departure hall, staring blankly into the distance.

The din of conversation filled the air. Suddenly, several voices I knew all too well drifted over from somewhere behind me.

Stiffening, I turned my head to look.

Antonio stood in the middle in a perfectly tailored suit, with Carlotta and my parents beside him. And in front of him was a woman who had just emerged from the international arrivals gate. She had a bright smile on her face.

It was Isabella, the woman with whom he'd taken all those photos in his encrypted album—the woman he'd claimed to be dead for years now.

Isabella rushed forward and threw herself into Antonio's arms without a care in the world.

Antonio immediately opened his arms wide and caught her securely. Throughout our five-year relationship, I had never been on the receiving end of even a modicum of the tenderness that now filled his eyes.

Pressing her cheek against his chest, Isabella said in a soft tone and coquettish pout, "Back then, you deliberately spread the news that I had died in an accident and arranged for me to hide abroad to keep me out of danger. It must have been hard on you, carrying the weight of the family's conflicts all by yourself."

Antonio's voice was filled with affectionate indulgence. "That's nothing if it means I get to keep you safe. Our enemies were watching closely then. The only way to make sure they stopped trying to hunt you down was to convince everyone that you were already dead. As for Valentina…"

He paused.

"I only kept her by my side as a means to an end. If my enemies knew that I had someone new in my life, they would stop trying to look into you."

Mom hurriedly chimed in with an ingratiating smile, "It's so wonderful to see that you've returned safely, Ms. Bianchi! All these years, Don Antonio has kept Valentina on a tight leash, refusing to take any photos with her or make their relationship official.

"He did it all for the sake of ensuring that no one would get in between you two once you've reunited, of course. And yesterday, the moment he heard that you'd be coming back, he didn't even bother going through with the engagement party!"

I stood frozen nearby. All the blood in my body seemed to stop flowing. An icy chill spread through me.

So all that talk about being sentimental and afraid of history repeating itself had been nothing but carefully crafted lies!

Isabella's gaze swept toward me. She stiffened for a moment before whispering something into Antonio's ear.

Antonio whipped around. The moment his eyes met mine, a flicker of unease and guilt appeared in them.

But at the very next moment, Isabella exclaimed with artfully crafted surprise, "Oh! Isn't that Valentina? What a coincidence, running into you here. Don't tell me… you deliberately tailed Antonio and followed him here."

The moment Antonio heard that, a brief flash of remorse in his eyes swiftly faded, replaced by wariness and annoyance.

Isabella affectionately looped her arm through Antonio's, her voice carrying a feigned note of apology as she continued, "Now that I think about it, I do feel bad that you had to remain in the shadows for five whole years. You didn't even get to have your relationship acknowledged in public. You won't hold it against me, right?"

Antonio instinctively moved Isabella behind him, his guard up as he eyed me.

My parents and Carlotta hurried over as well, clearly afraid I might make things difficult for Isabella.

After seeing the four of them stand united in protecting Isabella, I let out a mocking scoff. "Why would I hold it against you? I've long since decided that I want nothing to do with a lying scumbag like him, along with that sycophantic family and so-called friend of mine.

"In fact, I should thank you for taking the trash off my hands. You saved me the trouble of having to find a way to get rid of them myself."