Chapter 2

Fortunately, the employee had visited me under a false identity.

"He's an event planner," I responded. "I hired his company to organize my birthday celebration in three days."

The suspicion on Luca's face immediately disappeared.

In high spirits, he slipped his arm around my waist, his voice overflowing with tenderness.

"Laura, my love, I'll make you the happiest woman in all of Vardessa at your birthday party."

My eyes drifted down to the hickey on his neck.

It was almost impossible to believe that the man who once had eyes for no one but me was now standing before me, wearing another woman's mark while sweetly professing his love.

I couldn't accept a love divided between two women. If I stayed in this relationship, I'd eventually lose my mind.

Just then, Luca's phone rang.

He released my waist instantly and hurried to pick it up. After glancing at the screen, a flicker of anticipation crossed his face.

He waved the phone at me, pretending to remain as calm and collected as he always was.

"Tesoro, there's a bit of trouble with the family business. I need to go take care of it."

I knew perfectly well that he was lying, but all I did was nod.

"Okay."

Luca had no idea how much he resembled an eager young man rushing off to meet his sweetheart.

Once, he'd been just as desperate to see me.

Now, a single phone call from another woman was enough to make him abandon me.

He wrapped his arms around me, reluctant to leave as he said his goodbyes.

"I'll be back soon, Laura."

I closed my eyes, gathering what little strength I had left.

"Luca."

"Sì, amore mio?"

He held me against his chest, his gaze still as tender as ever.

Had I not discovered the truth about his affair, I might still have been lost in the illusion he'd so carefully created for me.

"Promise me you'll be at my birthday party."

Luca didn't notice the tremendous resolve hidden behind the slight tremor in my voice.

He simply pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"Of course! I promised that I'd spend every birthday with you for the rest of our lives."

I closed my eyes, hiding the turmoil inside me.

"Good. Because if you forget, I promise you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Luca stiffened for a moment, but he was simply too confident that I'd never discover his betrayal.

He carried me into the bedroom and gently tucked me under the covers.

"Get some rest, tesoro. We'll be happy together forever, I promise."

I turned my face away, my nails digging into my palms.

It felt like a dull knife was slowly slicing through my heart. The pain was so unbearable that I could barely breathe.

So this was all his "forever" amounted to— three years.

As soon as he left, an Instagram account I recently followed posted a new video.

In the clip, a woman was nestled in a man's embrace. She boldly left a fresh hickey against his neck.

"He really loves me. I'm the only one he allows to leave marks on his body."

The account had first appeared in my recommendations a month ago, but its earliest post dated back six months.

It was a photo of two hands intertwined on a hotel bed.

I recognized the wedding band on the man's left ring finger immediately.

It was the ring I'd spent more than half a year designing, using countless different gemstones.

The moment Luca put it on, he declared that he'd never take it off.

Even in death, he'd promised to carry it with him into his grave.

The vow I once believed was unbreakable was casually shattered in the woman's second photograph. The ring had been taken off and slipped onto her toe.

The first time I saw that picture, I was so disgusted that I rushed to the bathroom, retching uncontrollably.

From that moment on, I knew that our marriage was over.

My phone suddenly rang. I stared at the familiar number on the screen.

"Laura, it seems your husband doesn't love you anymore!"