Chapter 3

Perhaps because I was so calm, Antonio took me back to the bedroom.

He rested his chin in the crook of my neck, his voice softening. "Ella, we're at a critical stage of the merger. Isabella's been a huge help, and I can't offend her now."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and switched our location sharing to always on.

"You can see where I am anytime. I promise, once this busy stretch is over, I'll make time for you. Okay?"

I lowered my eyes to the red dot marking his location on the screen.

I'd spent countless nights wondering whether his affection was genuine, terrified of losing him.

Now I finally had my answer.

I'd been so afraid of losing him because I loved him.

But I was slowly letting go of that love. Whether he'd ever truly cared for me no longer mattered.

"Okay," I said sweetly, patting the back of his hand. "I'll wait for you."

The next afternoon, while stuffing some everyday clothes into a suitcase, I opened the location app.

Antonio's red dot had crossed half the city and stopped at a hot spring spa in the suburbs.

I opened our chat. His last message still said he was attending a family meeting that morning.

I raised an eyebrow and called him.

The phone rang for a long time before Isabella answered. "Antonio wore himself out working earlier. He's in the sauna right now. If it's urgent, I can pass along a message."

I knew Isabella was testing how far she could push me.

She was waiting for me to lose it, just so she'd look calm and collected by comparison.

I paused for two seconds, then said sincerely, "Thanks for all your hard work, Ms. Rossi. Running the family accounts and keeping Antonio company in the sauna, too. That must be exhausting."

Then I hung up without another word and went back to packing.

Just as I zipped the suitcase shut, Antonio burst in, his eyes bloodshot.

"Ella, what did you say to Isabella on the phone?"

I frowned. "I didn't say anything.

"Antonio, you're hurting me."

"You're still denying it?" Antonio stared at me, disappointment written all over his face. "After your call, Isabella was so shaken that she rushed out of the spa and got into a car accident.

"If anything happens to her, the entire merger could fall apart!"

He was blowing up at me over another woman. I looked at him and said calmly, "I told you. I didn't do anything."

"Enough!"

He shoved my hand aside and looked down at me. "Ella, you've spent so long relying on me that of course you'd feel threatened when a more accomplished woman comes along. It's only natural to feel angry and jealous."

He paused, his voice turning cold. "But that doesn't give you the right to provoke Isabella. She's not some pampered pet who spends her days cooped up in a mansion like you. Keep your underhanded tricks away from her."

My ears rang. Old Mary's words flashed through my mind.

A pet has to know she's a pet. Never ask the master where he is. Never ask for so-called equality or dignity.

Because to them, we're just an expensive asset.

Old Mary was right. But I was done living by her rules.

Antonio's phone rang. He answered, and his face changed. "A mild concussion? I'll be right there!"

He seized my wrist and dragged me toward the door.

"Antonio, let go! It hurts!"

I stumbled along as he dragged me out of the living room, into the elevator, and down to the underground garage.

And just like that, I knew what I had to do.

I might have been a nobody, but I was done being anyone's caged pet.