Chapter 3

Comments quickly appeared beneath Sofia’s post.

“The Morettis must be planning to restore the Bellini family.”

“Isn’t that Luca’s jacket?”

“A hotel suite, wine, and private company. Sofia’s first major night back in New York looks promising.”

Someone asked directly whether she and Luca were together.

Sofia did not answer. She only liked the comment.

I stared at the photographs for several seconds before closing the alliance’s private social platform.

The jacket and bracelet were real.

I no longer needed to ask why Luca had been in that room or why Sofia wanted everyone to know. If Luca believed I deserved an explanation, he would offer one. If he considered it unimportant, my questions would change nothing.

I returned to the wooden chest beside my wardrobe.

A maid was supposed to move it into storage the next morning.

“Don’t store it,” I told the housekeeper. “There are no family documents inside. Have someone dispose of it.”

He accepted the key without asking questions.

The chest scraped softly against the floor as two guards carried it away. It held more than a decade of my life with Luca, yet watching it disappear felt easier than I had expected.

During the next two days, Luca did not come to see me.

He sent several messages instead.

The first asked whether I had seen Sofia’s post.

The second explained that Sofia had become distressed after the dinner. He had taken her to the hotel, and wine had spilled on his jacket.

The third said the photographs were misleading and that he had ordered Sofia to delete them.

The post disappeared the next morning.

Luca never explained why my bracelet had been lying beside her bed.

I did not ask.

I had three days left in New York.

That afternoon, Gianna Rizzo called me. She was the youngest daughter of the Rizzo family and had known Luca and me for years.

“Several of us are having dinner tonight. Will you come?”

“I still have things to finish.”

“You’ve turned down every invitation this week.” She paused. “My cousin said the Chicago branch requested you. Are you considering it?”

“Your cousin talks too much.”

“Alessia, it’s me. You can tell me.”

“I’d rather have dinner with you without discussing my next assignment.”

“Then come. I’d like to see you.”

I wanted to see her before I left, too.

“Send me the address.”

The dinner was held in a private restaurant in Manhattan. Guards stood at both ends of the second-floor corridor.

I reached the last room and raised my hand toward the door.

Then I heard my name.

“Is Alessia really coming tonight?” Carlo Ferretti asked.

Another man laughed. “She hasn’t attended a family event in two days. Luca, did you two finally have a serious fight?”

“We didn’t fight,” Luca replied.

“Then why did she leave the alliance dinner?”

“She didn’t like that I danced with Sofia.”

“No one can blame her. Everyone knows that dance belonged to you and Alessia.”

Luca remained silent for a moment.

“I understand why she’s angry,” he finally said. “Alessia likes everything arranged in the proper order. Since our engagement, she expects me to consider her feelings before I make decisions.”

“Shouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

His voice carried no hatred, only the confidence of a man who had always been forgiven.

“But Sofia lost her father and her family’s protection. She can’t attend one dinner without being treated like a spectacle. I’m only helping her until she can stand on her own again.”

Someone asked, “What if Alessia ends the engagement?”

“She won’t.”

The answer came without hesitation.

“I love her, and she loves me. We’ve known each other for years, and we’re supposed to take over the Atlantic operation together. She only needs time to calm down.”

“And if she refuses to apologize first?”

“I’ll wait. She’ll still be beside me at my appointment ceremony.”

Hearing him say “she won’t” so easily hurt more than I expected.

For years, I had believed him when he said he loved me. Now he was waiting for me to apologize while he continued making plans for our future without asking me.

He had never considered that I might no longer want those plans.

I turned to leave.

Footsteps approached behind me.

“Alessia?”

Sofia stood at the other end of the corridor in a pale gray dress.

Before I could answer, she came forward and opened the door.

Every conversation stopped.

Luca sat at the center of the long table. The chair beside him was empty.

His expression eased when he saw me.

“Alessia.”

Gianna came over and took my hand.

“I’m glad you came. Stay for dinner?”

I glanced at the table, then back at her.

“For dinner. I have things to finish afterward.”

She nodded, and I took the open seat.

Luca turned as if he intended to explain the photographs, but my attention had fallen to his left wrist.

The platinum bracelet engraved with our initials was back in place.

Just above it, a fresh red mark circled his skin where Sofia’s black leather cord had rested.

One belonged to the life we had built.

The other had only just been made.