Chapter 3

I gave a self-deprecating smile, put away my phone, and went to get my medication before heading to the infusion room alone.

After the IV was finished, my head felt even more dizzy. I had barely taken a few steps when I nearly collapsed.

Vito still hadn’t come back.

Not a single phone call. Not even a message.

Not wanting to cause an unnecessary misunderstanding, I had no choice but to call him myself.

When Vito heard that I was still at the family clinic, he froze for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Sophia. I was planning to take Lucia home and come straight back for you, but her old injury flared up, so…”

Before he could finish, a waiter’s voice came through the phone.

“Sir, all the dishes you ordered have been served. Enjoy your meal!”

Although Vito quickly covered the receiver, I still heard every word.

“It’s fine. I can do this alone!”

I was saying it to myself, and to Vito as well.

Just as I was about to hang up, Vito suddenly called my name.

“Sophia, go home first. I’ll explain everything to you later.”

Explain what?

Nothing more than one lie after another to deceive me.

I said nothing and ended the call, then found a driver from one of the family’s outer circles to take me back to the estate.

But Vito didn’t come home that night.

The fireworks outside my window kept me from sleeping.

They were signal flares marking the family’s celebration of the signing of the ceasefire agreement.

With nothing else to do, I picked up my tablet and continued sketching a custom jewelry design for a client.

I accidentally touched the messaging app in the lower-right corner, and a post updated an hour ago appeared on the screen.

It was posted by Lucia.

A breathtaking view of countless shooting stars streaking across the night sky, accompanied by a sentimental caption.

【I’ve come such a long way. Thankfully, the stars were still there to light my way.】

I stared at it for a long time.

It wasn’t until I exited the post that I realized the messaging app logged into the tablet was actually Vito’s.

I had no interest in digging through their flirtatious conversations, so I simply logged out of the app on the tablet.

By sunrise, I was feeling much better, and I went to the jewelry design studio I ran with my partner as scheduled.

My partner held my resignation letter in her hand. When she learned that I was returning to Sicily to get married, she was genuinely happy for me, yet clearly saddened by my departure.

“Without you, we’re losing another valuable member of the team.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I simply hugged her and thanked her for all her help over the years.

After I finished the formalities, the rest of my colleagues also learned that I was leaving to return home and get married.

One after another, they demanded that I treat them to a farewell dinner.

Naturally, I didn’t refuse.

I immediately booked a table at the family-exclusive restaurant Vito and I often went to.

I didn’t know many restaurants, to begin with, and the food there really was excellent. The security was also tight enough.

In the middle of the meal, I went to the restroom.

To my surprise, I came face-to-face with Lucia again.

She smiled at me warmly.

“Sophia, I didn’t expect to see you here too! Come to think of it, this was actually the restaurant Vito brought me to back then. The food really is excellent. We’ve been here many times.”

I smiled at her and was about to leave.

I didn’t consider us close enough to make small talk.

But apparently, she didn’t feel the same way.

Just as I was about to walk away, she stopped me again.

“I noticed something last time. Whenever Vito orders food for you, he always avoids anything with peanut sauce. Are you allergic to peanuts too?”

The word “too” made me tilt my head slightly.

The truth was, I wasn’t allergic to peanuts at all.

Yet every time Vito ordered food for me, he would deliberately avoid anything containing peanut sauce.

He always said eating too much of it wasn’t good for my health.

I had always thought he was genuinely concerned about my health.

Now, it seemed that it was nothing more than a habit.

Because the person who was actually allergic to peanuts…

Was Lucia.

When I remained silent, she tilted her head slightly and studied my face carefully.

“Sophia, there’s something I’ve wanted to say since the first time we met. Don’t you think we look a lot alike?”