In the third year of my relationship with Dante Santoro, heir to the Santoro family fortune, I got pregnant.

The night before the Don's birthday banquet, he finally brought me home as his girlfriend.

Giulia Costa, the housekeeper's daughter, smiled sweetly and asked about my food allergies. I mentioned I was allergic to truffles.

In the end, every dish at dinner was loaded with truffles. I swallowed my irritation and grabbed a slice of cake that looked safe.

Two bites in, I heard her laugh.

"I got creative and mixed truffle powder into the frosting. How is it?"

Before I could answer, my throat closed up and I could not breathe.

Giulia gasped and covered her mouth. "Ms. Leone, your skin is turning purple! Do you have some kind of contagious disease?"

Everyone watched as I was carried out like trash.

The moment my allergic reaction cleared up, Giulia insisted on helping me pack.

I told her multiple times not to touch my ring. In the few minutes I spent in the bathroom, she "accidentally" knocked it down the drain. That was the wedding ring Dante gave me.

I lost my temper and confronted her, but Dante just laughed it off. "She's jealous of your pretty ring. Don't be so petty."

That night, Giulia brought sleep-aid drinks to my room as an apology.

Dante convinced me to accept her peace offering. I drank a few cups and felt drowsy almost immediately.

When Giulia walked me back to my room, I told her to lock the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, a group of men shoved their way inside and beat my stomach until I miscarried.

The baby was gone.

Giulia's eyes filled with tears as she claimed she never saw anyone enter. She said I never wanted the Santoro family to have an heir and had orchestrated my own abortion.

Dante went white with rage and ordered his men to dump me in the ocean. When I opened my eyes again, it was the night before the banquet.

"Ms. Leone, do you have any food allergies? I'll personally inform the kitchen."

The moment I stepped out of the car, a woman with perfect makeup hooked her arm through mine like we were old friends.

It was the same words, and the same tone.

I looked up at the soaring dome and the crystal chandelier emitting golden light.

I knew this house. This was the Santoro estate.

I had died here once before.

Dante Santoro stood beside me in a perfectly tailored black suit, composed, charming, and untouchable. His hand rested lightly on the small of my back with a hint of possession.

"Giulia is waiting for your answer," he murmured near my ear. "What are you thinking about?"

What was I thinking about?

Seawater flooding my lungs. Steel-toed boots slamming into my abdomen until the life inside me became a pool of blood…

My fingers dug into my palms, nails biting deep into flesh. I forced the memory down and managed a smile.

"I'm severely allergic to caviar. I absolutely cannot have it. However, you can add plenty of truffles. I love the aroma."

A flash of something sharp flickered in Giulia's eyes.

"Of course," she said sweetly. "I'll make sure everything is perfect."

After Giulia left for the kitchen, Dante frowned in confusion. "I'm the one who's allergic to caviar. Since when are you allergic too?"

I lowered my eyes to hide the coldness in them.

"I'm so used to remembering your preferences that when she asked, I accidentally said yours instead. It doesn't matter. As long as you're happy, I can eat anything."

His expression softened and he leaned down to kiss the spot behind my ear.

"I've already received the family’s signet ring. Tomorrow, at my father's birthday banquet, I'll formally inherit the position of head of the family.”

"We'll announce our engagement then."

Before I could respond, Giulia's voice drifted from the kitchen. "Dante, I need your help. Can you come here for a moment?"

He did not even glance at me before rolling up his sleeves. "Coming."

I watched his back disappear from view. I touched my slightly rounded belly and did not stop him.

In my previous life, it had been the same.

Back then, Giulia asked about my dietary restrictions. I said I was allergic to truffles and could not have any at all.

Every dish at dinner gleamed with paper-thin slices of black truffles flown in from Emaly.

I thought it was just a plating oversight and ate two bites of what looked like plain cream cake. The moment I swallowed, I heard her laugh.

"Ms. Leone, I specially mixed truffle powder into the cream. Doesn't it have more depth of flavor now?"

The swelling burned from my throat all the way to my chest. I tried to speak but could only manage broken gasps for air.

"Oh my god!" Giulia screamed and staggered back half a step, her face twisted in disgust.

"You just ate some cake and your skin is turning purple, Ms. Leone? Do you have some kind of contagious disease?"

I collapsed from my chair and was carried away on a stretcher, my face contorted in pain. Everyone avoided me like I might infect them.

When I woke up, Dante sat calmly at my bedside.

"Matilde, Giulia didn't mean to hurt you. She misheard. She thought you said you liked eating truffles.”

"She may be the housekeeper's daughter, but we grew up together. She's like a sister to me.”

"This is just a small matter. Don't make a big deal out of it."

A small matter. The humiliation I suffered was a small matter.

My child was a small matter. My life was also a small matter.

This time, I would never let these things remain "small matters."

Night fell, and Dante brought me to the dining room for dinner. The long table gleamed under the light of the crystal chandelier. We took our seats.

The moment he looked down, his expression darkened, but the corners of my mouth lifted.

It was because every single dish on the table was glazed with glistening caviar, and there was not a trace of truffle anywhere.

Giulia's eyes gleamed with provocation as she stared at me intently.

"I spent the entire afternoon supervising the kitchen to prepare these dishes. You two had better eat up."

Dante's brow furrowed as if he wanted to say something. I caught his wrist under the table and said softly, "Preparing so many dishes must have taken a lot of effort. We can't disappoint her."

Dante nodded and turned to Giulia with pity in his eyes. "Giulia, thank you for all your hard work tonight."

She smiled, humble and polite, though she could not quite hide her smugness. Dante took a sip of wine but did not touch any of the food.

That was until his mother, Angela Romano, brought out a specially made mousse cake with a rich, irresistible aroma.

He carefully cut a slice, saw no sign of caviar, and ate three pieces in quick succession. I barely touched anything.

Giulia suddenly leaned close and pushed a slice of cake in front of me.

"Ms. Leone, this is a handmade cake. I made it with a special mousse base. You have to try it."

I hesitated, remembering my previous life. I did not want to touch anything that passed through her hands.

"I'm not very hungry..." Her eyes instantly turned red.

"Ms. Leone, do you not like me?" Her voice trembled. "I made this especially for you!"

Dante's gaze sharpened. "It's just a piece of cake. What's the big deal? Don't make Giulia feel like she's being rejected."

Angela glared at me as well.

"Giulia spent the whole afternoon preparing this, and you haven't even said thank you.”

"You've probably never even had quality handmade cake before, have you? It’s no wonder you have no taste."

I did not argue back. I just took a small bite, keeping my face calm.

Giulia's tears turned to laughter. "Matilde, I crushed the caviar and mixed it into the mousse base. The flavors blend together so well, don't they?"

Before I could speak, Dante gasped and pointed at the cake. "You put caviar in the cake?"

Giulia nodded. "Yes. It's a new flavor I'm trying. It makes the texture more savory."

Dante slammed his plate to the floor. Mousse splattered everywhere.

"Matilde said she's allergic to caviar!" he shouted. "Why would you still add it?"

Giulia froze, tears immediately welling up.

"I thought Matilde said she liked caviar... Besides, she's fine, isn't she?"

I was indeed fine, but Dante was not. He tried to speak but suddenly clutched his throat and collapsed to the floor.

Panic flashed across Giulia's face. "Dante, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

I also put on an urgent expression and knelt beside him.

"This is anaphylactic shock. His airway is closing. Get a doctor! He could suffocate to death!"

By the time the private doctor arrived, Dante had lost consciousness completely.

After several hours of emergency treatment, his condition finally stabilized. The doctor walked out of the treatment room and shook his head.

"He has a severe allergy to caviar. You let him eat that much?”

"One more minute without treatment and he would have died."

Giulia froze. Then she whirled around and lunged at me, screaming. "Dante is allergic to caviar. Why didn't you warn me?"

I stepped back, my face full of distress. "I clearly told you not to use caviar. Dante heard me say it too."

I turned to Angela. "Madre, you were there too. Do you want to check the security footage?"

Angela glared daggers at Giulia. "Giulia! Dante never looked down on you for being the housekeeper's daughter. He always protected you, yet you tried to kill him!”

"Matilde told you not to use caviar, but you still put it in the cake. Was this done on purpose?"

Giulia started crying again.

"Madre, I didn't mean to. I thought Ms. Leone said she liked caviar. I only added a little bit..."

A little bit. Those words nearly made me laugh out loud.

Angela shoved her hard. "You've lived at the Santoro estate for so many years and yet you can't understand something this simple?”

"If this happens again, you can forget about keeping those ears of yours!"

I watched them tear into each other. It was so amusing.

In my previous life, after I barely survived the allergic reaction, Angela had held my hand and told me Giulia meant no harm and that she was just a bit careless.

It turned out when the victim was her own son, she cared plenty about assigning blame.

Just then, Dante woke up and said weakly, "Don't blame Giulia. It was my fault. I didn't explain clearly."

Even though he was groggy and was still wearing an oxygen tube, he protected her. My gaze turned colder.

In the end, Giulia promised she would take full care of Dante. Only then did Angela stop being angry.

...

The next morning, Dante forced himself to come home, his face still pale. While I was selecting accessories for him, Giulia rushed over on her own.

"Matilde, let me handle these small tasks. Today is too important."

I was about to refuse when Dante cut in directly.

"Just let her do it. If she doesn't do something, she'll feel guilty for the rest of her life."

Hearing Dante say that, I smiled.

"Of course."

Of course, I would let her help.

She opened my suitcase and picked up jewelry box after jewelry box.

"Ms. Leone, which items are especially important to you? I'll be extra careful not to damage them."

I narrowed my eyes slightly and pointed at the black velvet box on the table.

"The others don't matter, but whatever you do, don't touch that box. What's inside is extremely important."

The box contained the Santoro family signet ring. Dante's father, Don Lorenzo Santoro, had given it to him after he ruthlessly crushed a rival family.

Dante laughed and teased, "That's right. It's extremely important. This concerns Matilde's wealth and glory for the rest of her life."

Giulia's eyes flickered. My smile deepened.

In my previous life, I had warned her repeatedly not to touch my ring, but when it came time to announce the engagement, the servants could not find it anywhere.

I asked Giulia where the ring was, and her eyes immediately turned red.

"I thought the ring was so beautiful. I really liked it and couldn't help trying it on."

"So where is it?" I demanded sharply. "Give it back to me."

She sobbed while bowing repeatedly. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault! While I was wearing it, a servant called me to the kitchen. It slipped from my hand and fell down the drain... It got flushed away..."

Dante, who had rushed over at the commotion, stood protectively in front of Giulia like a knight. "Giulia just liked the ring too much. It wasn't done on purpose.

"If we can't announce the engagement today, we'll do it at next year's birthday banquet. We can just buy another ring."

This time, I wanted to see if Dante would still be so generous after Giulia destroyed his family signet ring.

When I went to the bathroom, I ran into Giulia. She was acting suspicious, and when she saw me, she immediately hid something behind her back.

I had already glimpsed a corner of the velvet ring box, but I pretended not to notice and turned to leave.

The banquet was about to start. Nearly every core family member had arrived. Dante wore a perfectly tailored suit and stood in the center of the hall that hummed with power.

Though his face was still somewhat pale, the ambition in his eyes burned more fiercely than ever before.

Several people surrounded him, pouring out praise.

"I heard you closed the family's biggest arms deal? Well done!"

"Like father, like son. I heard the Don already gave you the family signet ring."

"None of us have ever seen what the family signet ring looks like. Why don't you show us?"