Chapter 5

Caesar chased after me. The moment I stepped out of the gates, the paparazzi waiting outside surged toward me. People shoved against one another, and I was knocked to the ground.

Then, a gunshot rang out. It seemed someone from a rival family had slipped into the crowd.

The sound of gunfire sent the already chaotic crowd into a berserk. People pushed and trampled over one another, including me. I barely had the chance to stand on my feet.

Panic set in. The only person I knew nearby was Caesar. Driven by a pure instinct to survive, I screamed for help, "Caesar, I've fallen! Help me up!"

Only one person stood between us. He shouted back, "I'll be right there! Don't be scared!"

The next second, Anna cried out from behind him, "My hair clip!"

Her hair clip had apparently fallen off.

Caesar looked at me, guilt flashing across his face. He then turned and ran back without a second glance. "Anna, it's dangerous! There are armed men outside! Get back inside!"

My heart, pumped with only a sliver of hope, finally died.

Just then, a Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the gates. Another round of gunfire erupted. Guglielmo's men opened fire, forcing a path through the crowd.

I looked up, saw Guglielmo's face, and smiled. My body finally reached its limit, and I passed out.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my hand. Every inch of my body ached as if it had been torn apart.

After all these years in the underworld, this was the first time I had ended up with such a humiliating injury.

Guglielmo's Underboss was sitting on a stool at the foot of my bed. When he saw I was awake, he walked over and pressed the call button.

"Signorina, are you feeling unwell anywhere?" he asked.

The pain in my heart was far worse than the pain from my injuries.

"The Greco family's engagement ceremony is over. Would you like me to contact Don Greco—"

The memory of him turning away from me made me instantly shake my head. "No. He has nothing to do with me anymore."

I picked up my phone. The paparazzi's photo of Caesar and Anna, caught at just the right angle in the estate garden, had already climbed to the top of the trending list.

They called Anna the most beautiful Donna ever seen and praised Caesar for his tender side.

The shot was perfect. The sunlight fell across them, while the mist from the fountain behind them caught the light and formed a rainbow. They looked straight out of a fairytale.

My phone started vibrating. The pinned Greco family group chat was blowing up. Caesar's Underboss and the butler kept tagging me.

"Someone's causing trouble at the new casino."

"The man in charge of the money laundering operation has been skimming funds."

"There's a problem with that shipment of weapons from the Caruso family."

Expressionless, I wrote back, "Anna has the Donna's ring. If you need anything, ask her."

After hitting send, I didn't wait for a reply to leave the group chat. A moment later, messages from the Underboss and the butler started pouring in. I blocked and deleted them all without reading a single one.

I was never part of the Greco family. There had never been any initiation ceremony or the like. I had simply lived in the estate for years, neither inside nor outside the family.

Before long, Caesar called. I hesitated for two seconds before answering.

"What are you trying to do?" he barked into my ear. "Anna's an ordinary woman! Telling them to go to her is no different from sending her to her death!"

"When I begged you to help me, you turned around and walked away," I said flatly. "Meanwhile, Anna was inside the estate. She was never in any danger."

Caesar was momentarily speechless. "And you're fine now, aren't you? Since nothing happened to you, why do you keep throwing a tantrum?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I'll give you one hour to come home and handle the work that's your responsibility. And you owe Anna an apology. After the stunt you pulled today, she's been feeling awfully guilty."

I pressed my lips together and hung up. Then, I blocked his number. One by one, I logged into every app I used and blocked his account, too. That was when I realized something.

At some point, Caesar had unfollowed every one of my accounts. I was the one still following him. On every one of his accounts, he followed Anna exclusively.

Once I was done, I switched off my phone and left for the airport with Guglielmo.

The next time Caesar tried to find me was on the day we were supposed to register our marriage. He waited for me at the city hall from morning until night.

The sun had set by the time the last staff member walked out and locked the doors.

For the first time, Caesar felt uneasy. No matter how long our fights had lasted before, I had always been the first to give in—for him and for the sake of marrying him.

So, how could I possibly fail to show up on a day this important?

Standing by the roadside, he frantically ordered his Underboss to find me. Then, one of his men reported back. "Signorina Agliate's flight left yesterday, Don Greco. Were you not aware?"