Chapter 2

The moment I got home, I started packing.

I didn't own much, so within an hour, everything I wanted to take with me fit neatly into a single suitcase.

I had just wheeled it to the front door when I heard the lock click. Then the door swung open.

Luca stepped inside, surrounded by several people. Giulia was beside him, standing so close to him that they looked almost inseparable.

The moment they saw me with my suitcase, Matteo let out a mocking snort.

"Wow. Dedicated, aren't we? You're already home, and you're still putting on this act?"

"Of course she is," Dante said with a laugh. "If she's going to pretend she's breaking up with him, she has to bring a suitcase. Otherwise, how convincing would her little runaway performance be?"

Enzo leaned against the doorframe and let out a low whistle.

"I give her one night, tops. Her salary can't even afford a decent hotel, and sleeping in a park would be far too much hardship for our future Donna."

"One night? You're giving her way too much credit." Sofia Fabbri grinned. "She'll be standing outside this door by tomorrow morning, guaranteed. She spent five years waiting for this moment. There's no way she'd actually walk away and miss the wedding."

Giulia covered her mouth with a delicate laugh, her eyes gleaming with contempt.

"You're all wrong." She turned to Luca, her smile widening. "Luca, all you have to do is nod and put this villa in her name."

She glanced at me. "I guarantee she won't even make it past the front door."

Matteo broke into exaggerated applause. "That's Giulia for you! You saw right through her."

"Of course I did."

Giulia tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave me a smug, knowing look.

"I used to be a gold digger myself. Trust me, I know exactly how people like her think."

I ignored them.

Without saying a word, I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and continued toward the door.

As I passed Luca, he took a long step forward and blocked my path. His brows drew together.

"Where do you think you're going in the middle of the night?"

I met his gaze calmly. "We're over, Luca. Where I go is none of your concern."

His expression hardened.

Before he could say anything, Giulia quickly slipped her arm through his.

"Luca, don't get upset," she said in a false, gentle voice. "She's doing this on purpose to make you worry. The moment you try to stop her, you'll fall right into her trap."

Luca's expression darkened even further.

I almost laughed at the irony.

Then I reached into my pocket, pulled out my house key, and placed it on the shoe cabinet by the entrance.

A slightly worn teddy bear keychain dangled from the ring. It had been a prize from a food festival shortly after we moved in together. Luca had spent half an hour playing one of those carnival games just to win it for me.

For the past five years, it had been one of the few gifts he had ever given me.

Now, I was leaving it behind with everything else.

"I'm leaving the key here," I said.

The moment Luca saw the teddy bear, panic flickered briefly across his eyes.

Giulia immediately put on a sympathetic expression.

"She's practically spelling it out for you, Luca. She wants the house."

She looked at me with exaggerated pity. "You've lived here together for five years, and you never even put her name on the deed? That's pretty unfair, Luca."

Sofia let out a mocking laugh. "No wonder she's making such a scene after all these years. Five years together, and she still hasn't gotten anything substantial out of him. She must be getting desperate.

"She was so close to winning the grand prize." Enzo sneered. "And she couldn't even hold it together at the finish line."

His eyes swept over me with open disdain. "But what do you expect from someone who came from the slums? People who grow up at the bottom never know how to think beyond what's right in front of them."

My hands curled into fists.

More than anything, I hated when people used my past to belittle me—as if everything I was could be reduced to the circumstances I had been born into.

Luca knew that better than anyone. And yet, the man who had once sworn he would protect me for the rest of his life simply stood there in silence, staring at me without saying a word.

Finally, Luca let out a long, weary sigh.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll have my lawyer transfer the house into your name."

He paused, then added, "And I'll set aside a generous amount of money for you before the wedding."

He looked at me as though he were offering me a perfectly reasonable compromise.

"Will that finally satisfy you?"

Then his voice hardened. "Mira, I'm tired. Can you just stop this already?"

His jaw tightened as he continued, "There's nothing wrong with wanting money. But pretending you don't want it is another thing entirely. If money is what you want, then just say so. Stop acting like you're above it."

A wave of nausea rose in my throat. I had never felt so disgusted.

"I don't want it."

My voice was cold and absolute.

But Giulia immediately seized on my words.

"Luca, it seems I underestimated her. She doesn't even want the house."

Her eyes narrowed, a calculating smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Maybe the house isn't enough. Perhaps she wants the entire Camorra famiglia fortune."

I met Luca's gaze. "Is that what you think, too?"

Luca looked away.

And that was all the answer I needed.

I pulled out my phone and opened the confirmation for our marriage registration at the town hall, even holding the screen up for him to see.

My finger hovered over the cancellation button for a moment.

Then I pressed it.

"Luca, I'm serious."

His eyes widened.

He stared at the message on the screen as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Your appointment has been successfully canceled."

"Are you out of your mind?" His voice rose. "Do you have any idea what you just did? Mira, I can't promise you when—or if—I'll agree to marry you again!"

"I won't be asking you to marry me anymore."

I slipped my phone back into my pocket. My voice had never been calmer than it was now.

Giulia immediately jumped in. "Luca, don't listen to her! This is just another part of her little plan. The more dramatic she's being right now, the more it proves she has no intention of actually leaving you!"

I didn't bother responding. I pushed my suitcase across the threshold and walked out.

Behind me, Luca's voice followed, tight with anger.

"Go ahead. I'll wait for you to come crawling back and beg me."

Then his voice turned cold. "But remember, my patience has limits."

I said nothing.

The only answer he got was the sound of the front door slamming shut behind me.

The moment I stepped outside, my phone chimed. I pulled it from my pocket and saw the electronic contract from the Deep-Sea Geological Research Institute.

I opened it, read through the final page, and signed my name without hesitation.

That signature marked the end of everything.

From that moment on, Luca and I belonged to two completely different worlds.

And for the first time, I felt no fear about what came next. I had no regrets, not even one.