I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected it, but before I could do anything, a figure rushed from behind, shoved me to the ground, and took Viviana into his arms.
I thought my heart couldn't shatter any more, but it did, especially when Adrian turned to look at me and started in on me like I was the one who'd crossed a line.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Bianca? Viviana came here to pay her respects, and you hit her out of nowhere?"
He glared at me, and I could feel no affection at all. Not a trace. As if I wasn't even his wife. As if the ring on my finger meant nothing inside this building, inside his world.
I pressed my lips together and glared back at him. "She brought up my mother and called me useless. Do you think I would just sit tight when you haven't even given me an explanation about it back then? You just told me the operation failed… and what?"
He raised his brow, and for a fleeting moment, I saw him panic, but then he smoothed the knot of his tie with one finger and tried to hide it. "Explanation? Didn't we talk about this already? It failed because of her critical condition. Why are you acting as if I was hiding something from you?"
Because he was hiding something from me. I wanted to tell him that, but I didn't want to blow my cover. There was a right time for my vendetta.
Before I could speak, he added, "Whatever happened, there is no reason for you to hurt Viviana when she's just being nice. Now, I want you to apologize to her."
I didn't get the chance to say another word before Viviana spoke. "It's okay, Adrian. I think she must have still hated me after Nico broke their engagement and married me. Maybe I deserved her slap. It's okay. Don't make it any harder for her. Consider this my way of making amends."
Her voice was gentle. Practiced. The kind of softness that men in this life never questioned because they confused it with weakness. The two soldiers stationed at the corridor entrance stood perfectly still, eyes forward, as if the scene playing out between the capo's wife and his kept woman required no intervention. They answered to Adrian. They would always answer to Adrian.
They didn't wait for me to say anything else before they turned their backs.
Halfway through the hall, I heard Viviana say, "If she despises me so much, maybe we should stop contacting each other. I don't want to make things difficult for you."
I closed my fist. This was my last straw. I was over Adrian now.
I ignored them and continued burning five years of what I thought was love, but was just a lie.
A little later, Adrian texted me.
I'm sorry, love. I know I hurt you by asking you to apologize to Viviana, but she's the head of the Carbone deal, and I just didn't want to affect the outfit negatively. Once this matter is resolved, I'll make it up to you. I mentioned I'd get you a gift. Just don't be upset, okay?
I ignored his message and went to my room. I knew better. He loved Viviana. I was just a replacement.
Once upstairs, I grabbed the bag I had packed earlier and left the house. The hotel room was cold and quiet, but it didn't bother me. I was alone, and that was all I wanted.
I had barely settled in when my phone rang. It was one of the staff from the family's front office downtown.
"Mrs. Romano, where are you?" she asked. "Have you forgotten that you have a meeting with an investor today?"
But that wasn't the part that caught my attention. It was the voice on the other end. It was Adrian, telling his people to call a team of specialists to treat Viviana. I laughed. Was he serious?
It was nothing but a scratch, yet he was willing to spend a fortune on someone else's wife.
I hung up and told the secretary I wasn't going to attend.
A little later, Adrian started calling me. I knew he was going to tell me about the meeting with the investors. It seemed he hadn't seen my resignation letter just yet.
I answered the phone, hoping to hear his voice say my name, but he didn't realize I had already picked up because he was busy issuing instructions to his secretary.
"Sir, are you sure you want to revise the contract? The losses the outfit will take on this deal will run into tens of millions if we go through with it. Please, consider this carefully."
"No need. Revise it," he said. "It's what I promised Viviana, and what she wants, she gets."
After his secretary left, he remembered he'd called me.
"Hey, love. I'm sorry, but they told me you missed the meeting? What's wrong? It's important—"
"I'm not feeling well."
"Oh, I see. Then I'll cancel it now. Just take a rest, and I'll be back soon."
I wasn't sure if he went back home because I had spent the whole day in the hotel room, waiting for the perfect moment to stage my death.
But surely, he didn't come home. As I was scrolling through my phone, I came across a livestream from a high-end shop downtown. I didn't care at first, but then, from the background, I saw Viviana and Adrian together.
On screen, he was busy helping Viviana pick out a dress. His hand rested on the small of her back the way it used to rest on mine. Casual. Proprietary.
This was the time.
I called my lawyer to send the documents to his staff as soon as possible, then called the fixers' network to finalize the plan.
Not long after, his secretary rushed in with a pale face. She was holding her tablet and showed it to Adrian. "Sir, I think we have a problem. It seems like Mrs. Bianca learned about what happened to her mother five years ago, and she's asking for a divorce."
From the screen, I could see Adrian's shocked face. His hand froze halfway to his tie.
And then, after a while, another staff member approached. "Sir. Someone called. Mrs. Bianca killed herself because she couldn't accept what you did to her mother."
