Chapter 2

Leo’s Adam's apple bobbed. His eyes darted nervously to the right.

“Cecilia, what are you talking about? I know you’re grieving, but this… this is reality.” He forced a sad smile.

“Yes. Reality.” I let out a small, sharp laugh. My fingers brushed the lapel of his suit, a casual gesture to straighten it, but what I was really feeling was the frantic hammering of his heart. “Maybe I’m the one who’s going crazy.”

I turned and walked away without another glance.

Back in my car, I locked the doors. The world was finally quiet.

The pop-up comments had given me Chloe’s Instagram handle. My hands shook as I typed it in.

Her pinned video was posted ten minutes ago.

A luxury yacht cut through the turquoise Caribbean water. The camera shook, then a pale but pretty face filled the screen. An arm wrapped around her neck.

On that arm’s wrist was the limited edition Patek Philippe watch I gave Raphael for his twenty-fifth birthday.

The camera panned to Raphael’s handsome face, bathed in sunlight. He kissed Chloe’s forehead, his eyes full of adoration.

The caption read: “He said for the next three months, he’s all mine. No inconvenient fiancée, no family business to worry about.”

“Inconvenient fiancée.”

A cold laugh escaped my lips.

That wasn't the story he told me.

I had saved his life during a turf war, and ever since, he’d been stuck to me like glue. He pursued me for a year, showering me with affection, treating me like a queen. He even took a bullet for me once.

I was moved. And I was tired of the loveless arranged marriages of our world.

The day I agreed to be with him, he said he felt like he had conquered the world.

Turns out I was just the mark in his long con.

For him, I defied my father and rejected an alliance with the powerful Falcone family. For him, I used my family's connections to help him legitimize his casinos. I thought we were Romeo and Juliet. Turns out, it was all just a well-played con.

Before I could even process the heartbreak, the comments gave me another jolt.

【Don’t get too sad yet, girl. It gets worse.】

【If you don't fight back now, this is what’s waiting for you…】

In three months, Raphael would return with a story about being kidnapped and suffering from amnesia. I would tearfully forgive him. To make up for the “suffering” he endured, I would even hand over control of the Rossi family’s main port to him.

The wedding would go on as planned.

Less than six months later, Chloe would make a “miraculous recovery.” Raphael, overjoyed, would spoil her rotten, even bringing her on as his “secretary.”

I wouldn’t be able to handle his betrayal and would have a mental breakdown.

Every time I tried to leave him, Raphael would beg for forgiveness, promising to never cheat again. Then I’d find more flirty texts from Chloe on his phone.

My life would become a cycle of forgiveness and betrayal.

Meanwhile, Raphael would use the Rossi family’s power to grow his own empire, tricking me into signing over shares to his casinos and docks while I was in a haze of medication and grief.

And to the world, he would play the part of the devoted husband, fooling the public and even my own parents.

“No…” I shot up from the steering wheel, my back soaked in a cold sweat.

This wasn't some nightmare. The raw, jagged feeling of my heart being torn from my chest was all too real.

Was this my destiny? To be used up and thrown away like a fool, to live a life of misery?

【Now that you know the truth, you have to change everything!】

【You're the only one who can save the Rossi family!】

I looked at myself in the rearview mirror. My makeup was smeared from crying. I looked like a ghost.

But I started to laugh. The smile grew wider until fresh tears streamed down my face. This time, they weren’t from sadness. They were from pure, unadulterated hate.

So, Raphael wanted to play dead and come back to life.

Fine. I’d play along.

I grabbed a makeup wipe and fiercely scrubbed my face clean, revealing pale, determined features. I dialed my father’s most trusted lawyer.

“Uncle Mario, it’s Cecilia. I need you to draw up some papers. I want to liquidate all my investments in the Russo Group.”

“Now? But Cecilia, Raphael just passed…”

“That’s exactly why,” I said, my gaze colder than the rain starting to streak down the window. “I’m taking back what’s mine. And I’m not leaving them a single cent.”

The comments flashed in front of me:

【I can't wait to see her grind them into the fucking dust!】