Chapter 2

Saul trembled in fear.

"Nina, that's utter nonsense!"

I turned to Nina and told her clearly, "I don't believe that. You don't have to feel guilty."

Nina's eyes flickered as she let out a sigh.

"Stella, this has nothing to do with you. I should bear the consequences myself, whatever happens. You have your own future ahead of you. How could I sacrifice you just to protect myself?"

I fixed my gaze on her.

"If you truly believe in karma, why do you even bother stopping me? I've already decided to marry into the Conte family in your place, so I can handle whatever comes my way. You don't need to feel guilty."

Not expecting me to say that, Nina froze.

Meanwhile, Tristan's gaze landed on me.

"Nina said marrying me means a lifetime of suffering. Aren't you scared?"

I turned to look at him and met his gaze without flinching.

"I'm not scared. When I was three, I knelt in front of the Farro residence, begging them to save my mom. I was drenched in the rain until the fever almost took my life. After surviving that night, nothing else could ever be more frightening."

The moment I said that, the entire scene fell silent.

Tristan studied me for a long moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

"It seems that the Farro family is capable of raising a decent daughter, after all. We'll put this marriage arrangement on hold for a couple of days."

He then left with the marriage contract prepared by his mother, Teresa Valvano.

If it hadn't been for Saul's father, Dante Farro, who had saved Teresa years ago, the Farro family would never have been chosen for this marriage alliance.

Everyone waited until nightfall, but no one from the Conte family came to call off the marriage arrangement. Only then did we finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I went to the hospital. Mom lay in bed, gazing at me with worry.

"Stella, you shouldn't have offered yourself today. Don't you know who Tristan Conte is? He definitely won't let you off easily now that you've offended him."

I glanced at the IV bag, which was almost empty, then pressed the call button.

"Mom, if we offended Tristan, none of the Farros will escape his wrath. I don't want to be dragged down by Nina's selfishness. I need money, and the Farro family can't go down."

Mom parted her lips and was about to say something when footsteps sounded outside the door.

Nina didn't even bother knocking and walked straight in. She frowned slightly at the sharp smell of disinfectant in the ward.

She glanced at the bedpan that was still sitting beneath the bed, waiting to be cleaned.

"Maria Zanni, you're still part of the Farro family. Don't embarrass us here. That's really disgusting. Why can't you hire a caregiver to clean up? You need to remember to keep up appearances, especially when you're out in public."

I smoothed out the blanket and looked at her.

"Of course it can't compare to where you live. After all, we can't afford things like those rare sandalwood incense sticks that cost tens of thousands of dollars."

Forget her precious sandalwood incense. I couldn't even afford the cheapest incense out there.

There was no need to waste money on that. If praying worked, Mom would've recovered ages ago.

I had never gone head-to-head with Nina. She stared at me, her brows knitting instinctively.

"Stella, weren't you always so good at keeping quiet? What happened today? You finally decided to speak up? Don't tell me that you think making an appearance in front of Tristan today will change your fate. Do you really think you can take my place and marry him?"

She wore an expression of helpless acceptance, as if she were simply stating an undeniable truth. "Some things are simply meant to be. There are things I may not even care for, but if fate has chosen them for me, no one can take them away. Just like the fact that you were born an illegitimate daughter. That's the life you were given, and no matter how hard you try, you can never change it."

Her eyes swept over my face with pity as she clicked her tongue.

"Is all you see in life love and money? How naive. You should learn from me and focus on finding peace within yourself, instead of chasing after these things. Pursue independence and freedom."

I was indeed an illegitimate daughter because Mom had been forced against her wishes back then. That was a fact I couldn't change.

Yet, I didn't understand it.

What Nina was really saying was that the marriage alliance with the Conte family was not something they could just walk away from. She had already made up her mind to marry Tristan.

Yet, she had publicly humiliated Tristan that day. Even though the Farro family risked losing the deal that could save them, she was still determined to pursue her freedom.

Her words and actions were so contradictory, but some people still failed to see it and even praised her for being above worldly concerns and staying true to herself.

"If you truly didn't care about these things, you wouldn't have insisted on burning sandalwood incense that costs tens of thousands of dollars."

I gazed at her solemnly and continued, "If you're sincere, why would God care how much the incense you burn costs?"