On the Thirty-Third Try

Lorenzo bolted up.

Gone was the calm—just raw panic twisting his face.

"Chiara! How DARE you—!"

He looked at me like he was ready to kill.

In all the years I'd known him, I'd never seen him snap like that.

No time to explain—he just waved the guards over.

They grabbed me, shoved me into the car, and drove straight to Sofia's place.

The mansion was trashed.

Every photo of her and Lorenzo? Smashed.

Sofia lay on the bed, pale and barely breathing.

Lorenzo dropped to his knees, crumpling beside her.

He grabbed her hand, voice cracking.

"Sofia! Look at me! I won't marry her, okay? Just open your eyes—look at me!"

Next to her: an open pill bottle and a bloody suicide note, all blame aimed straight at me.

His eyes went wild.

He spun and slammed me against the wall, hand at my throat.

Didn't even notice—half the pills were untouched.

Sofia barely took anything.

But he was gone—full beast mode, shaking with rage.

"Chiara! Why the hell would you do this?! You wanted the wedding—I agreed! Why push her this far?! What'd she ever do to you?!"

His stare cut like ice.

All hate.

Lorenzo never believed me. Not even for a second.

"I didn't push her... I don't even want to marry you... I just wanted my dad's ring..."

The words barely made it past his grip.

Didn't matter. He wasn't listening.

Then—he let go.

Smack.

Everything went dark.

Pain lit up my face like fireworks.

He'd slapped me. Hard.

Lorenzo's bloodshot eyes locked on me as he yanked off the signet ring.

He held it up—then dropped it.

The obsidian signet ring—Dad's last keepsake—hit the floor and shattered.

I just stood there, staring.

Couldn't even stop my lips from shaking.

"There. You wanted it back—I gave it to you," he snapped. "You think I cared your parents saved me ten years ago? If I'd known I had to trade my freedom and marriage for it, I'd rather have died in that ambush.

"They chose death. Why the hell should I be chained to it?"

His voice was pure venom—ten years of buried hate, finally unleashed.

Sofia's stunt had snapped whatever was left of him.

His gaze sharpened.

He grabbed the pill bottle off the floor.

One signal—

The guard slammed the back of my knees.

I hit the carpet, helpless. "Lorenzo! You've lost your mind!"

He grabbed my chin and forced the pills down my throat.

Each one scraped like glass, burning all the way down.

"Sofia must've hurt worse when she took hers," he muttered. "Now you get to feel it too."

I tried to spit them out, but the guard clamped my mouth shut, fingers digging into my neck.

I swallowed.

The suffocation came fast.

My vision spun.

Right before it all faded, Lorenzo loomed over me—

Face blank, like I was nothing.

"Chiara, I'll have my mother end the engagement. I was wrong. Should've picked Sofia from the start."

Tears slipped down.

They walked away, didn't even look back.

Left me choking on the floor, shaking into the dark.

Lorenzo hated being forced into our engagement.

Lucky for him—I'd already made the decision.

***

"The patient's vitals are stable. The dosage wasn't enough to be fatal. She'll wake up soon."

Lorenzo finally let out the breath he'd been holding. His head buzzed—panic and fury sparking like a live wire. Sofia on the bed had scared him stupid.

Then his breath hitched. 'Chiara.' He'd forgotten her. She'd swallowed a bunch of pills too. Remorse slammed into his chest.

He spun, eyes hard. "Where's Chiara? Did you take her to the hospital? Get a doctor to pump her stomach—now! This ends here!"

The men froze.

"Don... you didn't give orders to take Ms. Mortoro to the hospital. We... We followed your instructions and left her there..."