Chapter 3

Damon never came home for the rest of the night.

I sat by the window and calmly signed the divorce papers.

For the first half of my life, as the youngest daughter of the Moretti family, I had always only lived for other people. I spent my childhood being ignored by my own family, my adolescence being bullied by my own sister, and my adulthood as a mere substitute for said sister.

I had been trapped in my life for far too long.

Once I handed these thin sheets of paper to Damon, I could finally cast off my shackles. I could move forward in life, unburdened, and never look back again.

When I arrived at the dining room for breakfast, I saw Damon at the table with Aurora sitting in my usual spot, flirting heavily with him.

His gaze sharpened when he saw me.

"You're here, Liliana. About last night, I—"

Before he could finish, Aurora speared a piece of fruit and fed it to him.

"Here you go, Damon. How does it taste?"

I didn't want to watch them any longer and just closed my stinging eyes.

"I just lost my appetite. I'm heading back to rest," I said.

I turned to leave without waiting for him to finish. The situation before was as clear as could be. I didn't care for what he had to say to me anymore.

"Stop right there, Liliana," Damon said, his voice tinged with anger. "Is this the answer you're giving me after thinking it through the night?"

I stopped in my tracks.

Aurora immediately threw herself against Damon's shoulders, burying her face in her hands and bursting into loud tears.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault, Damon! I never should have come back! I never should have coveted the position of Donna!

"Liliana is my younger sister, but I never thought that she would hate me this much until she'd refuse to see me at all! I think… I think I should just leave now. I don't want to ruin the relationship between you both."

"Stop talking nonsense, Aurora," Damon comforted her gently. "Nobody is chasing you away."

He then turned to look at me, a look of awkwardness spreading over his formerly tense expression.

"Aurora just returned to Sivilly. I'm planning to throw a lavish welcoming banquet to welcome her back. You will be attending it as well."

Aurora sobbed again and looked at me with reddened eyes. "That's right, Liliana. We're family. You must be there. I insist," she pleaded.

I looked at her feigned pitiful expression, finding it extremely revolting.

"Of course I'll be there," I said with a scoff before turning to leave.

Why shouldn't I be there? This was the Rovelli estate, and I was Damon's rightful wife and the legitimate Donna of the Rovelli family. There was nothing for me to fear.

I summoned my stylist to take care of my hair, makeup, and gown selection. Two hours later, I strode through the banquet doors with my head held high, clad in the latest haute couture and diamond-encrusted custom heels.

The guests all turned to look at me, completely captivated. A jeweler who'd recently been collaborating frequently with the Rovelli family approached me with praise.

"I'd heard of the Don's extraordinary wife who doesn't just manage family affairs with impeccable order but also handles a gun like second nature. And seeing you now with such remarkable poise, Signora, only a beauty like you is truly worthy of being the Don's wife."

I offered her a polite smile and clinked glasses gently against hers. When I glanced up, I saw Aurora glaring at me with undisguised jealousy.

She was still wearing the same outfit she'd arrived in, surrounded by Papa, Mama, and Damon. She'd just been laughing and chatting with them just moments ago.

As I approached, she wiped the twisted look away from her face and put on a relaxed, pleasant smile instead.

"It's just an ordinary banquet, Liliana. Don't you find it exhausting to get all dolled up and dressed like this? You'd better watch out—you're going to get wrinkles on your face even quicker if you keep trying to compete with me like this!"

I paused in my tracks and locked eyes with her for a moment. Then I crossed my arms and smiled.

"Aurora, I'm afraid that you've been away from home for so long, living the life of a commoner, that you've probably already forgotten the social etiquette required for banquets like these.

"I am the wife of the Rovelli family's Don. Everything I say and do reflects on the family. If I were to appear disheveled or lacking proper manners and etiquette, wouldn't that just bring shame to the family and subject them to being a laughingstock instead?"

"You!"

Aurora was so furious that she couldn't maintain her facade of composure anymore. She clutched her chest as though she were on the verge of tears, pointed a finger in my face, and shrieked, "You're nothing but a mere substitute for me!

"You stole my life and usurped my position! Everything you have here is supposed to have been mine!"

It was ridiculous.

She was the one who had run away from the wedding. Wasn't she the one who threw this all away and handed them over to someone else in the first place?

The other guests in the banquet hall didn't understand what was happening, so they just fell silent and stared at us in shock.

However, I couldn't help laughing aloud.

"That's quite an interesting thing to say, Aurora. Do you want me to expose all your sordid, shameful thoughts right here in public?

"Was I the one who stole your position from you? No. It was you who turned up your nose at Damon Rovelli in the past because he hadn't yet secured his position as Don. You were the one who ran away from the wedding on the day itself without leaving so much as a shadow behind.

"You're just a pampered heiress unwilling to endure even the slightest bit of hardship, always foisting off what you don't want to others. So, why should I suffer in your place, brave sword and fire for you, and risk my life for an existence that I never even wanted?"

I approached Damon and Aurora, leaning in and mocking them in a low voice.

"These wretched, disgusting people, and this repulsive place—they're no better than hell itself."

"Liliana Moretti!" Damon growled at me. "Must you talk to us this way? Does being my wife, the Donna of the Rovelli family, humiliate you that much?"

His eyes were bloodshot with rage. He wasn't even done speaking when he drew the gun he always carried with him and pressed the barrel hard against my forehead.

Loud gasps erupted around us, but I simply looked at him calmly without flinching.

"Go ahead. Pull the trigger. Why aren't you shooting yet?" I asked, curling my lips into a sneer as I pressed even closer.

"Go ahead and kill me if you've got the guts. Let the whole world know that the Don of the Rovelli family just killed his Donna with his own hands—just so that her sister could take her place."

"Damon!" Aurora exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and quickly planting a soft, fleeting kiss on his cheek. "I've already learned how you felt about me last night, and I'm content with it.

"But I can't let the two of you turn against each other now because of me today. If you do, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life."

Damon just stared at me, neither refuting her words nor pulling away from her touch.

My mind reeled at Aurora's words. Last night? His feelings for her?

The sarcastic words of mockery spilled from my lips before I could stop them. "The only time you dare to put on a show of bravado is in front of me, Damon Rovelli. But when you're with Aurora, you're nothing but an obedient lapdog, aren't you?"

Damon holstered his gun and delivered a vicious slap across my face. Through the searing pain, I saw a triumphant smile play across Aurora's lips.

Mama tried to step forward to check on me, but I coldly snapped at her to stay back.

"Don't touch me!"

I stepped back and straightened up.

"I want a divorce, Damon Rovelli. Everyone here has witnessed how I helped manage the Rovelli family during the seven years of Aurora's absence. I'm also the one who saved your life.

"Therefore, I want half of the family's assets. That's not too much to ask for, is it?"