At exactly 8:00 am, there was a knock on the door.

Standing outside were two Soldati, their expressions cold and hard, here to escort me to court to plead guilty.

The Timoteo who once promised to protect me for life wouldn't even see me one last time.

As I walked through the living room, I saw Nadia curled up in his arms, feeding him cake.

He never touched sweets, yet he ate them with a smile—a smile so genuine it reached his eyes.

I had never seen Timoteo so gentle.

I lowered my eyes, fighting to suppress the emotions threatening to rise inside me.

It was my fault. I should've realized my place long ago. I was just a blade Timoteo had forged, nothing more.

The nights we spent together were just a matter of mutual need. Those words that made my heart race were just fleeting moments of his affection, nothing deeper.

…

The courtroom was colder than I had imagined.

I was led to the defendant's stand. The cold steel of the handcuffs bit into my wrists, the hard metal chafing my skin raw.

The spectators filled the room. Their eyes were locked on me with various expressions.

I searched the crowd but didn't see Timoteo, but I did see Nadia.

From a distance, I could almost see the smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

The prosecutor began reading out the charges, each one a crime I'd committed for Timoteo.

The lawyer assigned by the Panno family was barely doing the bare minimum, just going through the motions.

The judge's voice was deep as he asked, "Defendant, do you admit to the charges?"

All eyes turned to me.

I was about to speak when suddenly, a gunshot rang out, followed by a deafening explosion.

A group of masked men stormed into the courtroom, and their leader rushed straight to me, shielding me with his body.

My mind went blank, and an uninvited hope rose up. Perhaps Timoteo couldn't bring himself to let go of me.

"Ms. Liberi, we're here to save you! We'll kill Nadia as you instructed!"

The spark of hope was snuffed out in an instant, and a cold shiver ran through me.

I stared at the masked man in disbelief.

I hadn't hired anyone to save me, let alone ordered Nadia's death.

I tried to explain, but the masked man silenced me with a tight grip over my mouth and nose.

Amid the chaos, a gunshot rang out.

The man behind me collapsed with a loud thud. Blood splattered onto my chin, warm and wet.

Timoteo rushed forward and pulled Nadia into his arms, calming her with soft reassurances. Not once did he spare me a glance.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the cold barrel of a gun pressed against my forehead first.

"You tried to hurt Nadia?"

I never imagined Timoteo would point a gun at me.

When our eyes met, he lowered the gun. Then, he slapped me hard across the face.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth instantly.

"How dare you think of hurting her?"

I raised my head with difficulty and squinted through swollen eyes to look at him.

Timoteo's eyes were like pools of ice, cutting deep into my soul.

"It wasn't me."

When I spoke, my voice was a ragged rasp. My throat was thick with the copper taste of blood.

His expression hardened, as though he was hesitating.

Nadia walked over and wrapped herself around him, then looked up at him with teary eyes. "Timoteo, I'm scared…"

The conflict in his face disappeared, and he began to remove his gloves.

I knew that gesture all too well. It meant Timoteo was about to deal with someone who didn't obey.

My throat tightened, and my heart sank. "Don Panno, please believe me."

He gripped my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Serafina Liberi, you've been with me for 12 years."

My jaw ached from his grip, but it was nothing compared to the pain that twisted inside.

Timoteo's voice was almost calm. "I taught you to get things done cleanly without leaving any traces. But I never taught you to use such underhanded tactics to hurt my woman."

Nadia had only been back for three months, yet she was already enough to make him trample over 12 years of history with me.

A bitterness surged in my throat, but I fought it back.

"Don Panno, I've been with you since I was ten! For 12 years, I've given you my life. How could I betray you?"

He stared at me for a long time, as if measuring whether there was any truth in my words.

Suddenly, Nadia clutched her chest and coughed violently. Her face was drained of color.

Nadia looked up at Timoteo with teary eyes. "Timoteo, my chest hurts so much. I'm so useless."

She was reminding him that this chronic pain was the price she paid for saving his life all those years ago.

Sure enough, the next second, Timoteo carefully picked her up with a frown.

He didn't spare me another glance. Instead, he muttered, "Utterly incorrigible."

With that, he disappeared down the hallway with Nadia in his arms.

…

I was thrown into the basement of the Panno estate.

The lashes of a whip came down tirelessly. The pain was so intense I could barely make a sound.

The man assigned to interrogate me glared with malice. "How dare you target Ms. Bellucci? Don Panno asked me to teach you a lesson!"

My skin tore open. Blood poured out, staining the floor.

Before I passed out, memories flooded back.

It was when the Underboss betrayed the family, and Timoteo almost died in that shootout.

I fought to protect him, carving a bloody path out.

When it was all over, Timoteo didn't go to the hospital. He dragged me straight into the church.

Under the gaze of the Virgin Mary, we stood side by side, swearing an oath to always be each other's most trusted person.

He said he'd always have me by his side, trust me completely, and wanted me as his Underboss because he felt safe with me having his back.

But when Nadia came into the picture, all of that meant nothing.

In her presence, I was just an object that could be doubted at any moment.

An hour later, I was woken up by cold water being splashed in my face.

The iron door creaked open, and Luca Morganti, the Consigliere, walked in.

Luca looked at me with a complicated expression before speaking in a strictly professional tone. "Per Don Panno, you will attend the trial tomorrow."

I struggled to turn my eyes toward him.

He avoided my gaze and continued, "If you plead guilty to all the charges, Don Panno won't pursue the matter of you hiring people to kill Ms. Bellucci."

A harsh, rasping sound came from my throat, but I couldn't speak. I could only spit out blood.

Maybe because we'd once worked together, Luca softened his tone. "Just plead guilty. Don Panno is really angry right now. Ms. Bellucci was scared, and he felt sorry for her."

I couldn't respond.

The footsteps grew faint as he left.

I lay on the cold floor, staring at the ceiling.

Three years ago, during a deal with a Sirithi arms dealer, he suddenly reneged. Without warning, he pulled a gun and aimed straight for Timoteo's heart.

I didn't hesitate to take the bullet for him.

In the pool of blood, he shed tears for me for the first time. "Fina, hang in there. Please don't leave me. Live for me."

I had done so much more than Nadia ever did when it came to saving Timoteo's life. But why did he only remember her saving him and forget about me?

I touched the badge on my chest and said firmly, "You win. I'll see you at court tomorrow."

The next day, I was carried into the courtroom.

"Serafina Liberi, do you plead guilty?"

I closed my eyes and rasped, "Yes, I plead guilty."

The judge seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. As he brought the gavel down, the courtroom's bulletproof glass shattered.

Bullets rained down, and chaos erupted as the crowd screamed.

I looked up and saw Timoteo firmly holding Nadia behind him.

He pulled out his gun and started returning fire. With each move he made, he shielded Nadia from the danger with his body.

Through it all, not once did he look at me.

The attackers had one goal—to take Timoteo's life.

"Timoteo Panno! Today is your day to die!"

The leader of the attackers gave a wicked grin and signaled his men to focus their fire.

Timoteo fought while retreating, trying to move toward the nearest exit.

Terrified, Nadia clung to his arm. She didn't even dare to look up.

I should have remained a cold observer.

Timoteo had pushed me out to take all the blame, including the bloodshed that should have been his. For Nadia, he didn't hesitate to make me carry everything.

Just as I was about to make my escape amid the chaos, my peripheral vision caught sight of the necklace around Timoteo's neck.

It was the only clue I had left about my family and the very token of love I had given him.

I couldn't just let it be destroyed. I would take back what was mine!

The moment I saw the sniper's scope aimed at Timoteo, I threw myself forward without thinking.

The force of the impact sent me flying, crashing into Timoteo's arms.

I could hear my own breath, heavy and ragged in my chest. Every lungful of air tasted like blood.

Timoteo's body stiffened at once.

"Fina?"

His arm instinctively tightened around me, trying to catch my slipping form.

The pain was so intense that the world blurred before my eyes, but I struggled to raise my head and look at his face.

I had known this face for 12 years and loved it for just as long. Today, I finally let go for good.

Timoteo's pupils dilated in shock, and his arm holding me shook uncontrollably. His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say something.

"Timoteo, help me!" Nadia, tear-streaked and trembling, looked at him desperately.

His body tensed, and his eyes flashed with a painful conflict.

One was me—the one who had been by his side for 12 years. The other was Nadia—the first love he had once lost and now regained.

His hesitation lasted only a moment, but to me, it felt like the entirety of the 12 years I'd been discarded.

Timoteo took off his jacket and pressed it onto my wound. His voice was a panicked blur of command and comfort as he said, "Fina, hang in there! I'll be back soon, I promise!"

With the last bit of strength I had left, I reached out and grabbed him. "I want that necklace to stay with me. Can I have it?"

He tore the necklace off and shoved it into my hand. Without even a glance back, he ran toward Nadia.

He didn't even leave anyone behind to protect me.

I clenched the necklace, my gaze hard and final.

Did Timoteo still expect me to believe in him?

When he came back, he would either send me to prison or let me bleed out, so Nadia could finally be at ease.

I decided to end it here.

Since Timoteo had saved my life, I should repay him this way.

With great difficulty, I began crawling toward the window at the back.

Behind me, I heard Luca's urgent shout. "Ms. Liberi, don't move! Don Panno wants you to wait for him!"

Wait?

I'd never wait again.

With my last ounce of strength, I hauled myself out of the window.

Outside, a seaside cliff loomed. The ocean gale roared into my mouth and lungs. The sea below was a violent surge of waves, dark and bottomless.

I turned one last time to look at the chaotic crowd, almost imagining Timoteo rushing toward me.

He taught me how to shoot, how to kill, and how to be ruthless, but he never taught me how to stop loving him or forgive myself.

I released my grip on the rocks and let my body fall backward into the tumultuous sea below.

The moment the water engulfed me, the world grew quiet.

This was for the best.

From this moment on, we owed each other nothing.