Chapter 3

I didn't say anything. Gina suddenly leaned in close and whispered in my ear:

"You know when Vito and I slept together for the first time?"

"The day you had that miscarriage and ended up in the hospital."

"We did it in your master bedroom. On your bed."

I was shaking all over.

The whole time I'd been hospitalized, Vito had kept telling me he was busy with a project at the office—that's why he couldn't come.

And I'd actually believed him.

Turns out he'd been busy screwing Gina.

Gina laughed, her voice growing crueler.

"Amelia, if you have even a shred of dignity left, don't follow us. Just divorce him already and let me have Vito."

I stared at her.

"Why would you do this?"

"Vito's rich and handsome—who wouldn't want him? He's a hell of a lot better than Kai!"

There was open worship in her face.

I glanced at the time. Kai should be about ten minutes out.

I kept stalling.

"Would Kai even let you go? Didn't you say he has a terrible temper, that he nearly killed someone once? Aren't you scared?"

At the mention of Kai, Gina's tone turned dismissive.

"He's all brawn, no brain. One crook of my finger and he'll do anything I say."

"Worst case, I trick him into a divorce down the line. He's as gullible as you are."

I asked again:

"What if he catches you cheating?"

She curled her lip.

"He's probably still hauling cargo down at the docks, or watching the back door of some casino. Dog-tired every day. How would he ever figure out what I'm up to?"

"And even if he did find out, he wouldn't dare say a word."

She leaned closer, dropping her voice—but that only made it sharper.

"I train him like you'd train a dog. You wouldn't understand."

I gave a cold, silent laugh and casually checked my phone.

A message from Kai.

*I'm almost there.*

I suddenly didn't feel like letting them off this easily. I wanted to see how this rabid dog would bite.

So I turned to Vito with the same wounded expression.

"I'll wait for you in the hotel lobby. When you're done, can we go home together?"

I laid on the humiliation thick. Surprise flickered in Vito's eyes.

"Why are you so… why does it have to be me?"

Gina cut in, "Amelia, do you have any shame? Even now, you're still crawling back for more punishment? What are you even trying to do?"

I kept begging.

"If it weren't for Vito back in college, I don't know what I would've done."

"He paid for all my living expenses those four years. He's been supporting me ever since."

"Gina, I can't survive without him."

Vito really was good at making money.

By the time he was twenty, he already had several companies and clubs under his name—numbers in his account that ordinary people wouldn't earn in a dozen lifetimes.

In college, he played the part of an ordinary student while quietly running the family's books for the casinos, freight operations, and security firms.

All that gray-market money passed through layers of shell companies, coming out clean as project dividends.

With him, I never had to worry about money.

The card he gave me had no limit.

Tuition, rent, living costs, even the expenses when I later went abroad for academic conferences—all of it, he covered.

That was how I made it through graduate school and eventually earned my doctorate.

Gina was glaring at me now, venomous.

"You gold-digging little bitch!"

Vito shot her an impatient look. "Don't talk about her like that. She's still my wife. If she wants to come along, let her."

Gina's expression flipped instantly, and her voice turned fawning:

"I just don't want her to ruin the mood for us."