Chapter 2

Just as I was about to leave the chapel, my phone buzzed with another notification.

It was from an app Rossi had personally arranged to have installed on my phone.

He frequently traveled between two countries. Sometimes, he couldn't respond to my messages right away, and he worried I would get anxious. So he'd had someone develop an app that allowed me to check his flight routes whenever I wanted.

But throughout our five years together, he'd always been good about keeping me informed, so I'd rarely opened it.

The screen refreshed, and I saw the latest flight information at the top of the screen.

At nine last night, his private jet had flown from Novaport to Aurorheim. There was no record of a return flight application.

I clenched my fists, fighting back tears as I turned and walked away.

"Donna Emily."

Footsteps sounded behind me. It was Rossi's men. They approached cautiously. "We'll take you home, ma'am."

"No need." I shook my head, removed the emblem from my chest, and handed it to them. "Please return this to Rossi for me."

Since the wedding had been canceled, the emblem belonged with the woman who was truly meant to be the Donna.

Rossi's men exchanged uncertain glances, neither of them knowing what to do.

I paid them no further attention and continued toward the exit. I had barely stepped outside the church when Rossi called.

The moment I answered, he demanded, "Emily, why are you returning the emblem?"

I hesitated for a moment, then decided not to tell him the truth.

I knew Rossi's personality. If he found out I intended to leave him, he would do whatever it took to stop me, and I no longer had the desire to keep fighting for our relationship.

"Because I want you to give it to me yourself during the exchange of vows."

Even through the phone, I could hear Rossi sigh with relief. His voice returned to its usual easygoing tone. No longer sounding so anxious, he spoke with affection and remorse.

"Emily, I didn't prepare properly this time. I should have applied for the flight clearance earlier.

"Please wait for me to come back, okay? I'll give you an even grander event than the one planned for today. The whole world will know you're mine."

As soon as he finished speaking, another voice came through the phone.

"Rossi, come take some pictures of me!"

The moment I heard that familiar voice, one that could still make my head spin, Rossi stopped caring whether I'd even had a chance to respond. His voice remained tender and loving, but his urgency was impossible to miss.

"All right, Emily. Someone here needs to report something to me. We'll talk later."

He hung up in a hurry.

Holding my now-silent phone, I had grown so accustomed to being abandoned like this that it barely surprised me anymore.

Back when Rossi and Ava were together, he had once been kidnapped by his enemies and suffered serious injuries. Afterward, Ava had cruelly broken up with him and left Novaport.

Then, half a year ago, she suddenly returned as a singer and reconnected with Rossi.

After that, Ava began invading every part of my life.

When Rossi and I were celebrating our anniversary, she claimed she had been surrounded by obsessive fans and called him away.

When we went to try on wedding dresses, she said she had injured herself in a fall at home and needed him to come help.

Even on the day Rossi and I went to apply for our marriage license, she used the excuse that she might be followed by his enemies to pull him away from me.

A gentle breeze swept past as I lowered my eyes toward the lawn nearby.

It was a rare day of beautiful weather. Children ran and played freely while their parents sat on the grass, watching them with happy smiles.

I once believed that would be the future Rossi and I would share.