Chapter 4

The employee behind the counter quickly came over to me. "Miss, let me take care of the wound on your face first."

I rejected her offer.

With her help, I took off the wedding gown.

It was not mine to keep anyway, so there was no point in feeling pity over it.

My phone suddenly vibrated. It was a video clip Rosetta sent to me.

Caesar's gentle, loving voice could be heard from the clip, "I can never bear to hurt you."

I wanted to watch it properly, but the video was suddenly deleted.

After I left the bridal boutique, I returned to the company to collect my remaining personal items.

As I walked past the pantry, I heard voices gossiping inside.

"Did you know the woman trying to scam Don Lupino's money was discovered by the Consigliere and got kicked out by the family?”

"She used to be the apple of his eye, but I guess she ended up losing to true love."

The sarcastic words kept coming at me. I used to feel extremely hurt by them, but all I felt now was numbness. Those words no longer bothered me.

After Rosetta became the Consigliere, she set me up multiple times and even stopped me from obtaining a million-dollar deal. The worst thing she did was destroy the contract I had earned from a drug deal by risking my life.

The family was known to be fickle-minded and money-centered. They could not wait to twist a knife in my wound.

I used to be confident that I could easily return to my original position in the family.

However, it looked like I was the joke after all.

The brown-nosers quickly called security to watch me while I packed away my personal belongings.

When I walked out of the company, I saw Rosetta's new post on her Instagram.

It was a picture of her lying sweetly next to Caesar on a luxury yacht. She was wearing the ruby necklace worth millions that she had just thrown at Caesar around her neck.

I was emotionally wrecked by the time I returned home. It was already late at night, and I was hungry, so I made myself a microwave dinner.

That was when I heard the door open.

I heard footsteps and a voice saying, "Why are you having dinner so late? Are you eating garbage again?"

Caesar had never liked the smell of microwavable food. It reminded him of his lowly beginnings before he rose to become the Don.

When I thought about it, those were the times when our feelings for each other were strong.

He came over and sat down. He accidentally knocked my handbag, which was perched on my luggage, and my passport fell out.

His expression turned grim when he saw the passport, but he suddenly smiled widely.

"What's wrong? Are you mad? Are you planning to vacation overseas?"

He flung my passport onto the table nonchalantly.

I could tell that he was in a good mood, which definitely had something to do with Rosetta's Instagram post.

He held my hand.

"I must have scared you. I was just trying to make things seem real! I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you.

"We've been plotting this for a long time. We can't just mess it up at the end.

"I've managed to convince Rosetta, but her guard will be up during this time. You and Joey need to be patient for another three months at most. I'll find an opportunity to humiliate her and get rid of her.

"I understand this is making you impatient. Why don't I…"

It went from three days to three months. This was just an excuse for him to continue being with Rosetta.

Why did he have to lie to me?

"It's fine."

Before he could finish, I cleared the table. I stood up and said to him, "Let's end our relationship."

The moment I said this, I could feel all the negative emotions within me disappear. I felt instantly relaxed.

Caesar's expression froze.

His cool tone was accompanied by a whiff of alcohol in his breath.

"All I did was try to cajole Rosetta, Eva, and you're ending our relationship over this? Don't you know that I'm doing this for you?"

"Stop being difficult, Eva."

I remained silent.

Caesar's patience finally ran thin. His tone sounded cold and sinister as he continued talking sense into me.

"Is this because I didn't transfer the money to you? Are you mad over that? Joey is fine, isn't he? It's not like he was waiting for the money to save his life. He's not going to die over this minor amount of money. What are you even losing your temper for?"

Joey, my little brother. The mention of him made me lose it. My eyes turned red.

I had not cried since the day Joey was buried.

"Yes, it's because of the money.

"Caesar, you're willing to spend your money freely on jewelry and luxury cars for Rosetta, but why is it so difficult for you to give Joey the money you promised him for his surgery?"

A mean look appeared on Caesar's face at my mention of money. He kicked hard at a chair.

"You disappoint me, Eva. You keep claiming you want to stop this plot, but all you really want is the money. I didn't believe it when Rosetta told me all you want is money, but it turns out you're no different than the despicable gold-digger she’s been talking about."

I did not explain. I was calm with my reply.

"You might have kicked me out of the company, but you can't deny that I’ve contributed to the expansion of the family all these years. I was the one who fought with my blood for all the arms dealing contracts worth tens of millions. You should compensate me with an equivalent salary.

"I don't want much. Ten million is enough."

The ten million was not only payment for my years of sacrifice, but it also marked the end of our ten-year relationship.

That money could be used to start a new life in the United States. I could also use the money to move my parents and Joey to where I would be.

Caesar gave me a chilling look.

"Eva, I've been tolerating a lot because of you. If you weren't my fiancée, you would never have become the Underboss of the family. Why are you acting so impatient? Once I marry you, the family will belong to you too. Why are you being so difficult?

"It's just ten million. I can give it to you. I'll give you everything I have if you want it."

He flung his phone at me, but I did not dodge it.

My facial wounds caused by Rosetta's keys earlier that day tore open. Blood flowed down my cheek.

Caesar looked worried as he quickly came over to me.

I picked up his phone and transferred ten million from him to myself.

After that, I said calmly, "Thank you."

Caesar's expression darkened. He sat on the sofa and lit a cigar.

Smoke billowed in the air and masked his expression.

Whenever he did this, it meant he was giving me the cold shoulder. I ignored him.

I went to the dining room and put back the chair he had kicked. Then, I cleaned the table and went into the kitchen.

Caesar thought I was in the kitchen to make him a hangover remedy, so he said to me moodily, "Don't make it too strong."