Chapter 3

After I hung up, the driver took me home.

That night, Vito did not come back as he had promised.

Late in the evening, my phone buzzed with a notification.

I tapped it open to find that Vito had shared a post of Sia's — a photograph of two shadows leaning closely together, captioned with a line of sentimental prose:

The person who truly cares for you is the one who, no matter how far you walk away, will still be standing there when you turn around.

I had barely tapped the Like button when the post disappeared. It had been deleted.

I smiled and unfollowed him.

That night, without Vito, I slept better than I had in a long time.

When my friends heard I was leaving New York, they were heartbroken, Chloe most of all — she clung to me in tears and begged me not to go.

Since none of us knew when we'd see each other again after this, they suggested we all share one last meal together.

I was hardly going to say no. I booked the VIP suite at a high-end club and treated them all.

As fate would have it, I ran into Sia again on a trip to the restroom.

She seemed far more composed than I was when our eyes met.

"What a coincidence, Bianca. You come here too?"

I gave her a polite smile. I had nothing to say to her.

But she clearly felt otherwise. She shifted to block my path.

"You seem to dislike me, Bianca. Why is that?"

A small, provocative smile played at her lips.

"You've always wondered why Vito takes his whisky with a slice of lemon, haven't you?"

"Because I taught him that."

"Five years by his side — and what does it amount to? Every habit he has, every little thing about him, I put there."

I had always wondered why Vito insisted on adding a slice of lemon to his whisky.

He once told me that it simply tasted better that way.

Now I understood. It was never about taste. He had carried a habit he formed with her and quietly transplanted it onto me.

But Sia wasn't finished. She wore the most guileless smile as she continued.

"So what if you've been with Vito for five years?"

My heart sank.

She watched my face and her smile deepened.

"He never once went public with you, and all I have to do is crook my finger and he'll choose me without hesitation. Bianca, what do you think that means?"

I looked at her quietly for a few seconds.

Maybe what she said was true—but so what?

I was leaving New York anyway.

I curved my lips into a faint smile, my tone as flat as if I were commenting on the weather.

"Well then, I wish you both happiness."

Back in the suite, I downed a shot of tequila before the cold in my hands and feet began to ease.

Chloe was in the middle of coaxing everyone into a game when the heavy door of the suite was kicked open with a crash.

The music died.

A large hand with pronounced knuckles clamped down on my wrist like a vice.

Vito stood before me, radiating a terrifying aura, flanked by several bodyguards in black.

The glass was knocked from my hand and shattered on the floor, shards scattering in every direction.

"Who's the man you brought that hurt Sia!"

I gasped at the pain, shaken by an expression on his face I had never seen before.

"What man? What are you talking about?"

"Let go of her!" Chloe came charging forward in fury, trying to push him back. "You're hurting Bianca!"

In the next instant, his bodyguards moved. They pinned Chloe and the others down onto sofas before anyone could take another step.

The entire suite went dead silent.

Vito's eyes had gone red. They were full of something that looked like disappointment.

"A man cornered Sia in the restroom. He slapped her, nearly tearing her clothes off."

"You were angry that I left you at the hospital for her. Angry that I spent two days looking after her instead of coming home. So you arranged this as revenge. How could you be so cruel?"

My wrist hurt so badly from his grip that tears dropped from my eyes.

Vito's expression softened instantly, and his fingers loosened their hold unconsciously.

But Sia was playing her tricks again.

Her voice came through his phone, weeping, saying she was frightened.

His eyes went cold once more. He ignored my struggling and dragged me out of the suite by force.

"Bianca!" Chloe screamed, fighting against the bodyguard's hold.

I looked back and shook my head at them.

"It's fine. I'll be back in a moment."

Vito hauled me down the corridor to another suite at the far end.

Inside, Sia was curled on the sofa wrapped in Vito's suit jacket, trembling, her face marked with faint red patches of uncertain origin.

When she saw me, she flinched and shrank back, tears streaming down her face.

Vito pushed me in front of her, his expression unreadable.

"Bianca. Whatever happened, apologize to Sia first."

"She's frightened right now."