Chapter 3

Ten days left.

Today was my three-year anniversary with Julian.

I put on a black silk dress, did my makeup lightly, and arrived at the three-star Michelin restaurant in the city center half an hour early.

After much thought, I planned to tell him tonight that I was leaving North America and breaking off our engagement.

It was time to put a full stop to this dead relationship.

At exactly 7:00 PM, the restaurant's glass doors opened.

Julian walked in wearing a sharp tailored suit. But right behind him, wearing that pink couture dress, was Mia.

"Why did you bring her?" I sat in my seat, watching them approach the table.

Julian pulled out a chair—the one meant for me, with the best window view—and casually told Mia, "Sit here, you get a good view of the skyline."

Then he finally looked at me. "Mia said she missed her dad today. I didn't want to leave her alone, so I brought her out to get her mind off things. You sit on the outside."

He sat across from me as if bringing another woman to our anniversary dinner was the most normal thing in the world.

Mia looked at me nervously. "Maybe I should just go..."

Julian frowned. "It's just dinner. Be a good girl and sit down."

For the entire dinner, I was a ghost.

Julian expertly cut Mia's veal, constantly checking her wine glass.

When the AC kicked in, Mia shivered and murmured, "It's a bit cold."

Julian instantly took off his suit jacket, draped it over Mia's shoulders, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Better?"

Mia nodded, and the two of them whispered and laughed, the atmosphere so intimate they looked like the actual couple.

I quietly finished my last bite of food, grabbed my purse, and stood up.

"I'm going to pay. Enjoy the rest of your dinner." I walked to the front, swiped my card, and walked straight out of the restaurant.

The cold winter wind hit my face like blades.

Walking alone on the street, my mind drifted back to three years ago.

Our relationship was an arranged mafia marriage. But when my parents and brother ignored me and I hid in a corner crying, he was the one who handed me a handkerchief.

He had looked at me with such heartache and promised: "Willow, I’ll always be on your side. You don't have to please anyone anymore. I'm yours."

I believed him. I thought he was the hand pulling me out of the mud.

But as time went on, his eyes slowly shifted to Mia. He started thinking she was more fragile, more in need of protection, until he eventually became just like the rest of my family, backing me into a corner.

An hour after I left, Julian finally texted: "Where did you go?"

I didn't reply.

The next morning, Julian showed up at the estate.

"Willow, why didn't you text me back last night?" He grabbed my arm, looking confused and accusatory. "You ditched me and Mia at the restaurant and just ran off? Do you have any idea how awkward that was for her?"

I looked up at him, realizing this man was laughably a stranger to me. "Shouldn't I be asking you why you brought her to our anniversary date?"

Julian froze, a flash of guilt in his eyes.

He avoided my gaze and muttered, "I thought it was just a regular date..."

But then he quickly got defensive. "So what if I forgot? Mia was depressed yesterday thinking about her dad. What's wrong with taking her out to cheer her up? Do you really have to be this petty?"

"She doesn't have a father, she has zero sense of security. Is it a crime for me to look out for her as her future brother-in-law?"

Just a brother-in-law? I found that hilarious.

Before I could speak, Luca heard us arguing and marched over.

"Willow, drop it. Mia's dad died saving our Don. Isn't it only right that we treat her better? Why do you always have to compete with her?"

I wanted to explain that I wasn't competing; I just wanted to know where I stood in my fiancé's heart.

But looking at furious Luca and impatient Julian—seeing them team up to defend Mia—I suddenly felt it was all pointless.

No one would give me the answer I wanted.

I turned and walked back to my room, closed the door, slowly slid the diamond engagement ring off my finger, and casually tossed it into the bottom drawer of my vanity.

He never belonged to me. He wasn't my home.

In the dead of night, lying on my narrow twin bed, I watched the countdown on my phone.

Ten days.

As the departure date drew closer, I actually felt excited.