Chapter 2

When I got home, Enrico had a few large suitcases packed with his things beside him.

He looked me up and down. He seemed to be checking if I was injured.

Thanks to the effects of the drug, I felt perfect at that moment.

"Are you going out for a mission?" I asked in surprise.

Enrico hesitated for a moment before replying, "Rita needs someone to take care of her, so…"

Rita again! It was always her!

Looking at the man I still loved, I couldn't hold back my frustration. "Enrico! I'm your wife!"

He sighed. "Elisa Neri, even though Rita is adopted, she's still your sister. You're family."

"Si, she's my sister, but what about you? You're just her brother-in-law. What right do you have to take care of her? What will people think of you?"

"Your Papa…" Enrico gritted his teeth and finally got the words out. "He wants us to divorce, so I can marry Rita and take care of her as her husband."

I could barely believe my ears.

Mamma and Papa actually wanted Enrico and me to divorce for Rita.

I came here today to talk about divorce, but I never imagined it would be under these circumstances.

The buzzing in my ears was overwhelming, and I almost lost my balance.

Enrico quickly supported me. "Elisa, don't worry. It's just while Rita is recovering. We'll remarry once she's better. You know that I love you. After all this is over, I'll still be your husband and Ivana's Papa. We'll still be a family."

Ivana…

I snapped out of my daze.

Right, Ivana Fulci was my daughter. I still had her.

"Mamma," Ivana's voice rang out just in time.

"Ivana—" I turned to her, about to pick her up, but she spoke with confusion in her eyes.

"Mamma, Papa's doing this to help Zia Rita get better. Why don't you understand? Didn't you always tell me not to be selfish? Mamma, Zia Rita is such a good person. Don't you think what you're doing is selfish?"

As I looked into her innocent eyes, everything seemed to go dark.

Not just my parents, but even my husband and child had been fooled by Rita's facade. They had all abandoned me and chosen to stand by her.

It was as though I were the villain for not divorcing Enrico.

Any lingering attachment I had to Enrico and Ivana was slowly fading away.

If they all cared so much about Rita, what would they think when they learned the truth about her?

At this thought, I smiled and spoke to the two people in front of me. "Fine, I agree to the divorce."

Ivana immediately cheered and ran over to hug me tightly. "Mamma, you're the best!"

Enrico looked at me in surprise, then quickly pulled the divorce papers from his bag and handed them to me. "I thought I'd have to spend days convincing you. I didn't expect you to be so sensible."

See? Agreeing to the divorce was the sensible thing to do.

I glanced at the divorce papers but didn't sign them immediately.

Enrico asked anxiously, "Elisa, is there anything you're unsure about? Don't worry, we'll definitely remarry—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Is there no asset division?"

Enrico froze, then hesitantly replied, "If you want my assets—"

"Quite the opposite."

I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared and showed them to him. "I can leave with nothing. Just consider it… compensation for Rita taking the poison for me."