Chapter 2

Michele's voice pulled me back to reality.

"If she hadn't left all those years ago, the woman at my side would be a gambler. How could it be an angel like you? Tomorrow is our 99th day together, and I'm putting the most profitable strip club in Vallasia under your name."

Michele looked at Barbara with complete indulgence and pinched her cheek playfully.

Barbara laughed softly and leaned in to kiss him.

A sudden, stabbing pain tore through my side, forcing a sharp gasp from me. It was the scar I had carried for five years, left behind when I sold a kidney just to stay alive after I failed to repay my loan.

I looked away from their intimacy and turned to leave.

Barbara stopped me.

"Ms. Rossitto, Michele says he'll formally propose to me next month. I'd like to invite you."

Just as I was about to refuse, a debt collector swaggered over. "What are you still standing around for? Get to work. That loan from five years ago has been snowballing with interest. The number is insane now. If you can't pay next time, it won't be just one 'part' we take."

Michele's expression darkened instantly. "I never imagined you could fall this far. A proper path was right in front of you, but you chose to gamble. Alma, have you completely lost your mind just because you're broke?"

Michele was dressed in a tailored suit. Even his cufflinks cost as much as a sports car.

How nice.

He was no longer the broken man rotting away in a rented apartment.

I put on a familiar, ingratiating smile and sent the debt collectors away. Then, I looked back at Michele.

"Yes. I've gone mad from being poor. Don Giuliani, could you lend me a little more?"

"Oh my God, Ms. Rossitto really has had it rough since leaving you," Barbara said, leaning against Michele's shoulder.

Her eyes glistened with tears, but the look she gave me was pure mockery.

"If she hadn't betrayed you back then, you wouldn't have been fueled by resentment and clawed everything back in just five years," she said. "Michele, why don't you give her some money?"

Michele's gaze instantly turned cold at her words. He remembered too well how merciless I had been when I betrayed him, calling him a loser and leaving him alone in the rain all night.

In those five years, his own brothers had turned on him, allies had deceived him, and bullets had brushed past his scalp. Through it all, he had never wavered or given in.

He had only one goal, which was to climb to the very top and make me regret it.

The last flicker of feeling died in Michele's eyes, leaving only sheer indifference.

"A gambler's greed has no end. Money given to her would disappear like water poured into the sea."

He couldn't be bothered to spare me another glance. With an arm around Barbara, he turned and walked away.

My strength finally gave out, and I slid down the cold wall until I was sitting on the floor.

Blood had already soaked through the fabric at my side.

With trembling hands, I took out my phone and tried to call an ambulance. Before I could dial, another debt collection message popped up.

I shut the phone off.

At this point, I couldn't even afford a visit to a clinic.

As I watched Michele walk away, a soft, bitter laugh escaped me.

He had put out the word, promising a massive reward for the mysterious benefactor who had helped him when he hit rock bottom five years ago. He had no idea that person was me.

Five years ago, I had signed that loan contract, which was no different from selling myself. I even hired a third-rate actor to play a newly wealthy heir from another family.

I had looked at Michele with the coldest disdain and told him I only followed winners and money. He had lost everything and couldn't even afford to buy me a simple, decent necklace.

I told him I didn't want a life of fear by his side. All I wanted was a luxurious apartment and the freedom to indulge.

When the family fell apart and his father died, Michele didn't shed a single tear. Yet at that moment, his eyes reddened. He dropped all his pride, grabbed my arm, and pleaded in a choked voice for me not to leave.

I shrugged him off, linked arms with the actor, and stepped into the rain without looking back.

Over the past five years, I had grown used to debt collectors' threats and beatings. After losing a kidney, I couldn't handle high-intensity work anymore, and keeping up with repayments became impossible.

From that moment on, my fate was sealed. They would dismantle me and sell me piece by piece until every bit of value was drained. The moment I signed that contract, I accepted that I wouldn't have a good death.

What I hadn't expected was to see Michele again before that day. He now held immense power, living in near the same glory as the Giuliani family's prime.

The only difference was the woman at his side.