All Chapters of I Was Never More Than His Secret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Valentina's POVEnzo's reply came almost instantaneously, and his words conveyed a sense of elation."I'm so happy to hear that! We'll begin preparations for the new private auction house immediately. You'll be the head curator."However, we'll need you to go offshore and remain at a closed base for six months during the early stages of preparation, so make sure you take care of everything on your end before that."I gripped my phone tightly, my fingers trembling a little.Spending six months at sea, cut off from the outside world, meant I'd be severing all ties with Antonio—and with Carlotta and my parents, who were still standing near me.I turned around and faced the three of them."My relationship with Antonio ends here. I'm calling off the engagement."The moment I said those words, Dad looked outraged. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. Caught off guard, I was knocked sideways by the blow. I staggered back several steps, my cheek burning painfully.C

Valentina's POVThe moment I finished speaking, Carlotta immediately pointed a finger at me and snapped at me harshly, "You'd better watch your tongue, Valentina! Isabella had to spend five miserable years hiding abroad! How can you still say such hurtful things to her?"Mom publicly berated me as well."How I wish I never gave birth to you! Ms. Bianchi is a sweet and thoughtful young woman. She has been nothing but considerate of Don Antonio. Meanwhile, look at you! You're so petty, spiteful, and narrow-minded. You don't show the slightest hint of tolerance or understanding at all!"The mask on Isabella's face finally shattered. Furious and humiliated, she raised her hand and swung it toward my face.But I was prepared for that. I caught her wrist and flung it aside. She immediately stumbled backward, and Antonio strode forward, catching her securely in his arms before shoving me aside."What the hell do you think you're doing?"I lost my balance and crashed onto the floor.Pa

Third-Person POVAntonio stood frozen in the empty living room. It took him some time to snap out of his daze. For the past five years, whenever he came back late at night, he would return to a home filled with traces of Valentina. Over time, he'd grown accustomed to it.And whenever they got into a fight, he never took any of it seriously. They were all nothing but minor spats to him. She would always calm down and come back to her senses on her own.Even if the fights got serious, Federico, Giulia, and Carlotta would all step in to convince her to back down. After all, he had indeed funneled them the resources they wanted for that very purpose anyway. By having the trio step in on his behalf every time he fought with her, he saved himself a ton of trouble in the relationship.Somewhere in his subconscious, Antonio had always been certain that no matter how badly he and Valentina argued, in the end, she would still choose to stay with him. He had long since taken her companionsh

Valentina's POVThe six months of closed-door preparations finally ended. We'd finalized the entire plan for the auction house's inaugural international antique auction.After reading through the whole thing, Enzo looked at me with anticipation in his eyes. "Since we've completed the preliminary work, I'll give you two days to rest and recharge. Once the auction house is officially up and running, I'll leave the entire operation to you. Can you handle it?"As the salty sea breeze rushed against my face, I declared with a faint smile, "Of course."The moment I stepped out of the quiet seaside clubhouse, the noise of the outside world came rushing toward me. For a moment, it felt as if I'd stepped out of another life.For the past six months, I'd deliberately pushed aside every other thought and thrown myself headfirst into work, tackling one task after another. We kept running into all kinds of problems. Scrapping and rewriting the proposals became routine work for me.If a projec

As their figures disappeared around the corner, I simply smiled indifferently. They knew better than anyone else why my heart had turned to stone when it came to them. They just had to make themselves seem like the victim to feel better about themselves.After they left, only Antonio remained frozen where he was. He'd brought the marriage license application with him, and he was clutching it now until his knuckles turned white.A bodyguard stood silently beside him, watching the normally ruthless and decisive Don of the Leone family lose all composure.Antonio's piercing gaze remained locked on me. His voice was steeped in his obsessive and stubborn unwillingness to accept this situation. "You'd truly rather be alone for the rest of your life than give me another chance to make things right by you?"You're only acting out of spite right now. You've chosen the wrong person to lean on. Come back to me. All of the past restrictions won't apply anymore. I'll make our relationship publi