Chapter 4

I smiled playfully, perfectly concealing the fire burning in my chest.

After a brief flicker of surprise, Leonardo glanced at his wristwatch. “Alright, I’ll head to Trinacria in two hours.

“We only have an hour for lunch. Let’s grab a quick bite in the restaurant upstairs.”

“Sure. I’ll use the restroom first.”

As I stepped out of the office, I heard the girls outside chatting.

“Sienna, your cat is gorgeous!”

“When did you get it? You never mentioned having one.”

Sienna stood chatting with two female colleagues, huddled around her phone.

“Look, everyone! This is a rare Ceylon cat.”

“Exactly! It’s priceless.”

Under the increasingly sycophantic praise, Sienna shot me a nervous yet smug glance.

I paid no attention to this awkward performance and headed to the restroom.

When I came out, Leonardo had already left his office. His eyes, slightly tense, were fixed in the direction of Sienna’s desk.

Pretending not to notice, I walked up to Leonard and slipped my arm through his with a smile.

“Let’s go.”

Inside the elevator, I spoke casually, “That young lady earlier looked so young. How old is she? She seemed like a high schooler.”

“No idea. New hire, I guess. Never really paid attention.”

His eager attempt to distance himself amused me. If I hadn’t known better, I might have been fooled by his feigned ignorance.

At lunch, I kept placing food on his plate while chatting lightly, showing constant concern for his health and the family’s affairs.

He swallowed his food contentedly and raised his sparkling wine.

“Good thing I have a wife who cares deeply about me. With you by my side, danger and hardship are nothing.”

I sneered inwardly but casually shifted the topic.

“Leo, now that our home and the family are quite stable, how about tomorrow you accompany me to buy that Ceylon cat I’ve always wanted?

“The name Juno can finally belong to our home.”

Leonardo froze for a moment, the clatter of his wine glass against the tableware echoing loudly.

He looked up at me, eyes flickering.

“Buy a cat? Why the sudden idea?

“Our place is small now, and you take care of everything at home yourself. If we bring a cat back, how would you manage?

“Let’s wait until we move into a bigger house. Once it’s more spacious, I can hire a nanny to help, then we’ll get one.”

I lowered my head, hiding the faint mockery in my eyes as I picked up more food.

“Hmm, alright.”

So I couldn’t buy a cat because the house was small? Because I handled everything alone?

It seemed he had already arranged even a nanny for Sienna.

Yet in our two years of marriage, he had insisted stubbornly that we not hire one.

“Giada, our house isn’t big, and the family business has just started. Every penny counts. Can you manage for now? We’ll hire domestic help once things are stable.”

Blinded by my hopes for marriage and the future, I had readily agreed to that seemingly reasonable yet utterly disrespectful request.

That “for now” had lasted two whole years.

Seeing the clear relief on his face now, I suddenly let out a soft “Hmm?”

He paused mid-wipe and looked up at me.

“Honey, how about we go buy a car tomorrow?”