Chapter 3

The moment the man saw Juliet sitting on the floor in such a state, his eyes widened in alarm. He practically stumbled over himself, rushing to help her up.

"Ms. Kane, what… what happened?"

Only then did Juliet snap out of her daze. She shoved his hand away and whipped around to glare at me, her voice shrill. "You bitch! How dare you hit me!"

She turned toward Mario Fabbri. "Mario, take a good look at her! Isn't she one of your hotel's servers? She deliberately dressed like this to seduce my brother, and she had the nerve to hit me! Do you want your hotel shut down?"

Mario's expression changed immediately. He shot me a glare before turning back to Juliet with an ingratiating smile.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Kane. Please, calm down… This server… she must be new. She doesn't know how things work around here, and she clearly has no idea who she's dealing with. Please don't lower yourself by arguing with someone like her…"

Then he marched over to me and jabbed a finger in my face. "Who hired you? Do you have any idea who Ms. Kane is? She's one of our most important guests! And you actually dared to offend her? Now, get on your knees and apologize to her. Right now!"

I took a breath, my brow furrowing as I stared at him coldly. "I'm not an employee of this hotel, and you have no right to make me apologize to her."

Mario's expression froze. But a second later, he raised his voice again. "You're still lying? Of course you work here! Apologize to Ms. Kane right now, or you'll regret it!"

I caught the warning in his eyes and almost laughed.

This hotel was one of the most prestigious establishments in Bellmont, catering exclusively to guests from the region's most prominent families. If word got out that someone with questionable intentions had managed to slip inside unnoticed, the hotel's reputation would be ruined.

So it didn't matter who I actually was. Right now, Mario needed me to be one of the hotel's employees.

"Ms. Kane, she's new and doesn't know any better. I'm sure she never meant to offend you." He turned back to Juliet and bowed, an ingratiating smile plastered across his face.

"We'll leave her punishment entirely up to you. As soon as the engagement party is over, I'll fire her personally. I'll make sure she never finds another job anywhere in Bellmont."

Then he lowered his voice. "Mr. Rizzo is just outside. He'll be here any moment… Today is supposed to be a happy occasion. If something were to ruin his mood—"

"And what exactly would ruin my mood?" Before Mario could finish, a cold voice sounded behind him.

Dante walked over. The moment he saw the red swelling on Juliet's face, his brow knitted into a frown. "What happened? Juliet, who did this to you?"

The instant she saw him, Juliet's earlier arrogance vanished, replaced by a wounded expression. "Dante… It was one of the hotel's servers… I only asked her to do some work, but she refused, and then… then she hit me…"

She covered her cheek as her eyes gradually reddened, as though she had truly suffered some terrible injustice.

Dante's expression darkened immediately. "Who would dare lay a hand on you? Don't worry, Juliet. Whoever touched you today will pay for it tenfold. I'll make sure you get justice."

Standing where I was, I couldn't help letting out a cold laugh. "I hit her."

I looked straight at him. "So tell me, Dante Rizzo. How exactly do you plan to make me pay?"