Chapter 2

The next evening, a black bulletproof sedan eased into a top-tier luxury jewelry store designated as a neutral zone.

Dante was behind the wheel. He brought Silvia into a private VIP vault that was never open to clients.

"Yesterday was your birthday. The Heart of the Sea arrived. I had it taken from an Azantrian warlord last year. I thought you should see it."

Silvia's right shoulder was still unhealed. The wound had yet to form a scab, and her expression was faintly unfocused.

There had been a time when their feelings were mutual. He had chosen her birthday for their wedding and promised that every year, on that same day, he would present her with a rare jewel as a pledge.

After that, another person came between them.

"Is your injury still painful?"

Dante met her eyes briefly in the rearview mirror, an uncharacteristic gesture of concern.

Silvia almost believed that what she had endured the night before, the ordeal of being stitched without anesthesia, had left him uneasy.

That belief faltered with Lucia seated beside him.

"Dante, the security here is incredible. It looks like something out of a film!" Lucia said brightly.

Silvia swallowed the sour weight in her chest. Her thoughts drifted to her mother, Rosetta Ceretti, and the words she had spoken before she died.

The Valenti family had once helped them. In repayment, Silvia had been trained harshly from a young age and had devoted herself to Dante's protection.

Now, even with someone else at his side, she continued to endure, honoring Rosetta's final wish.

In the inner room, the manager stepped forward in white gloves and presented a velvet case with both hands.

"Don Valenti, this is the piece you personally selected. The main diamond is 20 carats, with exceptional clarity. There is only one like it in the world."

The blue diamond was deep and luminous, recalling a tear taken from the sea itself.

Silvia's breath caught. Without thinking, she reached out, as though reaching for something she once believed in.

"It's beautiful! I've only seen diamonds like that on TV," Lucia said, her tone full of envy.

Her gaze soon dropped, and her voice softened.

"Silvia is so fortunate. I grew up in a slum. I nearly died fighting over a glass marble."

Dante had been examining the diamond's cut. Lucia's words drew his thoughts back to her past, to the years she spent fighting to survive, and pity quietly took hold.

He decided on the spot, his eyes crinkling with the same easy smile at Silvia. "Silvia, there's a tactical flaw in this necklace. It's not right for you."

Her fingers curled slightly. Her mood sank inch by inch.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"You're responsible for my security. You're the family's sharpest blade. A necklace with a complex chain like this becomes a noose the moment a fight turns close range."

It was Silvia's birthday gift—proof that she was his wife, not just his soldato. She wasn't willing to compromise.

"Relax. No one in this area can get close to me."

Her pushback made Dante frown. He took it as stubbornness.

"I didn't say you can't wear it. But practicality comes first if you want to stay alive. Listen to me."

When he finished, his gaze shifted to Lucia's neck, and his voice softened. "Lucia, you've got a solo exhibition next week. As someone under my protection, how you present yourself reflects the family. I won't have other families looking down on you.

"Take this necklace and wear it. It'll hold the room."

Lucia looked up in shock, tears shining as she waved her hands. "I can't, Dante. That's Silvia's—"

"Don't refuse me," Dante cut her off. He picked up the priceless necklace and stepped behind her.

"Silvia doesn't care about dressing up. It'll just sit in a safe and gather dust. This suits your skin. With this on, I'd like to see who dares question your background."

He lowered his head and fastened the clasp at Lucia's neck, focused and gentle, every inch the devoted husband.

Silvia stood where she was, like someone who'd wandered into a world that was never meant for her.

Only after everything was settled did Dante seem to remember she was supposed to be the focus tonight.

"Oh, right. Didn't you have your eye on that Eisenland tactical knife before? I'll have the arms dealer send it over. I'll make it up to you with a top-tier personal combat loadout."

How considerate! He gave jewelry to the woman he loved and weapons to the soldato.

Silvia stayed stubborn. "I don't want compensation. I want what belongs to me."

Dante's gaze cooled, a warning slipping into his voice. "Don't push it! Top-grade weapons on the black market cost just as much as that pile of stones. I'm thinking of you.

"Wearing something like that while fighting is a good way to get yourself killed faster. Is that what you want?"

Lucia sensed the shift at once and hurried to explain, "Silvia, please don't be upset. I'm only borrowing it for a few days. If you really want it, I'll take it off right now."

She made a show of unfastening it, but her "clumsy" fingers couldn't get the clasp to budge, and panic reddened her eyes.

Dante pressed Lucia's hand down, his expression turning cold. "Enough! It's just a necklace. Is this really worth being this aggressive?"

He couldn't be bothered to look at Silvia again. He pulled Lucia along and strode for the door. "Ignore her. Come on. I'll take you to try the matching couture. Don't let this ruin your mood."

The manager stood awkwardly with the empty box. "Donna Valenti, how—"

"Throw it away."

A sharp burn flared again in Silvia's right shoulder. She drew her coat tighter around herself and let out a quiet breath.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I don't think I can hold on much longer. If I can't carry out your wish someday, please don't hold it against me."

She whispered the prayer to herself and tipped her head back, forcing the tears down.