Chapter 2

I made Enzo personalized gifts for every holiday and anniversary. He accepted them without hesitation, but he never gave me anything in return. Even a simple thank you from him felt forced.

One day, I finally asked him why he had never given me a gift.

He just smiled. "Is that really what bothers you? I thought you were different from other women. I didn't think you'd measure a relationship by what you could get out of it."

His response shut me up while making it clear that, in his eyes, I was being petty and unreasonable.

Was this how a wealthy Don treated people?

I thought about the gift order list, then about the doctor's cold words. "I'm sorry. We couldn't save the baby."

I didn't want to spend another second arguing with him.

Just as I got to my feet, I heard footsteps outside.

The lock clicked. Vivian Moroni entered the house after punching in the code, then tossed her keys onto the shoe cabinet as if she belonged here.

She didn't bother asking if she could come in. She went straight to the fridge, grabbed Enzo's usual whiskey, and pulled her own glass from the cabinet.

She stopped when she noticed me.

"Sienna, what are you doing here?"

I turned to Enzo. "Isn't this our apartment? Did you tell her that she could come and go as she pleases?"

Vivian immediately put on a hurt expression. She sat beside him and slipped her arm through his.

"I'm sorry, Enzo. I just left a nearby party and thought I'd stop by to see you. I didn't realize Sienna would be so upset to see me. I'll leave."

As she spoke, she dropped the limited-edition Hermes bag she had been carrying onto the shoe cabinet, right next to a pair of cheap flip-flops. The contrast was jarring.

"Wait."

Enzo stopped her, then looked at me. "Vivian's my guest. I pay half the rent here. I don't need your permission to have her over."

"Exactly!" Vivian exclaimed. "If Enzo hadn't agreed to split the place with you, you'd be sleeping on the streets. You couldn't afford this apartment by yourself. You're the one getting the better deal. I hardly ever come by, so why the fuss?"

She had said things like that plenty of times in front of me. I could only imagine what she said when I wasn't there.

Enzo looked at Vivian, then back at me. "She's right."

He opened his banking app and held out his phone.

"I paid the security deposit three years ago. Pay me back today. I'd rather settle it now than have people say you lived off me for three years."

He sounded so casual. It was as if the money meant nothing to him.

He didn't even look at me.

This tiny 430-square-foot apartment was the first place we rented together.

I already had a place of my own, but he hated how he couldn't get in the mood there and insisted we move.

I found more than a dozen cheaper apartments, but he didn't like a single one of them.

In the end, we chose this place. The rent and security deposit were three times what I'd been paying before. I worked three jobs to cover the difference.

"Is this really all I am to you after three years, Enzo?"

I looked him in the eye as the tears finally fell.

I wasn't crying for him. I was crying for myself, and for the baby I'd just lost before it could develop.

When he saw me crying, he slowly lowered his phone. "It was just a joke. Why are you getting so worked up?"

Vivian clicked her tongue.

"Enzo, you should end the lease next month. You can't keep letting her take advantage of you. Have her sign an IOU, too. If you don't, people are going to think you're a rich idiot who's supported a woman for three years.

"If Sienna really doesn't care about money, she shouldn't have a problem signing the IOU, right?"

If hitting her weren't a crime, I would've done it right then and there.

But I knew what would happen if I did. Our families would be dragged into a feud that could go on forever.

I might not even make it out of this apartment alive.

They had plenty of ways to make people disappear.

I'd played along with their little charade for three years. But that was enough.

I was done playing.