Chapter 3On the Night of the Storm, He Chose His Stepmother

When I got to the office on the docks, workers were already fixing the shattered floor-to-ceiling window.

A few members of the Corvino family stood amid the wreckage, still shaken.

"Good thing we got out early yesterday. That would've been terrifying."

"I heard the steel door of one of the warehouses at the port got ripped right off!"

When they saw me, one of them called out, "Isabella, Luis came for you yesterday, right? I heard he was so worried he sent a helicopter."

My mouth twisted into a bitter smile.

"No. He was busy taking care of his poor, frightened stepmother."

The office went dead silent.

Finally, someone asked cautiously, "So you drove yourself home?"

"I spent the night in the break room."

Looking at their awkward expressions, I shrugged as if it were nothing.

I didn't see any reason to hide what had happened.

After all, I wasn't the one who'd done something wrong.

Toward evening, Luis actually texted me.

[I'm downstairs.]

My finger paused over the screen.

This past year, he'd hardly ever picked me up himself.

Every time he promised to, it fell through because of one sudden crisis or another with Sophia.

I went downstairs, and sure enough, there was Luis's car.

I walked straight over.

I was just reaching for the passenger door handle when the window slowly rolled down, revealing Sophia's refined features.

She took off her sunglasses and gave me a little smile.

"Good evening, Isabella."

Luis started explaining. "Sophia says there's a new, authentic Indian restaurant near the docks. I figured you hadn't eaten yet, either. Want to come with us?"

I looked at him, and my voice went cold. "Luis, I can't eat Indian food."

He'd even forgotten that I'd taken a bullet for him three years ago. The resulting lung damage meant I could no longer tolerate heavily spiced food.

Luis froze for a second. He was about to say something.

But Sophia already looked as if she were about to cry.

"Luis, you should go have dinner with Isabella. I can go to that Indian restaurant by myself."

As she spoke, she made a show of opening the door to get out.

Luis frowned and instinctively grabbed Sophia's arm as she reached for the door.

"How can you go alone?"

Only then did he look back at me.

"Isabella, I'm going to take Sophia to dinner first. I'm not comfortable letting her go alone.

"Next time. Next time I'll come pick you up, and we'll get whatever you want."

In the end, they drove off.

The roar of the engine was painfully loud in the empty street.

Next time I'll come pick you up.

So this time, he hadn't come for me at all.

His "fiancée" had crossed his mind only during a brief lull in his efforts to keep that woman happy.

My eyes stung, but the sea breeze dried them fast.

I looked up. The day's last light was sinking into the sea, turning the whole sky orange and red.

I took a deep breath.

I'd already spent years waiting.

It was time to end this.

That night, when I got home, I was about to tell Luis I wanted to break up.

But before I could, Luis started acting secretive. He told me there was an important event on the Corvino family's private yacht on Saturday and insisted I arrive early.

I paused, caught off guard.

Saturday was our seventh anniversary.

So he did remember.

I didn't know what he was planning, but I'd tell him it was over afterward.

At least I could give this relationship a dignified ending.

Luis told me to be in the ballroom by ten.

But traffic was bad, and I didn't get on board until half past ten.

As I walked toward the ballroom, memories from past years came back to me.

One anniversary, Luis had rented an entire island just to set off fireworks for me.

He had once crafted a solid-gold pistol for me with our initials engraved on it.

But ever since Sophia came into the Corvino family three years ago, all of that had changed.

Three years ago, at my birthday party, Sophia suddenly developed heart palpitations, and Luis left me standing there just as I was about to cut my cake.

Two years ago, on our anniversary, Sophia said she was afraid of the dark, and Luis took all of his personal bodyguards with him to protect her.

Last year, Sophia got drunk at a club. Luis said he was going to pick her up, and he spent the whole night at her apartment.

I pushed open the heavy ballroom doors.

Bang!

Gold confetti exploded through the air and landed in my hair and on my dress.

The ballroom was packed with senior members of the Corvino family and leaders of Sicily's other major factions.

When they saw it was me, everyone froze.

"Huh? It's not Sophia?"

"Who said those footsteps sounded like the Donna's? Hurry, reset everything. She'll be here any minute!"

I stood there, bewildered, watching the ridiculous scene unfold.

Luis came out of the crowd, pulled me aside without a word of explanation, and shoved a party popper into my hand.

"Didn't I tell you to be here by ten? Quick, when Sophia comes in, pull this."

It took me a long time to find my voice. When I finally spoke, it sounded so cold that even I didn't recognize it.

I looked at him.

"Luis, what is this?"