Chapter 3

[Isabella's POV]

The house was still empty when I woke up.

There was a text message from Vincenzo. "Babe, I'm a little too busy today and can't take the day off. But don't be mad. I'll come home and accompany you tomorrow no matter how busy it gets. I also got you a present. Just wait for me to come home, alright?"

Right under his text message notification was another one from Claudia. She had sent a photo an hour ago. It was a selfie of them both at the hot springs, looking like they were having the time of their life. The smiles on their faces were exceptionally eye-piercing.

I gripped my phone harder, almost unable to stop myself from calling him right then and there and asking him if he was busy closing a business deal or having fun with his "adoptive sister".

However, when I thought about my plan, I suppressed the anger and replied to him with an "Okay."

It was fine that he wasn't coming back today. I could start packing up without worrying about him.

I packed up all the clothes Vincenzo had ever given me and put them into a box, ready to donate them to a shelter.

I removed our portraits from the wall and fed them into the paper shredder. I had once written him a hundred well-wishes too, and I took them all out and burned them in a fire on the balcony.

The next day, Vincenzo finally came home.

As soon as he caught sight of me, he immediately set down the cake in his hands and threw his arms wide open as he hurried toward me. "I'm so tired, Isabella! Can I recharge with a hug?"

I took a step back, neatly avoiding his hug.

Vincenzo cocked an eyebrow. "Are you still mad at me? Don't be mad. Come, I prepared a surprise for you."

He didn't say anything, he just pulled me into the car and drove off really fast.

The vehicle finally stopped in front of a new building that looked very modern.

"Do you like it?" he asked, pointing at the building. "This is my gift to you—the Isabella Wright Microsurgery Research Center. It has the most advanced equipment and laboratories in the world. I know you've always wanted a place where you could focus on surgical research."

He lifted the silk cloth, and a bronze plaque with my name on it was revealed. Everyone gasped in amazement.

"Wow, Mr. Cosley has been so kind! I hear the cost of this centre is extremely high!"

"It's not just about the money! Many of the precision instruments here are only available in a few other places in the world. Mr. Tang pulled in his entire network to secure them!"

"Dr. Wright! You are so lucky! Don Cosley has spoiled you!"

The corners of my lips tugged upward in a self-deprecating chuckle.

Everyone knew Vincenzo as someone who loved spoiling his wife to the moon and back, but nobody knew who he was really treating as his "wife". It was true that he wore his heart on his sleeve, but that love had never been solely just for me.

The opening ceremony featured a demonstration of a nerve bundle anastomosis surgery, which I found easy.

I looked closely at the microscope, thinking hard about the pain and sadness of the past. I used all of this to make the surgical stitches, which were as fine as a strand of hair.

Vincenzo stood outside the glass, smiling when he looking at me. He never took his eyes off me.

As the surgery reached its most critical stage, I saw him make a big heart gesture through the glass. I felt my heart race, my hand shook, and the sharp blade cut my hand.

But even before the pain started, I felt sick. I breathed evenly, concentrated, and did the last steps well.

As soon as I put the instruments down, Vincenzo came in, grabbed my arm, and took me to the recovery room without saying anything. He treated my wound with iodine.

"Are you tired? I shouldn't have had you perform such a challenging surgery just after your arrive."

He held my hand very carefully, as if it was made of glass.

The pitying look in his eyes looked genuine too. However, I only felt shivers all over my body, and I felt the urge to throw up.

I never thought that he could make it seem as though he really loved me for real.

Seeing that I was a little out of it, Vincenzo grabbed me by the hand and leaned down to kiss me.

Just then, the door was suddenly thrown wide open.

Vincenzo didn't even look up. He grabbed a bottle from the table and immediately threw it at the door.

"Get out!"

I turned to look and saw Claudia standing at the door.

It was only then that Vincenzo realized it was her. His expression changed. "Claudia? What are you doing here?"

She held a hand to the red mark on her forehead and bit her lip, looking like a pitiful creature. There was also some mud on her clothes, and she looked rather disheveled as well.

"I came nearby to buy baby supplies for my little one. I heard you were here, so I thought I should stop by... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you!"

She then turned and ran off with a sob.

Vincenzo went quiet for a few seconds. Then, he quickly pecked me on the cheek and said, "I'll go and take a look at her injury and be back in a few minutes. We'll just be at the door. Call me if you need anything."

He then grabbed the first-aid kit and ran out the door, not even bothering to leave me with a band-aid.

A few minutes later, I slowly opened the door. It was empty. They certainly weren't "at the door" as he had claimed.

I suddenly felt a flash of disappointment. However, I quickly suppressed the feeling as soon as I realized it. I should have expected it anyway.

I walked alone toward the research center's garage, planned to go home first.

However, just as I reached the car, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

I could hear faint voices coming from the car where the windows hadn't been tightly shut.

I then caught sight of two overlapping figures from the window of the car. Vincenzo was frowning as he carefully treated Claudia's wound.

The car then shook a little, and I saw that Claudia had climbed onto his lap.

Vincenzo stopped her wandering hands and said patiently, "Stop making a scene, Claudia. You just gave birth a while ago. Also, this car belongs to Isabella—"

"It's fine. I've already fully recovered. It's been two months since then… Don't you want to know how I feel down there now?"

A short while later, Vincenzo's breathing became shallow and erratic. Their hums and moans kept drifting out from the car. I stood frozen to the ground, my blood curdling on the spot.

The keys in my hand fell to the ground with a clang.

I immediately snapped out of it and wanted to make a run for it. However, I quickly realized that nobody inside the car had even heard a thing.

I laughed. I laughed so hard that I began to cry.

The car continued shaking. I bent down to pick up the keys and returned to the lounge.

When Vincenzo finally pushed open the door to the observation room again, I was still sitting in my seat in the exact same position where he had left me.

He sighed in relief and straightened his collar before coming up to me. "Let's go, Isabella. We're going home."

I caught sight of the fresh bite mark on the side of his neck. Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything in my chest this time.

I refused the hand he reached out to help me with and walked to the car on my own. When I pulled the door to the front passenger seat open, though, I saw that Claudia was in the driver's seat.

Vincenzo hurriedly explained, "Claudia wants to go back with us. She just got her driver's license, so she could use some practice. You're a lot better at driving than she is, so you can help navigate the road. Alright?"

Before I could protest, Vincenzo had already pushed me into the front passenger seat.

If I had known then that Claudia's license was fake, I would never have gotten into the car in the first place.