Chapter 3

Before I could finish my sentence, Gia burst into tears.

She seized the crystal fruit bowl from the coffee table and smashed it onto the floor, sending sharp shards flying. Screaming, she scooped up a jagged fragment and pressed it directly to her neck.

"I knew it! None of you care about me!" she shrieked, taking two steps back. "If I'm dead, all of you will finally get some peace and quiet!"

Leonardo’s face drained of color. Consumed by rage, he shoved me violently out of the way.

My lower back slammed hard against the doorframe, and the sudden, excruciating shock sent a cold sweat breaking over my skin.

"Bianca! Remember your place! It’s just a damn meal! What is wrong with you?"

"You know damn well how unstable Gia's mental state is! The family doctor said she can't handle emotional stress! Are you trying to drive her to suicide?!"

My back hurt so badly that I couldn't even force a word out. However, in Leonardo’s eyes, my silence was nothing more than a quiet act of defiance.

Gia timed her quiet sobbing perfectly, letting Leonardo finally wrestle the glass shard out of her hand and toss it away.

She collapsed straight into his arms. "Bianca never considered me family anyway... Every time I ask her to do something, she makes up excuses...

"Leonardo, as long as she’s your wife and the Donna of this family, she’s going to kick me out… How could I ever compete with her?"

Her words ignited Leonardo’s anger once more. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the kitchen without giving me a chance to explain.

"If you don't make what Gia wants to eat today, you're staying locked in here!"

The kitchen door slammed shut behind me, followed by the sharp click of the lock turning.

I leaned heavily against the door panel and heard Gia’s laughter immediately turn light and cheerful outside.

"Leonardo, can we dig up that lavender field in the garden? Let's plant roses instead! Red roses are my absolute favorite!"

And Leonardo replied, "Sure."

That lavender field was something he’d planted with his own hands three years ago, the very day he proposed. It hadn't even reached its third bloom, and now it was being uprooted.

Just like our marriage—barely three years old and shattered eight times over.

The door opened, and Leonardo walked in.

Seeing me leaning against the counter without having touched a single thing, he furrowed his brow tightly.

"Do you really have to cross me on everything? Gia is my sister, which means she’s your sister too. What’s the big deal about cooking a meal for her?"

I raised my eyes to look at him, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "Leonardo, we’re divorced. What does your sister have to do with me?"

A flash of embarrassment crossed Leonardo's eyes.

Suddenly, his tone softened. He took a step forward, pulling me into his chest and resting his chin on top of my head.

"Bianca, I lost my cool earlier. I'm sorry.

"You know the divorce is just temporary. As soon as I calm Gia down, we can remarry whenever we want. Don't get upset over something so trivial, okay?"

Then, he shoved a slip of paper into my hand. It was filled with dense handwriting listing everything Gia liked to eat, along with all her dietary restrictions.

"Be a good girl. As long as we can appease Gia and keep her happy, we can get remarried even faster.

"Just listen to me, Bianca."

Leonardo turned and left, locking the door behind him once more.

I stared at the slip of paper for a long time before slowly sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. My grip loosened, and the paper drifted quietly to the ground.

Since when did getting divorced and remarried become a "trivial thing" to him? And now I was supposed to kiss Gia's ass just to win back my own marriage?

Sorry, but I couldn't do it.

If it came down to it, I’d just sleep in the kitchen. I was truly exhausted anyway.

I buried my face in my knees as a wave of sleepiness washed over me, and I closed my eyes.

In my half-conscious daze, a sharp pain suddenly shot up my arm.

I opened my eyes to find Gia squatting in front of me. One of her hands was pressing down tightly on the back of my hand, while the other held that blue diamond brooch. The sharp pin of the brooch had already dug deep into the flesh of my arm.

"Are you insane?!"

Gia ripped the brooch away and threw it straight at me.

The heavy metal struck my forehead hard before clattering onto the floor, snapping the clasp clean off.

"Bianca, Leonardo sent you in here to cook, not to take a nap! Who knows what Leonardo even sees in you?!"

I pushed myself up off the ground, bent over to pick up the broken brooch, and hurled it right back at her with everything I had.

Gia intentionally didn't dodge and let it strike her forehead, where a large bump immediately swelled up. She then threw herself onto the floor in a pathetic heap, wailing loudly for help.

Leonardo rushed in faster than I could have imagined.

He took one look at Gia on the ground, then at the damaged brooch on the floor, and backhanded me across the face without asking a single question.

"Have you lost your damn mind?! Who gave you the nerve to hurt Gia?!"

That single slap shattered every last remnant of hope I had left.

I slowly turned my face back toward him, using my tongue to poke the inside of my bruised cheek. "Gia poked me with the brooch first. She threw it at me."

In truth, the moment his hand hit my face, Leonardo froze, realizing what he’d done. However, in front of Gia, he felt compelled to maintain his ridiculous sense of pride.

Leonardo turned his head away, his voice stiff and cold.

"So what? You've survived gunshot wounds, Bianca, yet you're throwing a hysterical fit over a tiny dispute with Gia? Can't you just be the bigger person for once?"