Chapter 2

I was about to get up and leave when my brother seized my wrist and dragged me onto the stage.

"Apologize to Gianna."

Father stood up, righteous and commanding.

"If you don't apologize, don't expect us at your wedding!"

Mother nodded along. My brother let out a cold laugh.

"When the De Luca family sees none of us there, you'll be the one humiliated."

I was the one being wronged, yet my family was using my own wedding as leverage against me.

They knew perfectly well that Marco and I had been together for seven years. That I wanted this wedding more than anyone.

I used to ramble excitedly in the family group chat for ages.

And all my family ever sent back was an ellipsis.

I'd thought it meant "noted." Turns out it meant they simply didn't care.

So I didn't even get a say in my own wedding menu.

They didn't care about my wedding. And they didn't care about me.

I had no fight left. I looked at my sister. "I'm sorry."

Blood from my forehead dripped onto the floor.

Mother said flatly, "Gianna didn't hear you."

My boyfriend sighed. "Selina, what you said really was out of line. Apologize properly. Stop being difficult."

I repeated it. I'm sorry.

By the hundredth time, my throat was raw and tasted of iron. Only then did my sister smile.

She grabbed a cup of yogurt and dumped it over my head, giggling. "Here, sis. Eat."

The yogurt dripped down from my collar, cold and sticky.

Mother sighed and wiped the blood from my temple.

"You're both my flesh and blood. We're just trying to be fair."

But I was hyperventilating, half-collapsed on the ground.

My brother's voice was indifferent. "Gianna's still crying. Shouldn't she apologize again?"

He kicked me. "Stop faking it. Get up and apologize."

But my vision went black. When I came to, I was staring at a hospital ceiling.

My boyfriend was beside me. When he saw me open my eyes, his face flooded with concern.

"Selina, you're awake. Does anything hurt?"

A trace of guilt crossed his face. "Gianna was crying so hard at the time, everyone forgot you're allergic to dairy."

It turned out that when I collapsed, my family was convinced I was putting on an act.

It was a server who cried out, "She—she's covered in hives!"

Only then did Marco realize I couldn't breathe.

"If you're allergic to dairy, why didn't you tell anyone?" My brother walked in with a bag of fruit, clearly annoyed.

I'd told them so many times.

When my sister was sick as a child, my parents dumped me with my grandmother in the countryside.

She would chase them out with a broom whenever they played favorites.

But when I was seven, Grandma passed.

She held my hand and said, "After this, no one will protect you, child. Be good."

I'd been good all these years. And still, no one in this family heard a word I said.

I looked at my fiancé quietly. "Marco, let's call off the engagement."

Marco blinked. "You're angry? Wasn't I doing all that for your sake—going along with your sister?"

My brother frowned. "You'd break off an engagement over something this trivial? Who are you trying to scare?"

Marco gently wiped the tears from my eyes, his voice softening.

"Come on, you're just exhausted."

"After the wedding, I'll take you to the Amalfi Coast for our honeymoon. Just us. No sister. Okay?"

I glanced at Marco's phone. The screen showed a ticket-booking page.

Something in my chest loosened. I was about to speak—

Then my sister called, her voice a sweet, teary whine. "Marco, where are you?"

His eyes—always so cool, so distant with everyone. I used to think that was just his nature.

But now, speaking into the phone, his gaze overflowed with tenderness. "Be good, Gianna. I'll be right back."

Marco looked at me, perfectly casual.

"I'm heading out. Get some rest."

"The wedding's postponed two weeks. You're in no shape to attend anyway."

My brother nodded. "Right. Gianna can stand in for you on the remaining arrangements. You just rest up."

A boundless bitterness filled my chest.

I called my former supervisor. "That transfer you mentioned—to the Sicily branch. I'll take it."

If the only role I could play in this family was the wicked supporting character, then I'd walk away and become the lead in my own life.