Chapter 5

The molten cheese splashed across my arms before I could move.

A searing pain tore through me, blistering my skin in seconds, sharp as a thousand needles piercing all at once. My throat locked—I couldn’t even scream.

“Valentina!”

For the first time, Vincent’s voice held panic. He shoved Alessia aside and rushed toward me, reaching for my arms.

“You’re burned—damn it, we need to get you to the hospital!”

I lifted my eyes to him through the blur of agony. My lips parted, but not a single word came out.

Then I heard a shrill cry.

“Oh my God, Alessia, you’re hurt too!”

Vincent froze, his attention snapping away from me. A few drops of cheese had landed on Alessia’s wrist, barely reddening her porcelain skin. But Vincent looked like the world had shattered.

Alessia shook her head bravely, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“It’s nothing. Please, see to Valentina first—she looks worse.”

Her voice trembled with selfless concern, and yet her fragility only tightened Vincent’s grip on her.

“You’ve always been delicate,” he said, voice breaking. Without another glance at me, he scooped Alessia into his arms.

“We’re going to the hospital. Now.”

Alessia clung to his sleeve.

“Brother, don’t waste time! Alessia’s in pain—you have to hurry!”

Vincent’s gaze flicked back to me once, guilt shadowing his face.

“Valentina… take a cab. The clinic is close. You’ll be fine.”

And then he was gone.

I stood there, skin scorched, stomach twisting, watching their silhouettes vanish into the night.

The restaurant staff rushed to my side, apologizing, treating my burns with hurried care. They wrapped my arms, gave me painkillers, even offered me clothes to change into. Their sympathy stung more than the burns themselves.

At the hospital, the doctor lanced the blisters with steady hands.

“Apply this ointment daily. If you follow instructions, there shouldn’t be scars,” he said kindly.

Behind him, two nurses whispered as they passed:

“They say Vincent Bonanno rented out the entire floor for Alessia. Called in three dermatologists, just because of a splash on her hand.”

“Can you imagine? That kind of devotion… women would kill for it.”

They laughed softly, moving on.

Devotion.

I almost laughed with them.

He left his wife blistered and bleeding, just to hold another woman’s hand. Yes—Vincent Bonanno was one of a kind.

By the time the dressings were finished, I was numb. Inside and out.

When I stepped out of the hospital doors, my phone lit up with a notification.

Congratulations. You’ve been accepted into the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The Academy—one of the most prestigious in Europe. I had applied two months ago, a reckless act of desperation I never expected to succeed. Especially not now, three months pregnant.

My fingers shook as I read the email. Pregnancy is not a disqualifier. We value your talent. We have wanted you here for years, Miss Harlow.

I closed my eyes. For years, I had turned them down, clinging to Vincent, convincing myself that love was worth more than art. That he would see me, eventually.

But now… Alessia was back. And the Academy still wanted me.

That night, I bought brushes, charcoal, new canvases. I cleared the dust from a part of myself I had buried the day I said “I do.”

I expected shame, or guilt. Instead, all I felt was clarity.

The next morning, I told the housekeeper I’d be out for a few days. I said nothing to Vincent. He barely noticed, his attention fixed on Alessia’s every word, her every need.

Meanwhile, I found a terrace by the sea and began sketching again, pouring my hunger, my grief, my hope into the paper.

Each line was a step away from him. Each canvas a piece of proof that I had a future outside his shadow.

The cliffs rolled down into turquoise waters, wildflowers bending in the wind. I set up my easel on a quiet terrace overlooking the waves, and for the first time in years, my lungs filled with air that didn’t smell like power, smoke, or blood.

The brush moved across the canvas almost on its own.

Three days passed like a dream. I painted until the world disappeared—until the wounds on my arms stopped throbbing, until the shadow of Vincent’s house no longer pressed down on me.

No one to scold me. No one to demand. Just the salt air, the canvas, and me.

Freedom.

When I finally powered my phone back on, the screen flooded with missed calls and messages. Over a hundred. All from Vincent.

He had never called me before. Not once in five years.

And now… one hundred and eight times.

I was still staring at the screen when Bianca’s name lit up.

The moment I answered, her voice screeched through the speaker.

“Valentina, where the hell have you been? Do you know my brother’s been tearing the city apart for you? Don’t get ideas—if you think this will make him choose you, you’re delusional. Alessia is the only one who’ll ever be mistress of this family!”

The line went dead.

I lowered the phone slowly, my chest tightening.

Vincent Bonanno, frantic, searching for me?

Why?

I should have laughed. Instead, my fingers trembled as I stared at the 108 missed calls.

For the first time in years… he was the one chasing me.

He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know I’ve been accepted. He doesn’t know I’ve already started preparing my portfolio. He doesn’t know I’m ready to leave.

He may be panicking now, clawing at the silence I’ve left behind, but it changes nothing. My scars have already hardened into armor, and my heart no longer bends toward him. Let him rage, let him beg, let him burn in the ruins of what he destroyed—because I will not look back.