Semua Bab Ten Years Loving the Wrong One: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Marianna D'Andrea moved quickly. By the time I got home, the divorce papers were already waiting for me.She said, "Sign them. I'll handle Leopoldo's side. In one month, you'll receive the finalized divorce decree. Once you leave, don't ever come back. The Madre of the Vece family was never meant to be a nobody like you.""Okay," I replied calmly.After that, I handled my adoptive father, Raffaello Conti's funeral alone.He had once been the director of a local orphanage, and I was the last child raised there. After the orphanage shut down, he used his own savings to raise me. I had promised that I would take care of him in his old age and see him through to the end. I never imagined that, in the end, I would be the reason he died.On the day of the funeral, people who heard the news came carrying flowers."Why isn't Don Vece here? Doesn't he know yet?" someone whispered.The question spread through the crowd like a spark landing on dry grass.At the same time, my phone buzze

Raffaello had lived his entire life frugally. Every cent he owned went into helping orphans.The diamond pendant on that necklace was tiny, but it was the only piece of jewelry he had ever bought for me after emptying his savings. After his death, it was all I had left of him.Even if my love with Leopoldo had already rotted away, that necklace was my last remaining tie to family in this world. How could he give it to Elena?I clenched my teeth through the pain, dragged myself out of bed, and went straight to Elena's place.She was lounging on the bed, letting a maid feed her grapes one by one, all the while admiring the necklace with smug satisfaction.The moment she saw me, her expression shifted. She instantly put on a pitiful act, clutched the necklace, and pressed it beneath her body. "Signora Conti, why are you here?"My eyes were bloodshot as I held out my hand. "Leopoldo isn't here, so you can drop your act. I'm here to take the necklace back."Elena's lips curved upward

Leopoldo's POV:There was no reply to my message, and the call went unanswered as well. A wave of unease surged through me. I soothed Elena briefly, then told the driver to floor it back home.To my surprise, Lucia wasn't there, but my Madre was. She sat calmly on the couch, as if she had been waiting for me all along. "Why are you back so suddenly?" I asked. "Where's Lucia?""What do you need her for?" she countered coolly. I frowned, confused. "I need to talk to her about Raffaello's surgery. Why else would I be looking for her?"My Madre's expression grew complicated. "That won't be necessary. Don't you know he died a month ago?"My mind went completely blank.It took several seconds for her words to register."That's impossible!" I said instinctively, rejecting it outright.She handed me a document. "I have no reason to lie to you. Besides, you're divorced. This is the decree."I stared at the paper, at my name printed beside Lucia's. I couldn't believe it.My ch

Leopoldo's POV:Elena's words made me frown instinctively. Something about them felt off. Still, my mind was in no state to dissect her motives. I ended the call and immediately ordered the Soldati to intensify the search for Lucia.At the same time, to counter my Madre's interference, I reached out to Vito Kroos of the Kroos family in Cheyqua."I need your help locating my missing wife," I said. "These are her details."My Madre dislikes her and is blocking every path I take. I have no choice but to ask you for help."Vito didn't agree right away. So I put the Ockdon-Cheyqua tobacco route on the table."If you bring Lucia back to me, that entire line will belong to the Kroos family."Only then did Vito nod.I exhausted every possible avenue that might lead me to Lucia and also contacted one of Ieplad's most well-known private investigators.The logic was simple. The sooner I found her, the higher the chance she might still forgive me.A week crawled by in agony, yet there

Leopoldo's POV:"Your kidney may be useless now," I said flatly. "But it's still a debt you owe Lucia."I spent a fortune helping you, indulging you, and protecting you. Yet you repaid me by hurting the woman I love most. So now, you must repay every bit of pain you caused."At my order, the Soldati restrained the struggling Elena, and the doctors wheeled her into the operating room.Because I had ordered that she be given no anesthesia, inhuman screams poured out of the operating room without pause.The cries of the one responsible dulled the sharp edge of my guilt toward Lucia, if only slightly.Before long, the light above the operating room went out. The doctor stepped outside."The kidney was removed, but Elena didn't make it."Elena died?I froze for a second. Then Raffaello's face surfaced in my mind, and I let out a slow breath."Fine," I said at last. "Call it a debt paid."With that, I left the hospital.From that moment on, Elena ceased to exist in my mind.I th