Chapter 3

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We sat in front of our lawyers, the divorce papers spread out before us. After I signed my name, I silently smiled, staring at the sheets of paper.

This marked the beginning of my freedom, happiness, and revenge.

Matteo noticed and snapped at me.

"You really think you have it all figured out, don't you? You really think the grass is greener on the other side. You're going to regret this."

I smiled back at him.

"Of course you would think that."

"You dare divorce me and think you can just hand me divorce papers? You think you can hurt me with this?" he seethed.

I smiled.

"I gave you what you've always wanted. Isn't she what you wanted all along?" I said, nodding toward Alessia, who clung to his arm and gently stroked it as though she were deliberately trying to provoke a reaction from me.

"Yes, Alessia is the one I should have married. It was a mistake marrying you, but don't think you can come crawling back to me. When we're finally divorced, I don't want to ever see you again."

"I will never crawl back to you, but you'll regret betraying me and going behind my back. I'll make sure of it."

"Aha, you wish," he answered mockingly.

"You can't fight love, sis," Alessia added proudly, kissing Matteo's cheek.

Lorenzo, who had been sitting quietly all this time, finally spoke up.

"Matteo, I'm really disappointed in you. You know that Alessia and Bianca are sisters. What you did has broken her family. Why would you sleep with Alessia, and even worse, get her pregnant?"

"Dad, you don't understand," Matteo tried to defend himself.

"What I don't understand," Lorenzo responded sternly, "is how you could do this after knowing what your mother did to me, what she did to us. She cheated on me and left, abandoning you in my care without ever bothering to check on us."

"I know, Father, but..."

"But still," Lorenzo interrupted, "you went ahead and did the same thing to your wife. You know how much I despise cheating. I despise disloyalty. Why would you do that?"

Matteo hesitated before replying.

"Well... Dad, you weren't married to Bianca, so you don't understand what a difficult person she can be sometimes. And honestly, from the very beginning, I realized I should have married Alessia, not her."

Lorenzo sighed, his disappointment evident.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," he said before walking out the door.

With that, I took my things and stood to follow him outside, while Matteo and Alessia continued throwing ugly looks in my direction.

A Week Later

I knew nobody was expecting me to attend my ex-husband and sister's wedding, but there was no way I was going to miss it.

Of course, I wasn't going to attend the official ceremony itself. I was going to the celebration afterward.

That was where I was going to make my appearance.

A grand entrance.

When I showed up at the reception, making sure to be fashionably late so I could gain everyone's attention and make a memorable impression, the room suddenly fell silent.

Surprised looks, gasps, and whispers spread throughout the crowd.

I was wearing the most extravagant and beautiful dress I had ever owned, a stunning white gown that looked almost like a bride's dress.

I made my way through the crowd and headed straight for the high table.

There, Lorenzo, my ex-father-in-law, greeted me with a warm smile and pulled out a chair for me.

When all the formalities for the wedding were over and the newlyweds began making their rounds to thank everyone and engage in conversation, Matteo, now my ex-husband and brother-in-law all at once in one strange family arrangement, walked toward me.

"I knew you couldn't stay away," he said, a hint of triumph in his voice.

I didn't respond. I merely looked at him.

"You thought your mother would make a big deal out of marrying Alessia, but once she found out Alessia was pregnant, everything went smoothly from there," he continued.

I had thought about this.

My mother had always had a special place in her heart for Alessia that I could never fully understand. Matteo was clearly using this knowledge to provoke me, but I wasn't easily manipulated, especially not when I had my own trump card.

"I think you should go and be with your wife now," I said coldly.

"Of course I am. Marrying you was the worst mistake I could have made. Now, I'm so happy with my new wife, the woman of my dreams and the mother of my children. I was with you for three years and you couldn't give me a child. But with her, in just three months, I'm already going to be a father."

"I think congratulations are in order," I said smoothly.

Matteo stared at me with a mixture of confusion and irritation. "I'm already married, Bianca. You can't have me back."

"I don't want you back, Matteo," I replied calmly. "What made you think I did?"

"Then why are you here?" Matteo shot back. "You're my ex-wife, and I just married your sister. You and Alessia aren't even speaking anymore, so why did you come to my wedding if you're not here to get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness?"

I laughed sarcastically, looking at him with nothing but disdain. I couldn't believe how full of himself he had become. He actually thought I had come to his wedding because I still wanted him, even after everything he had done to me.

Before I could respond, Alessia appeared and immediately pulled Matteo closer to her, her grip on his arm possessive. She looked at me with open anger, as if my presence alone had ruined her special day.

"What are you doing here, you manipulative bitch?" she demanded. "We're already married. You and Matteo are divorced, so what do you want from me? What do you want from my husband?"

"Hey, calm down, Alessia," I said, glancing around at the guests who were now watching our confrontation. "Let's not make a scene here. This is your wedding day, after all."

Matteo's face reddened as Alessia held onto him even tighter. "Matteo already broke up with you. He divorced you, and he doesn't want you anymore. I'm carrying his child, and I'm his wife now. You can't come here and try to take him away from me."

"I never said I was interested in Matteo," I snapped. "Why do you keep assuming that I came here for him?"

Before either of them could answer, Lorenzo, my ex-father-in-law, approached us. He looked from Matteo to Alessia and then at me, clearly trying to understand why there was suddenly so much tension at the wedding reception.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lorenzo asked. "You're causing a commotion and embarrassing yourselves. What is this about?"

Matteo, who was now visibly frustrated, pointed toward me. "It's her. She just can't stay away from me. I already divorced her, but she still came to our wedding and started trying to get my attention. Who even invited her here? She isn't even speaking to her sister."

Lorenzo turned toward his son, his expression becoming firm. "You're the one embarrassing your wife, Matteo. You're standing here arguing with your ex-wife at your own wedding and causing a huge scene. That's not a good look for a newly married man who is supposed to be enjoying his wedding with his new wife."

Matteo looked even more annoyed. "Then why the hell is she here? I didn't invite her."

Lorenzo held his son's gaze for a moment before answering calmly.

"I invited her."

Both Matteo and Alessia turned toward him, their expressions filled with confusion.

"Why would you invite her?" Matteo demanded.

Lorenzo didn't look away. Instead, he calmly placed one hand in his pocket and gave Matteo an expression that made the entire atmosphere suddenly feel heavier.

"I asked her to come because she is my plus-one."

Matteo's face changed immediately, while Alessia stared at Lorenzo as if she had completely misunderstood what she had just heard.

Lorenzo continued, his voice steady and clear.

"I asked Bianca to marry me, and she said yes."

He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before delivering the final blow.

"She's my fiancée."

"What?" Alessia and Matteo asked at the same time, both staring at Lorenzo in disbelief.

"You can't be serious," Alessia added, her face twisted with shock.

Matteo looked even worse. Anger and confusion were written all over his face as he stared at his father.

"It can't be... You can't marry her. Dad, what do you mean you asked her to marry you? Do you have any idea what this is going to do to me? Everyone is going to laugh at me. You can't do this, Dad. You can't marry her. She's my wife!"

"Your ex-wife," I corrected him with a calm smile as I reached for Lorenzo's hand and held it firmly in mine.

By then, we had attracted the attention of almost everyone around us. The guests had noticed the tension and were slowly moving closer, pretending not to listen while clearly trying to hear every word. The moment they saw Lorenzo and me holding hands, the whispers began spreading through the room.

The murmurs grew louder with every passing second. I could see Matteo becoming more anxious as his face turned red with embarrassment. Alessia stood beside him, looking just as humiliated as she tried to understand how the situation had turned against them so quickly.

"Dad, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Matteo shouted, his voice rising as his desperation became obvious. "You can't marry her!"

He turned his angry gaze toward me and pointed a shaking finger in my direction.

"What did you do?" he demanded. "What did you do to my father? So you're not only barren, you couldn't give me children or make me happy, but you're also a whore? You've been sleeping with my father this whole time, haven't you? You disgusting little bitch."

"Stop right there!" Lorenzo cut him off sharply as he stepped between us.

He stood firmly in front of me, preventing Matteo from coming any closer. His voice remained controlled, but there was enough anger in it to make Matteo stop.

"Bianca has never cheated on you," Lorenzo said. "She and I have always respected each other. I have always seen her as a daughter. When you married her, she became my daughter-in-law, and she has always treated me with respect. Nothing ever happened between us while you were married."

Lorenzo paused and looked directly at his son.

"But then you decided to have a child with your own wife's sister. From that moment, Bianca was no longer your wife, and she was free to choose the life she wanted. As you can see, Bianca is beautiful, intelligent, and kind, and she makes me happy. Ever since your mother left me, I haven't been with another woman. I never thought I would want to open my heart again, but Bianca changed that."

Matteo's eyes widened as he shook his head.

"No. You can't marry her, Dad. You just can't."

"Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot marry?" Lorenzo replied, his voice turning cold. "I warned you not to divorce Bianca. I told you that you would regret what you were doing, but you refused to listen. You made your choice, Matteo, and now you have to live with it."

Matteo took a step back, his face suddenly drained of colour.

"No... No, this can't be happening."

"Yes," I said, looking directly into his eyes with a calm smile. "It is happening."

Matteo stood there speechless, staring at me as though he still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You..." he began, his voice low and bitter. "You snake. I don't want to hear another word from you."

Before I could respond, Lorenzo spoke again.