A Wilted Rose

After my rebirth, I decided to draw a hard line between myself and the heir of the Mafia Family, Carlo Gutierrez.

He had his golden retriever take my seat and told everyone I wasn't even fit to touch dog food at his party. After that, I never sat at the main table again.

He complained that my voice was giving him a headache and got in the way of his business, so I muted myself in front of him.

He sneered that I reeked, so I packed up and went back to my rundown apartment in the slums, never setting foot on his territory again.

In the end, he said just having me around would ruin his marriage alliance with the Moreno Family's Principessa.

I nodded, then accepted someone else's proposal without hesitation.

I made the choices opposite to what I made in my last life.

After I married him in my previous life, the Moreno Family's Principessa was killed in a shootout. Carlo concluded I was the culprit and threw me into the basement for torture before finally throwing my body into the sea.

Later, when he saw me with another man, he confronted me with red eyes.

"Rosa Shaw, you've had your fun. Come back with me, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened!"

Carlo Gutierrez pointed at the golden retriever wagging its tail by the head seat, and gave me a cold order.

"The dog sits there. You can stand."

I stared at the dog lounging lazily across the dining chair that was supposed to be mine, so happy that I almost cried.

Because I had gone back in time.

I returned to the day Carlo humiliated me in front of everyone.

Everyone knew I was the unwanted baggage the Gutierrez Family picked up from the slums.

The reason? My father had died taking a bullet for Don Vinnie, Carlo's grandfather. However, I also ended up being tethered to Carlo because of that.

Carlo was the only heir of the Gutierrez Family, the kingpin who ruled both sides of the law. Meanwhile, I was nothing but a stain on his otherwise perfect record.

Everyone thought it was a pity for Carlo, and he thought so even more.

That was why he had the golden retriever sit in my seat, while every underling and made man watched me being humiliated like some show.

"Rosa, Carlo's already being nice to you by just making you stand. If it were up to me, I would have made you eat from the dog bowl on the floor," Carlo's cousin said as he picked his teeth.

Laughter from the surrounding guests echoed around the table. Even the servants, with their heads down, were shaking with amusement.

This whole thing was a carefully staged spectacle just to humiliate me. Everyone knew how much Carlo hated me.

During my last life, I didn't dare to move a muscle. I just stood there, taking the insults one after another until the banquet ended. Eventually,