While I was lost in thought, a voice suddenly came from beside me.

"Monica, get in the car."

I looked up, surprised to see Darius. For some reason, though, I no longer felt happy seeing his face.

When I got into the car, his gaze immediately landed on the book in my hands. His voice was cold as he asked, "Did Valerio give you that?"

I nodded.

Darius’s face darkened instantly. He reached over, snatched the book from me, and tossed it into the back seat.

"Why do you even want that useless thing?" His eyes burned with an anger I had never seen before. "I’ll have someone return it to him. You only accept gifts from me, understand?"

I stared at him, confused. He told me to seduce Valerio, so why was he angry all of a sudden?

Darius noticed my expression and thought I was upset. He took my hand, and his voice softened as he spoke coaxingly.

"You're mine. If anyone's giving you gifts, it should be me. Monica, I need you to understand that."

I pulled my hand out of his grasp and murmured, "Okay."

"By the way, Gina came to me to tell me that she's been fighting with her family lately and wants to stay at my place. It wouldn't look right if she saw us living together. So you need to move out of the master bedroom and into one of the guest rooms."

My heart sank, but I nodded obediently.

Darius stayed silent for the rest of the drive. Before long, the car pulled into the Rossi estate, and he led me straight to the bedroom.

Some of Gina's belongings had been moved in; her luggage was piled on the floor.

I was about to start packing when Darius shoved me onto the bed. He was rougher than usual, violently tearing at my clothes.

"Darius, stop!"

However, Darius looked genuinely furious. His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped my chin, growling, "Monica, you need to remember that until you're married, you belong to me and only me. Even if you fall for someone, it can't be Valerio."

I almost laughed at that. If this were before, I might have been happy, but after everything that happened, I just felt disgusted.

I said coldly, "Gina is going to be here any second. Are you sure you want the first thing she sees when she walks in to be us in bed?"

Darius froze, the madness in his eyes quickly fading as reason returned to him in an instant.

By the time I stood up, he had straightened his clothes. It was as if nothing had happened.

"I've already made arrangements for the art exhibition. Let the housekeeper pack your things and get some rest. I'm heading out."

The moment the door closed, I collapsed onto the bed. I stared at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling and suddenly found it all ridiculous.

I realized that for these past ten years, I had been living in a gilded cage.

I started packing my things.

I did not take a single piece of those designer dresses and jewelry Darius had given me. Instead, I took what truly belonged to me: my own clothes, as well as the book Valerio had given me, the one I had always wanted.

Valerio was even more approachable than I expected. I barely had to put in any effort to get close to him. He never had his guard up around me, and no matter how busy he was, he always made time to see me.

On the day of the art exhibition, a few days later, I wore a black cocktail dress and waited for Valerio at the gallery entrance. Before long, a black car pulled up in front of me.

Valerio stepped out and naturally wrapped his arm around my waist.

The moment we walked into the gallery, I spotted Darius and Gina. Gina wore a red evening gown, her arm linked through Darius'. Her eyes instantly lit up when she spotted Valerio, but when she noticed me standing beside him, her smile vanished.

Darius' gaze landed on Valerio's hand around my waist, and a flash of displeasure crossed his eyes before he quickly masked it. He simply said, "Valerio, it's been a while."

Valerio did not shake his hand, just gave a slight nod. "Mr. Rossi."

His tone was distant, making it clear he did not think much of Darius.

I clenched my fists and, following Darius' instructions, tugged on Valerio's sleeve. "Mr. Warren, could you come look at something with me over there?"

Valerio looked at me, his deep brown eyes probing. "Have you decided?"

My heart lurched as it felt like he knew something.

I looked up just in time to see Darius gazing tenderly at Gina.

"Yes." I bit my lip and pulled Valerio toward the back of the gallery.

We walked behind a curtain where no one else was around. I took a deep breath, turned to face him, and pressed my hand against his neck before kissing him hard.

Valerio froze for a second, then closed his eyes and pulled me closer, kissing me back even more intensely.

His kiss was rough, tasting of tobacco, but it was not…unpleasant. After a while, I felt my breath catch, my whole body trembling against his.

In that moment, we lost ourselves completely, the tension between us unraveling into something uncontrollably raw.

The next second, the curtain suddenly dropped, and Valerio and I, half-undressed, were instantly exposed to everyone.

The music in the gallery stopped at the same time, and a piercing scream shattered the silence.

"You skank! What the hell are you doing?!" Gina charged over, her face livid.

Everyone around us turned to look, camera shutters clicking rapidly.

I held onto Valerio tightly, trying to cover myself.

This was Darius' master plan: to expose the 'scandal' between Valerio and me so Gina would finally give up on him.

That being said, Darius barely looked pleased. He stood at the edge of the crowd, staring at me with a strange mix of anger, frustration, and something else I could not name.

Then, a sharp smack rang out as my cheek instantly burned with pain.

Gina had slapped me across the face, pointing at my nose as she screamed. "You filthy orphan! Do you even know who you are? How dare you seduce Valerio! You think sleeping with him will make you queen of Sirioli?"

I held my stinging cheek, ready to speak when Valerio pulled me behind him. He held me close, his eyes cold as ice as he glared at Gina.

"Who I'm with is none of your business."

Gina stumbled back a step at his gaze, tears instantly streaming down her face. She mumbled, "Valerio, how could you treat me like this? I've loved you for so long..."

Valerio ignored her and turned to his assistant instead. "Lock this place down and delete every photo the media took just now. Anyone who leaks anything damaging about my future wife is making an enemy of the Warren family."

He added, "Also, I have good news to share with everyone. In two weeks, you're all invited to attend my wedding to Monica."