Chapter 2

But in that instant, a chill ran down my spine.

A Mafia heir—Would actually betray his family's honor.

I had always thought his gentleness and thoughtfulness were expressions of love.

I thought his helping hand in rescuing me from despair was instinctive, an act of selflessness.

Now I understood completely—Everything he did was merely a cover for his true purpose:

To protect another woman.

I closed my eyes, unable to look him in the eye any longer.

I helped him to bed and tucked him in.

Perhaps because of the Mafia family's recent troubles, he quickly fell asleep.

I sat by the bed for a long time before getting up and going to his study.

The study door had a combination lock.

He had never told me the password, nor had he ever let me in, always saying it contained confidential Mafia family documents.

I had never questioned him, believing trust itself was enough, until doubt crept in and pushed me to try the password I had once guessed, only to have the door open and confirm a truth I had never wanted to face—

It was Pera’s birthday.

As I flipped through the contracts he had signed over the years, it became impossible to ignore that every single one revolved around Pera, and even though I had never set foot in the family business, I could still see it with brutal clarity—

He had given up staggering profits without hesitation, meticulously binding every enterprise the family owned to her interests, while I remained entirely outside that world.

Pera kept a close eye on the latest developments in the financial, artistic, and theatrical worlds.

Therefore, large sums of money were regularly transferred into her accounts.

When I opened the safe, I was stunned.

There were no business reports.No confidential documents.

Only photographs.

Every single one was a photograph of Pera.

The most recent one was taken two days ago.

Pera attending an event as Mrs. Sam.

Pera and Sam's wedding photo.

Sam's face was deliberately blacked out; only Pera was clearly visible in the photo.

Hundreds, even thousands, of photographs. No, thousands upon thousands.

Below the photos were purchase records—

He bought priceless antiques from museums,and then deliberately lost them to Pera at the casino.

The love of a Mafia heir is secretive, disciplined, and absolute.

But tragically—It was never for me.

Faced with such blatant fidelity,those moments I once mistook for love,vanished.

Each photograph pierced my heart like a needle.

I remembered the gifts he had given me over the years.

Now I understood—They were nothing but compensation.

Yet he told me they were all specially prepared for me.

I laughed inwardly and closed the safe.

It was time to leave.

I logged onto the city government website and submitted an application to cancel my legal status.

Three days later,the name Shirley would be completely erased from Italy.

Three days.

Enough to end this twisted marriage.

That night, I didn't sleep a wink.

At dawn, I went to wash up.

My phone kept vibrating—

Messages flooded in, confirming that I had deleted my account and closed it.

Just then, Seamus's questioning voice came from behind me.

"Shirley…what did you delete? Why are there so many messages?"

My heart skipped a beat.

I calmly took the phone from him, glanced at the notifications, and replied casually:

"Probably spam. I recently entered a prize draw."

I turned to the mirror, nonchalantly applying skincare products, and asked casually:

"Weren't you supposed to have a meeting with another Mafia family today?"

"Go ahead," I added softly."Don't be late, it's not good to keep them waiting."

He didn't press further.

"Thank you, darling," he said softly.“You’re such a loyal Donna.”

I smiled and said nothing as he spoke, and when he softly offered,

“As a reward, how about I prepare a surprise for you today?”

I agreed without hesitation, telling him I would be waiting, my voice calm enough to deceive even myself.

Shortly after he left at noon, the butler brought in lunch, carefully arranged down to the smallest detail, exactly the same as it had been every year, from the same restaurant he knew I liked;

Once, I had mistaken that kind of attentiveness for love, but now I understood that it was nothing more than a form of compensation—

One he could never truly repay—because if he had ever loved me, he would have sat down and eaten with me, even just once.

And yet, once upon a time, he had eaten food I didn’t like—food that Pera loved—believing he had hidden everything perfectly.

He believed I would never find out, believed I would remain silent, believed I would never disturb Pera’s life, his certainty so absolute it left no room for doubt.

Until that certainty curdled into something bitter enough that I calmly pushed the untouched lunch aside and threw it to the family dog.

This deception—lasted for years—finally ended.

Then I went to the auction house.

I sold everything he had ever given me.

Jewelry, luxury goods, bonds, stocks.

I got five million dollars from the sale.

That night, I attended a party at the Seamus family home.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, whispers filled the room.

"That must be Shirley—Seamus's wife. She's gorgeous."

"No wonder he cherishes her so much."

"Look at that necklace—a family heirloom. Never given to outsiders."

They didn't know—That necklace—was a fake.

The real necklace was given to Pera long ago.

I only found out last night.I loved him deeply.But he never loved me.