Chapter 1

I laid the divorce papers I'd prepared on Matteo Costa's desk. He didn't even glance at them before signing his name.

My feelings were a tangled mess. Once he signed those papers, we would be nothing to each other. I'd thought I would be happy about that, but his complete indifference still hurt more than I wanted to admit.

As I turned to leave, Matteo called out to me. "I couldn't go to the hospital with you yesterday, so let's go again later today."

I didn't look back. Tears were already blurring my vision.

By the time I had rushed to the hospital yesterday, Mom's body was already covered with a white sheet. Under that sheet, her eyes were wide open, as if she were still waiting for me to come. But she would never see me again.

"No need." I forced my voice to stay steady.

Matteo's brows furrowed hard. He told himself to be patient with me as he said, "I already explained things to you yesterday. Vera had an accident, so I had to rush over to help her. Your mom was already in the hospital, anyway. Seeing her a little later wouldn't have changed anything."

I felt utterly drained. I didn't want to waste another word on him. Everything that needed to be said, I'd already said yesterday.

I had told Matteo that Mom's condition had worsened and that the doctor said I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. At the time, he'd been so busy texting Vera Barbieri that he'd only been half-listening as he drove me to the hospital.

Then, the doctor called again, saying that Mom didn't have much time left and wanted to see me before she died. I had told Matteo that through sobs, but he'd only cared about answering Vera's call.

The next second, his expression had changed, and he'd kicked me out of the car. "Vera's in trouble. I have to get to her right now… Head home by yourself."

He had left me on a deserted stretch of highway, and it had taken me two miserable hours on foot to reach the hospital. No matter how fast I ran, I still hadn't made it in time to see Mom one last time.

After I'd finished arranging Mom's funeral, I'd pulled out my phone, exhausted. The screen had been completely empty—Matteo hadn't sent me a single message. All I'd seen was a notification informing me that someone I knew had posted an update.

My hands had shaken as I tapped on the notification. It was a new post from Vera, and the photo felt like a knife straight into my heart.

In the picture, the man I loved with all my heart held another woman tightly in his arms. He was looking down at her with a tenderness I'd never once seen directed at me.

Vera had captioned the photo, "As long as I turn around, you'll always be there behind me."

My fingers had clenched around my phone as the pain in my chest came crashing back, even sharper than before. In that moment, I'd finally realized that it was time to let go.

I couldn't keep lying to myself or convincing myself that Matteo was merely emotionally distant rather than truly cruel. I knew, without a doubt, that I would never be able to warm his heart. Vera, his childhood sweetheart, was the only one he would ever truly open up to.

"Alessia, are you listening to me?" Matteo asked in annoyance. His gaze landed on my back, his voice carrying a thin edge of impatience.

I slowly turned around, revealing a face streaked with tears.

His breath hitched, and a flicker of panic flashed across his usually composed features. He took a step toward me, reaching out, wanting to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

Just then, his phone started vibrating nonstop. He was about to reject the call, but when he saw the caller ID, he still answered it after a brief moment of hesitation.

The next second, his face went pale, and he bolted out of the office.

I wanted to just leave, but the look on Matteo's face had been so grim that, in the end, worry got the better of me. I followed him downstairs.

In front of La Rosa Nera's headquarters, three burly men with iron pipes in their hands had Vera surrounded. Their expressions were vicious and threatening.

Matteo ran over. Without a second thought, he stepped in front of her, using his own body as a shield.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw one of the men swing his pipe straight at Matteo's head. My heart nearly stopped as I instinctively screamed at him, "Are you insane, Matteo? You're going to get yourself killed!"

The pipe smashed into Matteo's head, and blood immediately started running down his forehead. He didn't spare me so much as a glance at me as his gaze stayed locked on the thugs.

His voice was ice-cold as he snarled, "Back off. She's the woman I swore to protect!"