Chapter 1

When I got home, over a dozen servants lined up in front of me.

The seven o'clock banquet was about to begin. I had to change into my formal attire as quickly as possible and appear at the banquet in perfect condition. There was no room for mistakes.

But what was laid out before me wasn't my custom-made gown.

It was a dress I had never worn before.

Laughter drifted from the study.

I walked in. Only Dario and Lily were inside.

I looked at Lily's perfectly restored face and was surprised at how quickly she had recovered.

A year ago, Lily, Dario's sister Camilla Moretti, and I had handled a deal together.

Lily had relayed the wrong information, which provoked the other side.

To make matters worse, the people we were dealing with were a group of hot-headed thugs with nothing to lose.

When the shooting started, I was badly wounded protecting Camilla.

By the time I woke up, I had somehow become the one blamed for Camilla's death.

And Lily, who should have been held responsible, was hailed as the hero who had risked her life to bring Camilla's body back.

After that, I was banned from all business operations and told to be a dutiful Donna.

Lily, disfigured in the incident, had volunteered to leave for the fringe territories.

Dario stopped trusting me, and the way he looked at me grew colder by the day.

They seemed to be sharing a joke. I had never seen Dario smile like that.

He was even patiently fixing Lily's hair.

And the dress Lily was wearing was the one that was supposed to be mine.

I fought through the pain in my body and walked up to them.

"Lily, you're wearing the wrong dress."

Their laughter died. A flicker of annoyance crossed Dario's face.

Lily waved her hand with a smile, her tone dripping with smugness.

"I'm not wearing the wrong dress. Dario gave this to me himself."

I looked at Dario. His face was completely blank.

But I knew that look. He was warning me not to talk back.

Staring at the dress that fit Lily perfectly, I thought back to when I first came to this household.

My family had owed a massive debt.

After talking it over, my family unanimously decided to marry me off to the Don to settle the debt.

And so I became his first wife.

The first time I attended a banquet, a maid brought me an elegant evening gown.

I was about to put it on when Dario stopped me.

"That's not the dress you should be wearing. You should be wearing the gown made exclusively for the Donna, not some ordinary dress that says nothing about who you are."

I was stunned.

I had assumed that a loveless marriage to the Don would mean I'd never earn his respect.

But then he produced a ring and slipped it onto my finger.

That ring was the symbol of the Donna. I stared at it for a long time.

My hand was shaking badly, but I was happy.

At the banquet that night, everyone saw the ring on my hand.

They fawned over me, treated me with respect.

But now, my gown was on another woman.

Dario came up to me.

"Camilla's first anniversary is in a few days. Right now, you're nothing but a sinner. You're no longer the high-and-mighty Donna."

Then he pulled the ring off my finger and slid it onto Lily's.

I pressed my fingers over the bare spot where the ring had been and said nothing.

My eyes burned, but I refused to cry.

After putting on the ring, Lily complained of a headache.

Dario told me to go to the bedroom and get her medicine.

Once I was out of the study, I quickly wiped the tears that were about to fall.

But when I reached the room, the last thread holding me together snapped.

Everything in that room that had been mine was replaced with Lily's things.

Even the photo album on the shelf was now filled with pictures of Lily and Dario.

A sharp pain pierced my chest, and grief spread through every part of me.

I fought back tears and found the bottle of pills.

I was about to leave when the longtime butler waiting at the door immediately noticed that Lily was wearing the gown meant for me.

And the ring that symbolized the lady of the house was on Lily's hand.

The butler frowned and approached Dario.

"Don, the custom gown and ring were made for your wife alone. Giving both to Miss Bianchi is... perhaps inappropriate."

One of the Family's elders stepped forward as well.

"Don, how could you put the ring that represents the lady of the house on an outsider's hand?"

Dario cut them off impatiently.

"You think Lily is an outsider? If it weren't for Lily, we still wouldn't know where Camilla's body was. Her anniversary is coming up. Are you really going to disrespect the woman who brought my sister home?"

Dario fixed the butler with a cold stare.

"I know what I'm doing. I don't need your opinions."

The butler and the elder had no choice but to fall silent.

Dario offered Lily his arm and escorted her to the seat that had been mine.

Then he turned to me, his voice cold.

"Walk there yourself. I expect to see you before the banquet starts."

I watched the convoy pull away, tears streaming down my face.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out.

It was Rocco De Luca, head of the De Luca Family in the north.

He had sent me a message.

"Is this how he treats you?"

A video followed.

In it, Dario and Lily were kissing passionately while the crowd cheered around them.

No wonder I hadn't seen Dario once from the moment I woke up in the hospital to the moment I was discharged.

So that was what he'd been doing.

Rocco sent another message.

"Come with me. I swear to God, I would never treat you like this."

I wiped the tears from my face and replied.

"Okay."