Chapter 2

The coming-of-age ceremony was almost over by the time Dario and Lina returned from the garden. Lina's lips were swollen, and Dario's collar was undone, revealing a few hickeys dotting his collarbone. The way they looked at each other was so sickly sweet that it made my stomach turn.

In my previous life, I probably would've already stormed over to demand answers, humiliating myself at my own coming-of-age ceremony. Now, I only found the situation laughable.

I downed my wine and turned, starting to walk away.

Dario stopped me. "Cecilia, are you actually thinking of leaving when I, your fiance, am still here? That's pretty rude of you, don't you think?"

My footsteps didn't even falter.

Dario's voice turned icy. "Get back here and apologize to me, or you're not getting a birthday gift this year."

This time, I stopped. He cocked an eyebrow smugly, thinking that his threat had worked. He opened a small jewelry box and handed it to me. Inside was a thin silver chain.

This was one of his tried-and-tested methods. For the past six years in my previous life, I would receive a "gift" from him on every birthday and celebration. A pen he grabbed from his desk, cufflinks that he didn't want, tie pins that he thought were too worn for him to use… Whatever was within his grasp, he would throw at me.

But back then, I used to treat them like they were treasures. I actually locked them up in a safe.

Once, after we'd gotten married, I'd pulled them out of the safe to show them to him. I'd thought the gesture would move him, but how had he reacted?

He'd said in disgust, "I can't believe you actually kept the trash that I tossed out. Do you realize how sick that is?"

Later, word somehow gotten out. At every gathering after that, the other rich wives and socialites had looked at me with contempt and mockery in their eyes.

Once, someone had even said to my face, "It's pathetic to see you humbling yourself to this extent, Ms. Vito. I wonder how a powerful Don like your father managed to raise a daughter like you."

Papa had sat alone in his study for a long time after hearing that. That was the first time I'd seen him smoke so much that his fingers had trembled uncontrollably.

My expression turned frosty when I remembered the humiliation I'd suffered in my previous life. "You can keep that for yourself. I'm not a trash can."

Dario looked stunned for a split second. The veins on his hand bulged as he tightened his grip on the box. "What did you say?"

Lina immediately took the box and carefully placed it in her palm. "Ms. Vito, Dario put a lot of thought into this. He'll be heartbroken if you don't accept it."

When she spoke, the ring on her ring finger sparkled underneath the lights. I stared at it and suddenly reached out. She thought I was going to take the necklace and held it out with a smile.

I didn't. Instead, I took her hand—the one with the ring on—and held it up in front of Dario. "This is a limited-edition snake-shaped ring that needs to be pre-ordered half a year in advance. It costs 180,000 dollars.

"Do you think I've never seen what a necklace that comes as a free gift with something else looks like, Dario? You sure drew a clear line between the amount of effort you put into the necklace and the ring."

I slapped the box out of Lina's hands and turned to walk away.

The look on Dario's face turned ugly. He grabbed my wrist and held on tight. "How dare you throw away my gift, Cecilia? Pick it up right now, wipe it clean, and put it on. Otherwise, the engagement is off! I might not even agree to it, even if your father begs me to!"

I looked down at his hand before slowly lifting my gaze to meet his. "I never planned on marrying you, Dario."

The ballroom fell silent for a moment. A few of the guests who had yet to leave turned to look at us.

Dario was taken aback for a moment. Then, he laughed contemptuously. "The whole world knows you've chased after me for six years, Cecilia. How could you possibly marry anyone else?"

He let go of me and stepped back, sticking his hands into his pockets and saying confidently, "It's not like you don't know the rest of my brothers and cousins. Marco is addicted to gambling, and Luca only loves men. Wait—there's also my precious older brother, Cassiano."

When he mentioned Cassiano Morandi, he sounded like he was talking about a sewer rat. "He was kidnapped when he was five and raised like an animal in an underground fighting pit for ten years. Is there anyone who doesn't know that he's a complete lunatic?"

Dario leaned in close and lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with malicious amusement. "Why don't you consider marrying him? Here's a gentle reminder, though. He broke a maid's arm with his bare hands last month, only because she accidentally touched his shoulder.

"No one in the Morandi family dares to get close to him, let alone think about finding him a wife. But if you're truly so against marrying me…"

He spread his hands, gesturing that I could do as I wished. "…Then he's your only choice."