Chapter 3

Raimondo's car stopped in front of a villa.

Anna, wrapped in a nightgown, was already waiting outside. The moment she saw him, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him like they couldn't stand being apart for even a breath.

"Don Brocchi, you've already spent three hours and fifteen minutes with her. I only got three minutes with you earlier. I'm jealous."

He kissed her forehead with unmistakable indulgence. "I gave you that entire rose heart in the garden the other day for our anniversary. Was that not enough? Anyway, I'm all yours tonight. I promised you, Anna. As long as you don't let Cassia find out about us, everything she has, I'll give you double."

Anna's fingers trailed along his chest through the fabric of his shirt, tracing the lines of his muscles.

"You're bringing up those roses? The nerve of you. If I hadn't reminded you it was your wedding anniversary and told you to clear out the roses in the garden, you would've exposed yourself before her.

"The roses you gave me are sitting in her estate now. What do I have? You can't blame me for not being satisfied when I don't even have the real thing."

Raimondo lifted her effortlessly onto his shoulder. "Well, you have me now."

Their laughter echoed through the silent night, lingering long after they disappeared inside the villa.

So, even the roses hadn't been meant for me. They were secondhand props, given to Anna first before getting recycled back to me.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel. For a split second, I wanted nothing more than to slam the accelerator and crash into the villa gate, dragging their affair into the open for everyone to see.

But what would that accomplish? Pity from strangers? Or just Raimondo's rage and Anna's mockery?

No. I would gain nothing. In the eyes of others, I would only turn from a betrayed wife into a hysterical, deranged woman.

I slumped against the steering wheel, shaking in silence. Tears spilled out without warning, but not for the marriage that had fallen apart. It was the last shred of relief inside me breaking loose and evaporating with them.

After I managed to pull myself together, I drove to a roadside motel and checked in alone instead of returning to the estate.

…

The next morning, just as dawn broke, my phone screen lit up. An unknown number sent me a photo of a pregnancy test report. Seconds later, a message followed. It was from Anna.

"Don Brocchi said that for the sake of our baby, he'll give me everything you have. An infertile woman like you should've left the Brocchi family already instead of embarrassing yourself.

"You know what? I'll even allow you to stay on the island and give you a respectable job so you can support yourself."

I stared at the screen, neither ruffled nor tempted to reply. Instead, I simply congratulated her in my mind. "You'll have your wish fulfilled very soon, Anna, and so will I. Tomorrow, I'll say goodbye for good."

Meanwhile, the household staff kept texting me nonstop, asking where I was and urging me to come home. "Please return, Donna. Don Brocchi keeps asking where you went and when you left. He's smashed almost everything in the room!"

And so, I drove back to the estate.

The moment Raimondo saw me, he rushed forward and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Where did you go? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there? I went looking for you and accidentally fell down the stairs. Look at the scratch on my arm… Cassia, please stop scaring me like this. Do you understand?"

He cupped my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. "You don't know how much I need you, Cassia. A few hours without you, and it was already killing me… like I've been poisoned. Only when I see you can I finally breathe again and feel secure…"

"Really?" I muttered under my breath, staring blankly at the ceiling.

For the rest of the morning, Raimondo didn't let me out of his sight. Even while working, he kept my hand in his, as if I would disappear before his eyes.

I casually mentioned my departure, pretending it was nothing. "Your birthday is coming up. I'm flying out tomorrow afternoon on a private jet to pick up your gift myself."

He frowned immediately. "So soon? I'll send someone to handle it instead."

I shook my head and laced my fingers through his like I used to. "No. I don't want something this small to hold up your work. Besides, it's my gift for you. I want to see it myself before bringing it home, just to make sure everything's good."

He studied me for a moment. The stubbornness in my eyes must've softened something in him, because he ultimately gave in. "Alright, fine. But once you land, you must video-call me. I want to make sure you arrive safely."

I lowered my head, hiding the final trace of resolve in my eyes. "Okay."

After lunch, I handed Raimondo a small, elegantly wrapped box. "For you. But you're not allowed to open it for another three days."

He didn't ask any questions. Instead, he grinned and pulled me into his arms, whispering in my ear, "Come home soon. Without you, I can't even sleep at night."

I gently patted his back and said nothing.

Inside that delicate box were two things I had prepared long ago. One was my pregnancy test report, and the other was a phone filled with every text, photo, and video Anna had sent me of their affair.

When news of the crash reached him, he would open it early. And when he did, I wanted it to burn into his memory forever, pained by his regret for ever betraying me.

He would live every remaining day in remorse, replaying the last words he had just spoken to me over and over again.

Just after noon, Anna grew impatient and started urging Raimondo to return to the office. He claimed there was still an important meeting and left in a hurry.

I stood at the estate gates with a smile, watching his car disappear down the road. At that moment, the taunt strings around my heart finally snapped.

All the sweet nothings he had once whispered, all the great devotion he had deceitfully shown, and all the careful effort I had spent trying to preserve this marriage flashed through my mind like a fading film reel, then slipped away.

When I looked at the estate where I had lived with him for a decade, I felt nothing.

Everyone knew Raimondo loved Anna. I had been the only fool left in the dark. There was nothing left in the Brocchi family worth holding onto or pleasing.

This gilded cage that had imprisoned me for a decade would soon welcome a new Donna in my place.

…

On the appointed afternoon, I arrived at the airport with my luggage. Through the plane window, I watched the island slowly shrink into the distance.

I whispered my final goodbye.

Farewell, Raimondo. Never again.

…

That night, Anna received a phone call. The news had her so excited that she had to compose herself before taking a deep breath and pulling Raimondo aside from the dinner party.

"Don Brocchi, we just got news. Cassia's private jet crashed into a valley. Unfortunately, there were no survivors."

Raimondo froze. His face paled in the next second, and he nearly collapsed. "What? No, that's impossible. That's… impossible!"