When I got home, I didn't turn on the lights. I just sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

Memories came rushing back in waves.

When I first got together with Giovanni, he never minded my dyslexia. Every Valentine's Day, he would write me a love letter by hand. Knowing that I couldn't read it, he would read it to me line by line under the night sky, beneath the stars.

He once said, "Chiara Faraci, your world is missing a window, but I'll be your light."

After we got married, he labeled every bottle in the house with colors. Red for condiments. Blue for cleaning supplies. Green for medicine. Even without reading, I'd never pick the wrong one.

Later, Luigi was born.

Every night, Giovanni would hold him beside me, open a picture book, and read it out loud. On the surface, he was reading to Luigi. But I knew he was reading to me too.

He once told Luigi, "Luigi, your mamma may not be able to read words, but her heart understands. She's smarter than anyone. No one is allowed to bully her. Not even you."

Luigi answered in his baby voice, "Okay! I'll protect Mamma!"

I thought days like that would last forever—until a month ago.

I secretly went for professional training. The results were good. I could slowly recognize common words now.

I rushed home, excited, wanting to surprise them. But the house was empty.

When I walked into the study, Giovanni's computer screen was still on. On it was Maria's pregnancy checkup report and a message from him saying he'd go to her place that night.

My hands trembled as I called him. But it was Luigi who picked up. "Mamma, can you stop bothering Papa? He brought me to discuss family matters. He's very busy. If you're really that bored, clean up the house. I left a leather notebook in the study. Put it back in my room for me."

Following his words, I looked at the notebook. It was open to the last page, with the words written across it, "Mamma held my award certificate upside down again today. I hate how she can't understand anything. Maria is so smart. I wish she could be my mamma."

So, even in Luigi's heart, he had long wanted to replace me.

The pain in my chest pulled me out of the memory. I opened the email from an overseas non-profit organization. It was a job offer to help children with reading disabilities learn to read.

I gently pressed "Accept".

This time, I would leave their world completely. I didn't want either of them anymore.

The sound of the door unlocking rang out. I closed my eyes and didn't move.

Giovanni turned on the light. "Baby, why are you sleeping here? You'll catch a cold."

He lifted me in his arms and carefully placed me on the bed. I pretended to wake, slowly opening my eyes. He smiled and leaned down, his lips wandering and his warm breath brushing against my neck.

Before, I would've responded eagerly. But now, all I could see in my mind were his intimate messages with Maria and her pregnancy report.

I shoved him away and sat up.

Giovanni stumbled back against the nightstand, but didn't get angry. Instead, he cupped my face, seeming even more anxious. "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well? Should I call a doctor?"

I looked at him and said calmly, "It's nothing. I just had a dream. I dreamed that you betrayed me, and I wanted to leave."

His eyes reddened instantly as he pulled me tightly into his arms. "Chichi, that was just a nightmare. It won't happen. It will never happen. I really, really love you. Don't leave me… I can't live without you."

His voice in my ear sounded so sincere. But my tears wouldn't stop falling.

He said he loved me. Yet, he lied to me, hurt me, and betrayed me.

Since he wouldn't honor the promise of "whoever betrays first disappears", then I'd do it for him.

Perhaps Giovanni noticed something was off about me the night before.

The next day was a rare free weekend. Instead of going to handle family business, he suggested we go to Sunny Coast. "We've wanted to go to the beach for a long time. We just never had the time."

His voice softened as he asked, "Come with me and Luigi today, okay?"

Luigi was unusually excited. "My classmates all say that beach is super fun, but it's just too crowded. But this time, Papa booked the whole place for us. Papa is the best!"

Before I could refuse, he had already packed the swimsuits. So, I could only follow along. I told myself this would be the last weekend I spent with them before leaving.

When we arrived at the beach, the sea breeze was strong. Luigi grabbed my hand and ran across the sand, his laughter scattered by the wind. Giovanni followed behind us the entire time.

When I rubbed my arms from the cold, he draped his jacket over my shoulders. When I glanced at the ice cream cart in the distance, he immediately ran off to buy three ice creams. This time, he even joined me for a dive, something I'd mentioned many times before but he'd never been interested in.

Luigi had never laughed this happily in front of me before. Giovanni looked a little tired, but his eyes were bright.

On the way home, Giovanni pulled over by a street sketch artist. "It must be fate. Let's have him draw a family portrait for us."

I didn't refuse.

When it was done, Giovanni held the drawing up in front of me. "Look, our family. Together forever."

Luigi leaned in too, smiling sweetly. "Mamma, I'm so happy today! I wish every day could be like this, just our family, having fun together."

In the drawing, the three of us stood close together. But my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

When they said these things, were they really happy? Or were they lying to me again? I couldn't tell, and I didn't want to try to figure it out.

Noticing my silence, Giovanni took my hand and pressed it against his chest. "Chichi, my heart belongs only to you, always. We'll never be apart."

I met his gaze blankly, my voice soft. "Are you sure I'm the only one in your heart?"

He froze for a second. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes but was quickly covered by a smile. "Of course… And Luigi too."

Luigi teased from the side, "Mamma, are you jealous of me too?"

Before he could finish, Giovanni's phone rang. He stepped aside for a brief moment. When he came back, he looked apologetic. "Chichi, I'm sorry. Something came up at the docks. I need to handle it."

He adjusted the jacket on my shoulders. His tone was gentle but left no room for refusal as he said, "Let the driver take you home first. Get some rest. I'll come back and be with you once I'm done."

Then, he looked at Luigi, who immediately grabbed his hand. "Papa, I want to go with you! I want to learn how to handle family business too!"

With that, Giovanni led Luigi away, urgency written all over his face.

But the moment he turned earlier, I clearly saw the name on the phone screen he hadn't had time to lock. The call was from Maria.

I looked down at the family portrait in my hands and let out a bitter laugh. Then, I tore it into pieces and threw it into a trash can by the roadside.

Since they cared so much about their new family, I'd give them what they wanted.

Over the next few days, neither Giovanni nor Luigi appeared during the day. Giovanni would occasionally come back late at night, exhausted, but he was still gentle with me. He'd kiss my forehead and softly explain that he'd been busy lately and that he'd make it up to me soon.

I never asked questions. I acted like I was still the same Chiara from before, the one who understood nothing.

Meanwhile, Maria's updates flooded boldly into my life through social media, and I quietly erased every trace of myself from the house.

On the first day, Maria posted a video of Giovanni and Luigi watching fireworks with her, while I gathered every photo of us in the house, ripped them apart one by one, and threw them into the fireplace.

On the second day, Maria shared a romantic scene of Giovanni decorating a countryside villa in roses. And I called in workers to have the glass greenhouse in the backyard, the one he had built for me with his own hands, completely demolished.

On the final day, Maria posted a photo of Giovanni and Luigi pressing their ears to her stomach, captioned, "Listening to the heartbeat". Meanwhile, I had already finished packing all my things.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw Giovanni and Luigi, who had been gone for days, standing at the door.

After days apart, Giovanni's eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in a while. In his hand, he gripped a document tightly, his expression extremely tense. "Chichi, this report says… that you accepted an offer from an overseas non-profit organization. Is that true?"