Chapter 5

A flicker of surprise crossed Carlo's eyes. He clearly hadn't expected me to reject his closeness. In the past, this would have been exactly what I had longed for.

Anger and embarrassment flashed across his face. He slammed the door to the guest bedroom and stalked off to another room. Once he was gone, I collapsed into bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Since I had stopped overthinking everything, even falling asleep had become easy.

The next morning, my godfather, Giovanni Esposito, called.

Somehow, he had heard that I was headed to Porta Nova and offered to see me off. I politely declined, but he insisted that he had already reserved a table and wanted me to join some family friends for a small gathering. At that point, I could hardly refuse.

When I arrived that evening, Carlo was there as well. As a friend of Giovanni, his presence wasn't surprising. What was unexpected was Lucia. Even in such a private gathering, Carlo had brought her along.

When Carlo saw me, he gestured for me to sit down, but I pretended not to notice. Standing together, Carlo and Lucia looked perfectly matched. I decided it was better not to interfere.

Lucia caught my eye and smiled with a hint of provocation, then quickly masked it with a faux apology. "Sorry for crashing your gathering. I was just bored, and Carlo decided to bring me along."

Carlo seemed about to speak, but his words died on his lips.

I lifted my glass with a smile and said, "Since godfather doesn't mind, I won't either."

I took a small sip.

As I chatted with others, my phone kept buzzing nonstop. When I picked it up, I saw a message from Carlo.

"I only brought her along casually. Don't read too much into it. If it bothers you, I won't bring her next time."

The last message read, "After dinner, let's go home together."

I cleared my throat and typed back, "No need. You and Lucia go ahead. I drove myself here."

Then I ignored the notifications and gave my full attention to the gathering.

The gathering was lively, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Giovanni's eyes were red from the wine as he stood and raised his glass to me.

"Anna, you are the godchild I am most proud of. Your dream has always been to work in Porta Nova. I never understood why you stayed in Astonia all those years ago."

He paused, then continued, "But now, it's different. You're finally going to Porta Nova. I know your late parents would be proud. Here's to you, wishing you a smooth journey and a bright future."

I smiled warmly, raised my glass, and drank it in one go. Across the table, Carlo stared blankly, as if he had just heard something unbelievable.