Chapter 7
It was clear that Niccolo had wanted to give Rizza a fairytale wedding.
The bodyguards had wasted time passing through the pink, extravagant decorations he had prepared for her. By the time they reached me, tension was already crackling in the air, sharp as drawn blades.
With Niccolo backing her up, Rizza grew arrogant, her voice dripping with malice.
“Do you know why Niccolo wasn’t the least bit surprised when you miscarried?”
“Shut up!”
Niccolo’s roar cut through the air, startling even her. Rizza clamped her lips shut, her eyes glistening with feigned grievance.
He blocked the hands of his men who had been about to strike me, his own palm pressed tightly to his blood-soaked shoulder. Despite the crimson spilling down, he looked at me with a smile- gentle, warm, like the spring breeze of our youth.
“Enough. You should go. I promise no one will stop you. Once you return home, nothing about what happened here will be used against you.”
I latched onto his words. “So this is just armed coercion? You want me to step aside and let you hold your wedding?” I snickered. “Sorry, Mr. Morales-I’ve never been in the habit of being cheated on.”
Niccolo sank to one knee, blood pooling beneath him. His men rushed to disinfect and dress his wound with almost frantic efficiency, terrified of him losing another drop.
‘Forget it,” he said quietly. “This was never meant to anger you. But since you already know-” He raised a hand. One of the bodyguards immediately stripped the groom’s suit from him and Cossed it into the blood.
Then the wedding is canceled.”
His words fell heavy, but before the silence could settle, Rizza erupted with fury.
Maureen, you bitch! Do you really think he has feelings for you? Think carefully-what was the name of the man who kidnapped him back then? I-mmph!”
Shut her up!” Niccolo commanded.
At once, his men clamped a hand over her mouth. But my gun was already pressed against the nan’s head. He froze.
Rizza seized the chance to shove the hand away, her voice shrill with defiance.
I am his daughter!”
His daughter? The daughter of the man who kidnapped Niccolo years ago?
‘You really thought Nico was kidnapped?” she spat, eyes gleaming with venom. “Ridiculous! Do you think he would ever let himself fall into such a position? That whole thing was aimed at you! Those men who wanted to violate you-he knew about them from the very start! You stupid bitch, did you really think he loved you?”
‘Bang!”
The butt of my gun slammed against her head. She screamed, clutching her forehead, but I ignored her. My gaze stayed locked on Niccolo.
“Nothing to say?”
I expected denial, excuses, anything. But all he gave me was a weary sigh.
“Back then… I had my reasons.”
For so long, I had believed Niccolo and I were unbreakable. But in his calm resignation, and in Rizza’s hysteria, the truth unraveled before me.
Yes-at first, he had braved the capital’s power circles for me. I had fought at his side, and he’c thought it was happiness. But then he realized something else: I was decisive and ruthless. Sometimes, I was the one whose connections broke down barriers, not him.
To a man, love was precious. But ambition was everything.
When your lover begins to outshine you in the eyes of the powerful, she ceases to be a partner- she becomes a rival.
And how do you ensure your rival never outpaces you?
Destroy her reputation. Tarnish her purity. Make sure she has no one to rely on but you.
When he staged that kidnapping, he had already decided-there would be no child between us. He loved me, but he also despised me. Even if he was the one who had dirtied me, he still found me tainted.
He feared me, mistrusted me-and yet, he had loved me. That was why he never divorced me. That was why, in those endless nights alone in his study, he wasn’t just questioning my loyalty- he was scheming how to keep me under his control.
And Rizza…
The daughter of his one-time strategic partner. He felt guilty toward her too, so he compensated er in every way he could. She was different from me-untainted, devoted, and pure.
laughed through tears.
Niccolo, after I ‘rescued’ you that day, what did you really think?”
His eyes dropped. “I’m sorry.”
Are you?” I raised my gun to his head, rage burning so hot it steadied my hand. Then go to hell.”
Bang!
