Chapter 6

[Isabella's POV]

I felt myself freezing all over. My ears wouldn't stop ringing.

I clutched my phone in shock, my voice trembling as I asked, "W-What did you just say?"

"It's the truth," Sophia said, sounding a little careful and apologetic. "I got someone to check. On paper, you're single, and Vincenzo is divorced.

"His ex-wife is Claudia Henderson. They only finalized the divorce two months ago. And the stamp on your marriage certificate was forged. As for the documentation… They're all fakes from the dollar store or something. In short, you're not legally husband and wife."

Sophia choked on her emotions as she spoke.

So, my grand wedding—the one that had all my wedding guests sighing in awe and admiration—had been fake the whole time. Nobody could have known that it had never been the real deal.

My hands shook as I tapped on the screenshot that Sophia had forwarded to me. The pale screen reflected against my equally pale face, turning my face ashen.

The lines of words on the screen were like poisonous needles that jabbed straight into my eyes, making them hurt.

To think that I had been the homewrecker all this time and ruined someone else's relationship for ten whole years.

Ten.

The best ten years of my life—from when I was 17 until I was 27—had all been spent on Vincenzo. And, as it turned out, I never even got a formal title out of it.

How pathetic.

The pain from my legs and the suffocating feeling in my chest suddenly surged tenfold. I couldn't remain calm any longer.

The ward was suddenly filled with my loud, agonizing screams and howls. I cried and screamed at the top of my lungs, until even the patients next door couldn't help but feel sorry for me.

In the end, I fought to get out of bed. I was seething with rage as I grabbed the crutches next to me and hobbled out of the ward, making my way straight toward Vincenzo's office as quickly as I could.

When Vincenzo saw me at the door, he was first pleasantly surprised to see me. Then, he quickly saw my shaky legs and ashen face, and he immediately came up to me with a frown. He looked at me with an apologetic expression.

"Isabella? What are you doing here? Don't your legs hurt?"

He tried to reach out to me to steady me up, but I shoved him aside at once.

I pushed my phone toward him, my eyes filled with despair. "Vincenzo Cursley, if there's one thing I regret the most in my entire life, it's having met you!"

Vincenzo was taken aback by my declaration. However, when he saw the contents on my phone screen, the blood immediately drained from his face.

He hurriedly took the phone from me and tapped on the photo. He kept scrolling and scrolling, his face falling more and more with each second. In the end, his eyes landed on the line where I had told Sophia that I wanted to divorce him.

"You're divorcing me?" Vincenzo immediately looked up at me, his eyes panicking. "You're planning to leave me?"

I sniffled as I glared at him with pure hatred in my eyes. "That's right! Since we were never legally married in the first place, that means I can leave this very moment!"

I then snatched the phone back from him, my fingers shaking as I tapped on Alexander's phone number next.

However, before the line could even go through, Vincenzo snatched the phone away from my hands and flung it to the floor in full force. The phone screen shattered immediately upon contact with the ground.

I looked up at him in shock and was immediately met with his bloodshot eyes. There wasn't a single ounce of warmth or gentleness left in his eyes—only manic anger. He looked frightening.

"I will never let you leave me!"

I shuddered hard. However, I still gritted my teeth and turned to leave.

I'd only just taken two steps forward when I felt a sudden sharp pain in the side of my neck. Then, my world turned dark, and I completely lost all consciousness.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I realized that Vincenzo had taken me home. However, the doors and windows had been reinforced, and they could only be opened with a special key.

I had no other choice but to go back to the living room and stare at the beautiful, unopened box of cake sitting on the table. At once, I felt a wave of nausea rising in my throat.

I turned to return to my room, thinking to lock the door behind me. But Vincenzo suddenly jumped out and blocked my path. He thought that I was trying to escape. A split second later, he took out a pair of handcuffs and locked me to the headboard of the bed.

"Listen to me, Isabella. Once everything is over, I promise that I'll make it up to you. You'll just have to put up with this for now."

I glared at him. Just then, the door opened from the outside.

It was Claudia. She waved something in her hand and said, "Vincenzo, which one do you think looks nicer on me?"

My pupils narrowed at once. She was holding the diamond necklace and bracelet that Mom had left for me."

"Vincenzo!" I roared, my voice sounding thick and hoarse like a rusty copper bell. "Those belong to my mother!"

Vincenzo gave me a complicated look. Still, he defended her and said, "I know. And I know that I did everything in my power to locate them and get them back for you."

He then reluctantly put the necklace around Claudia's neck and threatened me, saying, "If you're still thinking of escaping, then these two items will forever belong to Claudia. Just behave yourself and wait for our wedding to be over. Once everything is done, I promise you that things will all go back to normal.

"I'll register my marriage with you and give you another bigger, grander wedding than before. You're still the only person I acknowledge as my wife."

I glared at him with pure hatred in my eyes.

If he was going to force me to marry him again, then I would rather kill myself right now.

Vincenzo seemed to read my mind and took away everything that could be used as a weapon to kill myself. Everything I could touch or lay my hands on was soft and fluffy. Even the cuffs he used on me were changed to a silky rope instead.

…

The day before their wedding, I still stayed in bed, refusing to eat or drink.

Vincenzo hugged me from the back, feeling sorry for me. He rested his chin against my shoulder and spoke to me in a gentle voice.

"Don't blame this on me, okay, Isabella? I really do love you. Once my wedding with Claudia is over, and after the Marinos have given up on her, I'll bring you straight to the town hall to get our marriage registered. I'll make sure that the certificate this time is real. Alright?"

I closed my eyes and refused to answer him.

…

The next morning, Claudia walked into the room in her white wedding gown and purposely showed off Mom's diamond necklace around her neck.

Her eyes shone brightly as she whispered in my ear, "You look so pitiful, Bella. I warned you before that you should've removed yourself from the equation from the very start. This necklace is ugly, but Vincenzo insisted on giving it to me as a wedding gift.

"Oh, and by the way, your parents' motorsport company belongs to me now."

I didn't say a single word.

My eyelashes fluttered softly as tears fell from the corners of my eyes.

When Vincenzo saw that I was crying, he gently wiped my tears away and kissed me on the forehead. Then, he comforted me and said, "Behave yourself, and I'll come back to you after the wedding is over. It won't take a long time. Everything will be back to normal afterward."

They didn't know that I had lost all will to live.

So, from the moment Vincenzo and Claudia left the room, hand in hand, I turned to the side and placed my wrist right in front of my mouth. I didn't feel any pain when I sank my teeth into my wrist. There was just the warm, sticky blood dripping from the wound.

I had just managed to make a tiny wound when suddenly, the bedroom window was smashed open from the outside. A dummy body was thrown in afterward. Then, I saw a handsome face appearing at the window.

The morning sun shone brightly behind Alexander's figure, highlighting his face and giving him a warm, superhero glow. He held his hand out to me.

"I've come for you, Isabella."