Chapter 3

I did not try to defend myself. "Your mistress disrespected me, so I gave her a slap to teach her a lesson. If you want to stand up for her, you can slap me back."

Matteo froze for a few seconds before letting out an angry laugh.

“How could I ever hit you? Sofia, stay here and think about what you’ve done.”

The entire time, the woman in his arms, Riley, said nothing. However, her eyes sparkled with satisfaction, and every now and then, she shot me a smug look.

I was exhausted, and honestly, I was done. After they left, I started packing my things. Yet, looking through everything in the room, I realized there was nothing I wanted to take with me.

Every single thing in this house had been a gift from Matteo, yet his assistants had picked everything out while he barely paid attention, signing off on gifts without ever caring what they were. From Riley’s social media posts, however, I knew Matteo had personally made things for her by hand. Every gift was made with genuine love.

Just as I was lost in thought, Matteo suddenly came back. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and said, “Why are you packing so late at night? Are you planning to run away? Or are you getting ready to travel overseas with me to clear your head? Sofia, you shouldn’t have laid a hand on Riley earlier. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”

Without waiting for a response, he leaned down to kiss me. When I turned away, he paused, clearly surprised, before letting out a low chuckle.

“What’s wrong with you? Frigid now?”

“I don’t feel well. I’m not interested.”

Matteo hated being rejected. Still, he lowered his head and kissed my forehead instead.

“But you’re my wife. You’ll be by my side, even when we’re fifty or sixty.”

The old me would’ve clung to words like that and convince myself that I was the one who would stay by his side until the end. Now, I pushed him away gently and continued packing.

Matteo was about to say something when his phone rang. The moment he answered, his expression softened immediately.

“Okay, okay. I’ll come and see you right now. Don’t cry. Hearing you cry makes my heart ache,” he said patiently.

Riley’s choked voice came through the phone. “But if you leave, what about Sofia? It’s already past one in the morning… Did I interrupt both of you in bed?”

Matteo answered honestly, “No.”

As he spoke, he was already getting dressed and heading out the door.

I quietly wiped the tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. Then, the phone on the table vibrated. I thought it would be a message from Matteo trying to explain himself, but when I picked it up, it was Dad calling.

“The immigration paperwork has been processed. As for you and Matteo…”

“I’m divorcing him, Dad.”

He fell silent for a moment before he finally said, “I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

I choked back my tears and agreed.

At dawn, just before boarding the plane, I took one last look at the photo of Matteo and me on my phone and deleted it.

Matteo Cross, we would never see each other again.