Chapter 3

I went back to the bedroom and looked at the closets full of clothes.

Every single piece held a memory, a broken promise.

The red silk evening gown. Matteo said the color was like blood, like a rose, like his love for me.

The white cashmere coat. He bought it for me in Paris, said it would protect me from the Chicago cold.

The black lace lingerie, his favorite…

Every one of them was a monument to a lie.

I started to pack, then stopped. These clothes weren't mine. They were costumes for a life that was a lie. He could keep them.

“Natalia.”

An hour later, Matteo’s voice came from downstairs, low and tired.

My hand froze in mid-air.

“Make me the tea and bring it to the study,” he said. “I have a long night ahead of me.”

The calming tea.

For years, whenever Matteo had trouble with business or insomnia after an attack from a rival family, he’d have me make it for him.

I’d made it for him countless times.

And every time, he’d say only my tea could help him sleep.

“I will,” I replied softly.

This would be the last time.

With a sigh, I stood up and went to the kitchen.

I didn’t expect to see Cecilia there.

When she saw me, a smirk played on her lips.

“Natalia, your patience is really something else. I thought you were going to storm in and rip my clothes off.”

As she spoke, she deliberately pushed out her chest, showing off the angry red hickey on her collarbone.

“Is that right?” I looked down, taking out the herbs one by one. “Would you like a cup? This batch just came in. Six thousand dollars a pound.”

My calmness threw her.

She looked me up and down like I was some kind of freak.

“Do you know why he needs that tea tonight?” Cecilia leaned against the counter, hiking her skirt up even higher. “Because we were going so wild in the study. He said you never get him that worked up.”

“And you want to know the real reason he married you? It was a bet. Between him and me.”

My hands stopped.

“What bet?” I turned to face her.

Cecilia’s smile grew wider. “A bet that if he married the Rossi family’s grieving little princess, he could get those old men in your family to hand over control of the docks.”

“And you know what the stakes were?” Cecilia went on. “I had to sleep with him 30 times. As long as you married him, willingly…”

“Cecilia, what the fuck are you talking about?!”

Matteo’s tall frame filled the kitchen doorway.

His face was a storm of panic and guilt, his eyes shooting daggers at Cecilia.

But Cecilia didn’t flinch. She just wrapped her arms around his neck.

“What did I say that was wrong? Matteo, you know you only agreed to this marriage to win the bet.”

Matteo’s expression was a mess.

He looked like he wanted to argue, but he just opened and closed his mouth, speechless.

His eyes darted away, unable to meet mine. Guilt and confusion were written all over his face.

I stood there, frozen, Cecilia’s words ringing in my ears.

Six years ago, my father died, leaving behind the docks and a massive fortune. Every family wanted a piece.

But I chose Matteo.

Because he saved my life when we were children. Because I’d been secretly in love with him for ten years.

I married him in secret, against the wishes of my family.

The day we registered our marriage, I was too excited to sleep.

I thought he’d finally noticed me. I thought that when he saved me all those years ago, it meant something. I thought he’d fallen for me, too.

Now, the brutal truth felt like a poisoned dagger, gutting every fantasy I ever had.

“Natalia…” Matteo started.

I knelt down and quietly picked up the scattered herbs.

“He won’t need the tea,” I said, standing up, my voice terrifyingly calm. “It looks like you’ll have him sleeping soundly tonight.”

Cecilia smirked in triumph. Matteo just stood there, his face a storm of emotions.

I turned to leave.

“Natalia, wait…” Matteo called after me.

I didn’t turn back. “Is there anything else you need to say? About the bet?”

“It’s not what you think…”

“Then what is it?” I spun around and stared into his eyes. “Matteo, look at me and tell me the truth. When you married me, was there ever a single moment you did it because you actually cared for me?”

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Cecilia giggled beside him. “See? He admits it.”

I just nodded and turned away in silence.

Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, my encrypted phone rang.

It was Matteo.

“Natalia, what Cecilia said this afternoon… she was just making it up. Don’t take it to heart.”

His voice was urgent, like he was terrified I’d believe her.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I understand everything now.”

“No, you don’t! Maybe it started with business, but I fell in love with you.”

Perhaps my overly calm demeanor made Matteo uneasy. He said anxiously.

“I swear, next month, I’ll give you a real wedding at Lake Como.”

I closed my eyes.

The same promise he’d been making for five years.

“Matteo,” I began.

“What?”

I was going to tell him the truth. “Are you free tomorrow? About the alliance agreement and our marriage…”