Chapter 4
"Rosalie, get your ass back to Elgano. Now."
Vincenzo's cold and domineering voice came through the phone like a poisoned dagger.
I stood in my newly opened studio in the New Fay commercial district. Beneath my feet was polished concrete flooring, and the air carried a mix of fresh paint and champagne.
"Why?" I tucked the phone between my shoulder and ear, continuing to adjust the pieces on the wall.
"Family meeting." His tone brooked no argument. "You didn't attend the last one. The family council needs to renegotiate our wedding date."
Wedding date. The words made my stomach churn.
In my last life, I sat through this so-called 'meeting' like a puppet on strings, listening to a group of men decide my future while foolishly believing it was the beginning of my happiness.
"I'm busy," I refused tersely.
"This isn't a request." Vincenzo's voice dropped lower. "I'll say it again. Come back immediately."
"I'm not available."
"Rosalie!" he roared. "Don't make me resort to force and drag you back here!"
"Do what you want." I calmly ended the call, shutting out his furious bellowing.
Yet in the end, I went back anyway. It was not because of him but because of my father, the Don of the Moretti family. He called me personally.
His deep voice came through the receiver. "Rosalie, there are just some things you must resolve in person."
I understood what he meant.
This was not just about my marriage. It concerned the Moretti family's dignity. I could not let the family fall into a passive position because of me, whether in my last life or now. My family had given me real help over the years.
In my last life, I could not imagine how heartbroken Papa was when he learned of my death.
Three days later, I set foot on Elgano soil again. The estate I had fled from loomed like a dormant beast, quietly waiting for its prey to walk into the trap.
The family meeting was held in the estate's council hall. On both sides of the long mahogany table sat the core members of the two families' councils.
Vincenzo sat beside the head seat, his expression as dark as storm clouds. Adriana sat on his other side, playing the role of mistress of the house. She gently poured him tea.
"Rosalie is here," Papa said, breaking the silence.
I walked straight to the head of the table and stood before everyone.
"I demand the annulment of my engagement to Vincenzo Marino." My voice was clear and loud, without a trace of hesitation.
The council hall plunged into dead silence. Everyone stared at me in shock.
Vincenzo shot to his feet, and his chair scraped against the floor with a harsh screech. "Are you insane?"
"I'm perfectly clear-headed." I looked at him coldly. "Vincenzo's heart belongs to another, and my pride does not allow me to share a man."
My gaze swept over Adriana, whose face had turned pale.
"This is impossible!" The Marino family's Consigliere slammed his hand on the table. "This is a betrayal of both families!"
"On the contrary." Papa's voice rang out as he slowly rose to his feet, his powerful presence commanding everyone's attention.
"It was the Marino family who first disrespected my daughter. My daughter deserves a husband who will love her wholeheartedly."
He looked at Vincenzo, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "Vincenzo, do you have anything to say?"
Vincenzo's face turned ashen. He could not say a word.
I took a deep breath, knowing the most critical step was over. I turned to leave, no longer wanting to see Vincenzo's hypocritical face.
However, Adriana blocked my path.
"Rosalie, please." She suddenly dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she looked at me. "Please let me and Vincenzo be together."
She grabbed my hand, her icy fingertips making me shudder. "I'm... I'm pregnant. It's Vincenzo's child."
Gasps echoed around us. I ignored her performance and tried to pull my hand away.
"Please, you can't do this to us..."
The moment I yanked my hand free, she seemed to lose all strength. She threw herself backward and tumbled down the marble steps beside us.
Beneath her white dress, a glaring red stain rapidly spread. Everything seemed to happen in a flash.
"Adriana!" Vincenzo let out a piercing roar like an enraged beast and charged out of the council hall.
He saw Adriana lying on the ground, blood pooling beneath her. Then, he looked up at me standing on the steps, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
A resounding slap landed hard across my face.
My head snapped to the side. My ears rang, and my cheek burned with searing pain.
"Rosalie, you vicious woman!" he roared, his voice filled with despair and fury.
I slowly turned my head and looked at him, grief and rage written across his face as if he had lost everything.
Then, using all my strength, I slapped him back. The sound was equally sharp and loud.
"Rest assured," I said, looking into his shocked eyes. My words were cold and deliberate. "As of today, I'm no longer your fiancée."
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