Masuk[Salvatore’s POV — Hallway — Later]SLAM!!!The door shut violently behind me and the sound echoed through the hallway as I walked away, my footsteps sharp against the marble floor.Annoyance burned beneath my skin.No...not annoyance, something worse and something irritatingly unfamiliar. I loosened my tie harshly, breathing out through clenched teeth.“…Damn it.”Why was I angry? No seriously—Why? Wasn't this exactly what I wanted?Lena Carter finally understood her place, she wasn’t clinging to me, wasn’t crying and wasn’t begging for attention. So why did her calm expression piss me off so much?My steps slowed near the tall window at the end of the hallway.The evening sunlight poured across the floor in golden streaks as I stopped there silently and then lowered my gaze toward my hand.The ring.Her wedding ring.The diamond glimmered coldly against my palm and somehow…seeing it left behind on the table had irritated me more than it should have.I clenched the ring tightly.“…Le
[Lena’s POV — Later, Mancini Mansion]The corridor felt quieter than before or maybe…It was just me. Marie walked a step behind me, her heels softer now, as if even she didn’t know what to say after what we had just witnessed.Neither did I, not that there was anything to say. I had already seen that scene before, many times in different timelines and different attempts with the same outcome.The male lead, the heroine and the wife who stood in between them. Unwanted, irrelevant and disposable.My steps didn’t slow, didn’t hesitate as if nothing had happened but behind me—“…Miss Lena?” Marie’s voice came carefully cautious and testing.I stopped not turning back.“Yes?”A brief pause and then she asked— “…Are you alright?”The question hung in the air, soft and almost hesitant. I let out a quiet breath.“…Why wouldn’t I be?” I turned slightly, glancing at her.Her expression was unreadable but there was curiosity in her eyes. No...not curiosity, an expectation. She was waiting for so
[Lena’s POV — Continuation — Dining Area]The dining room fell into a strange silence, not loud, not tense. Just… cold. Every gaze at the table rested on me, measuring, judging and waiting. I sat there calmly, my hands resting lightly on the table, as if I didn’t notice it at all.Then—A soft cough broke the silence.Mr. Alessandro Mancini, he placed his cup down with quiet precision before speaking.“Alright…” His voice was calm, controlled, but distant. “Joining the company immediately might be… inconvenient.”A pause.His eyes flickered toward me briefly.“Perhaps it would be better if you start with something simpler.” His tone didn’t change.“…Household duties.”Of course.A faint smile almost appeared on my lips.So that was the conclusion, the earlier offer had never been real. It was just a formality.A test.Why would the Mancini family ever allow someone from the Carter family into their business?Into their core? Into their trust?They wouldn’t, and they never would.I lower
[Lena’s POV — The Next Morning]The soft morning light spilled through the tall windows as I sat in front of the mirror, slowly combing my hair. The black strands slid smoothly between the teeth of the comb.For a moment, the quiet rhythm almost felt peaceful. In the large mirror before me, a woman stared back. Long black hair, bright golden eyes.A face so delicate it almost looked unreal, beautiful, almost too beautiful, and yet…no matter how beautiful this face was, it would never change one simple truth.I was not part of the Mancini family.Not truly, no matter what the marriage certificate said, no matter the ring on my finger. In this mansion, there were only two people who truly mattered.Mr. Mancini and Mrs. Mancini.My so-called in-laws.They were the real rulers of this house, and in every previous life…I had tried desperately to win their approval.Their acceptance, their affection, but that had always ended the same way. Failure, humiliation and disappointment. This time…
[Lena’s POV — Mancini Mansion]The moment I stepped inside the Mancini mansion…the same scene greeted me. Rows of servants stood in the grand entrance hall, perfectly lined up as if rehearsed.Heads slightly lowered, hands folded politely in front of them, “Welcome… Ms. Lena.”My eyes paused slightly at the words.Ms. Lena.Not Mrs. Mancini.Just Ms.A small detail, but one that said everything. I had learned that lesson in another life, back when I was still foolish enough to believe I could earn a place here.I still remembered the day clearly.“Please address me properly,” I had said back then. “It’s Mrs. Lena Mancini.”The way they looked at me that day…cold, displeased and almost offended. Their eyes had silently asked the same question.'How dare she call herself our elder master’s wife?'Just remembering it now made a quiet sigh slip from my lips, how naive I had been. This time…I didn’t bother correcting them.Instead, I simply looked at them calmly and said, “Please lead me t
[Lena’s POV — Continuation]Whether it was my previous life… or this one…i had finally realized something simple, Nothing ever changed for me, no matter how much I struggled.No, matter how desperately I tried. In the end… everything always returned to the same place. So eventually...I stopped fighting.There was no point anymore, I had already tried everything.Running away, divorcing Salvatore, trying to win the Mancini family’s approval, even ending my own life.Every path led back to the same moment, the wedding day.The beginning of Lena Carter’s tragedy, and now…mine.For a long time, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my expression calm in a way that almost felt empty. If the story wanted me to follow the plot…then fine.I would follow it, quietly and silently. Just like the original Lena Carter had done, I would marry the enemy’s son, the man who despised me, the man whose heart already belonged to someone else.How ironic, but then again… this entire story was ridiculou







