Chapter 2

Anna's POV

Once Carlos and Liliana were gone, I switched my attention to Vittorio, who was still standing by the window. He didn't move from his spot and merely turned his head to glance at me.

"Why aren't you explaining yourself?"

A laugh escaped my lips.

If this had happened in the past, I would've definitely rushed toward him and screamed myself hoarse in a bid to clarify things, all while showing him evidence of my innocence. I would've insisted that this was all an act that Liliana was putting on.

However, no one had ever once believed a single word I said, and I was genuinely exhausted.

After learning that I had cancer and wouldn't live past this winter, I had lost even the energy to fight. All I wanted to do was quietly live out the rest of my days.

My original plan had been to tell them about it at my coming-of-age ceremony, but now, it looked like I didn't need to bother. After all, it wasn't like they cared.

"Why should I?" I lifted my head to gaze at him. "Don't tell me you don't know just how much I hate her. Yes, I purposely knocked the breakfast tray over, because every time I see her, I get so sick that I feel like puking."

His eyes were filled with confusion at my unreasonable attitude. In the end, he didn't respond and simply turned to leave.

I grew up with Vittorio and Carlos.

I was the previous Don's daughter, but my mother died young, and my father was away from home more often than not.

Vittorio was the only son of the Luciano family, but because his mother was a foreigner, he was shunned by the other members of the family.

As for Carlos, ever since his father died, his uncles had been trying to get rid of him.

Three children from three different families, all ostracized by their own families, ended up becoming each other's only support. Carlos and Vittorio once vowed that they would protect me for the rest of their lives and treat me like the most precious thing in the world.

Eventually, they slowly climbed their way up.

Carlos personally killed the four uncles who were in his way and was able to stabilize his seat as the heir to the family, while Vittorio got rid of the elders who were against him, one after another.

Everyone used to think that I was the most important person to them.

Once, I simply coughed a few times, yet one abandoned the territory deal he had just secured, while the other halted a family-ordered execution. Both then rushed back overnight to see me.

Tucked under the blanket and leaning against the headboard, I took in their travel-worn appearances, feeling somewhat amused yet exasperated.

"It's just a light cough. Is this really necessary?"

Regardless, both of them refused to leave.

"You used to be so healthy, but look at how many days you've been coughing this time. You really need to get this checked out properly."

"Territory can always be reclaimed, but a life lost is gone forever."

As the saying went, people never knew how blessed they were until they lost it all. I never understood it until the day Liliana entered our lives and everything began to change.

Liliana was an orphan my father brought back from Nabrus. Back then, she cowered on the church steps, a filthy-looking girl whose entire body trembled as she spoke.

At the time, she reminded me of a frightened kitten, and out of pity, I decided to drag her into my circle of friends. I was the one who forced Vittorio and Carlos to be friends with her.

At first, they treated her like an enemy, even reminding me, "One can never be too cautious. Aren't you worried that she'll snatch everything away from you one day? By then, it'll be no use crying."

Yet, I never bothered taking their words to heart, completely unaware that a day like that would actually come to pass.

I had no idea when it started, but they began to look at Liliana more, their gazes lingering longer and longer.

What truly lit the fuse for the conflict between us was what happened during the annual family horse-racing day last year.

Vittorio and Carlos both refused my invitation to go, claiming that they had something important to do.

However, I eventually spotted them from afar, one on either side of Liliana as she rode on the white horse that they had gifted me—a horse that even I myself couldn't bear to ride.

Urging my horse into a gallop, I charged over to them and demanded an explanation for why they had lied to me.

The loud noise startled the horse, causing it to rear up and fling Liliana from its back.

Carlos immediately lunged forward to catch her before yelling at me, "We're by your side every single day. We just weren't this one time, and you immediately came over to pick on Liliana? Since when did you become so unreasonable?"

Curled up in his embrace, Liliana shook her head. "Carlos, don't blame Anna. It's my own fault that I fell from the horse…"

Vittorio merely glanced at me, not saying a word as he took Liliana from Carlos' arms and strode off with her.

They didn't even bother giving me a chance to explain.

From then on, I became a vicious person in their eyes.

Now, however, none of that was important anymore.