Chapter 4

When I reached the villa gate, the guards blocked my path.

An angry voice rang out behind me. "You're really leaving?"

I turned around to see Dante striding toward me. His expression was ice-cold. He was furious. "Stop throwing a tantrum. Get back inside."

Alessia, who had followed him out, said gently, "Tesoro, don't be so harsh. She hasn't fully recovered yet."

Then, she turned to me, her tone soft but dripping with condescension. "I think he's just used to being taken care of by you. And he's worried about you being in danger out there alone."

She was already playing the lady of the house.

I looked at her, my gaze flat and empty. "This doesn't concern you."

Dante's laugh was bitter. "Fine. Let her go. I've been too good to her. She's forgotten her place."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping low with the sharp edge he usually reserved for enemies.

"Chiara, don't forget that everything you have, I gave you. Without me, you're just a homeless orphan."

Orphan.

The word hit my chest like a bullet.

He used to tell me, "Wherever I am, that's your home."

He used to hold me tight in his arms, promising I would never be alone again. Now, he was standing in front of his fiancée while I had been reduced to nothing.

I forced down the metallic taste rising in my throat and straightened my spine. "Don Castellano, even if I am a maid, you have no right to restrict my freedom. I'm leaving, and no one can stop me."

Dante yanked at his tie, his tone hardening. "I won't allow it. I already have enough on my plate. Don't make things more complicated."

I met his eyes steadily. "I'm leaving."

The atmosphere turned rigid, and Dante lost his patience completely.

"Enough!" He dragged his hand through his hair in frustration. "If you need rest, stay here. No one will bother you. Alessia is my fiancée, yes, but I never asked you to serve her. What more could you possibly want?"

He made it sound like I was a beggar shamelessly asking for handouts.

My throat tightened. My voice came out torn and hoarse. "I don't want anything. I just want to leave."

The color drained from his face. The air in the courtyard seemed to drop ten degrees.

I did not hesitate for a moment. I picked up my suitcase and walked away. When I was only three feet from the gate, slender fingers wrapped around my wrist.

"Wait." She wore that perfect smile, but her voice was deliberately lowered. "Chiara, don't be upset. Dante didn't mean any harm. He's just worried about you."

She paused, her tone taking on a false note of regret.

"You've spent seven years by his side, taking care of him. I know you've given him everything. He shouldn't treat you this way. But now that I'm back, you should stop deluding yourself. Even if you try to get his attention like this, you're just wasting your time."

She had finally bared her fangs at me.

I stared directly into her eyes and replied coldly, "Whatever is between Dante and me has nothing to do with you."

I tried to yank my hand free, but she only gripped tighter.

She said in that fake concerned tone, "You've wanted to marry him all these seven years, haven't you? I know you're not satisfied.

"So I'll be generous and let you try on my engagement ring. I'll grant you that wish, okay?"

Before I could refuse, she quickly slipped her ring onto my middle finger. The band was too tight. My knuckle turned white from the pressure.

The sharp pain made me instinctively shove her away.

Alessia let out an exaggerated cry and fell hard to the ground. Her eyes instantly reddened as she choked out, "Do you want to marry Dante that badly?

"I'm truly grateful that you kept Dante company for seven years in my place. If you wanted to try on my engagement ring, I would have let you. Why did you have to snatch it from me?"

I stared at her, at the diamond ring cutting deep into my flesh, at the guards pretending not to see, and at Dante's blurred figure standing in the doorway.

Everything he was seeing was exactly what she had carefully orchestrated for him to see.

My voice came out ice-cold. "Alessia, with acting skills like yours, it's a shame you're not in movies."