Chapter 2

Matteo's POV

Luca looked like he'd only just realized the broth was supposed to be my recovery meal.

Daniela walked in just in time to see him with his hands clasped together, bowing to me over and over.

"Matteo Linari, what the hell are you doing now? Luca only came here because he was worried about you!"

The housekeeper shifted awkwardly, trying to speak up, but Luca cut her off.

"Dani, please don't be mad. I was just so hungry. The second I smelled the chicken broth, I couldn't help myself. I took a few sips, and before I knew it, it was all gone. It's only right that Matteo's mad at me."

He kept bowing, practically drowning in guilt, and Daniela's heart clearly broke for him.

"It's just some chicken broth. You can have as much as you want once you're out of the hospital. Why are you picking a fight with Luca over this?"

She shot the housekeeper a cold look. "Luca hasn't had much of an appetite lately. It's rare for him to actually like your chicken broth. Go back right now, make another pot, and send it to Luca's place."

The housekeeper scrambled out. Daniela's expression instantly softened, and she caught Luca by the waist before he could bow again.

"Stop bowing. You're going to throw your back out."

Luca finally straightened up, flashing a playful smirk. "No way. I've still got to make you feel good."

The two of them left the room, flirting and laughing, leaving the ward dead quiet once more.

Surprisingly, the endless cycle of misunderstandings, tongue-lashings, and interrogations no longer stirred so much as a ripple in me.

I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to throw a fit. And I didn't care enough to defend myself anymore.

An hour later, while the doctor was checking my injuries, Daniela's men sauntered into the room. They told me to get discharged as soon as possible since her rivals were planning their next move.

One of them looked at me with a shred of pity, asking if I wanted the doctor to write me a stronger prescription for painkillers.

I just shook my head. "Don't worry about it."

I was already used to the pain.

…

Daniela's men dropped me off at the front door, tossed a bag of meds at my feet, and sped away.

Since Daniela didn't give a shit about me, her men treated me like trash too.

I grabbed the bag and unlocked the door. The house was quiet and freezing. All the maids, including the part-time cleaners, were gone.

Daniela's call came through, her voice as icy and detached as always.

"Luca isn't feeling well. The maids at your place are more attentive, so I sent them over to his place. Fend for yourself for a few days. They'll head back once Luca's better."

She said it so casually, as if Luca were the one who'd just been stabbed five times by her rivals and barely survived.

"Okay."

Catching my indifferent tone, she paused for a moment before adding, "Just write down whatever you want to eat. I'll have the maids make it for you once they're back."

"Okay."

Even through the phone, I could practically feel her scowling.

"What's with the attitude? All this over some chicken broth?" she snapped.

"Matteo Linari, don't forget what we agreed on when we got married. You're just a shield for Luca. Don't think for a second that being my husband for three years gives you the right to walk all over him!"

I nodded mechanically. "Okay."

"You—"

Before her temper could flare, Luca's voice chimed in from her end of the line.

"Dani, come have some cake!"

The line went dead.

There were 48 hours left until the System wiped me out.

I was starving, but it wasn't until I walked into the kitchen that I realized every last scrap of food had been cleared out. The fridge was completely bare. And given Daniela's line of work, ordering delivery was out of the question.

I ended up digging through the cabinets until I found a single pack of expired instant noodles.

The electric kettle had been broken for months with no one bothering to fix it, so I filled the bowl with hot water from the water heater and set it on the dining table.

My phone buzzed with a notification that Luca was livestreaming.

They weren't at the hilltop villa. Judging by the background, they were at a hot spring resort.

Luca was wearing an oversized T-shirt, his shoulder-length hair tied back in a small ponytail with one of Daniela's hair ties. He was eating cake and chatting with his viewers.

Every now and then, a woman's hand would appear from off-camera, picking up a piece of cake with a fork, and Luca would look over at her with eyes full of adoration.

[You two seriously can't film your daily couple routine? I can tell just from those fingers that she's a total babe!]

Luca shook his head. "My girlfriend is the most beautiful woman in the world. Every time she smiles, my heart just melts. She was the one who made the first move. But I kept overthinking things, worrying about this and that. It took me until now to finally say yes."