That night,Adrian did not return to the bedroom.He stayed on the sofa,pacing more than sleeping.Through the door,I heard his lighter click and his low voice on the phone.

"She is just angry."

"No,she cannot really marry someone else."

"I know her.Eight years.She will not let go."

My phone lit up with Sophia's message.

[Are you asleep?I am still furious.Claire knew that bouquet was yours.]

Another came right after.

[And Adrian.If he says next time again,I swear I will throw champagne in his face.]

I typed,[You postponed your wedding five times for me.]

She replied,[Because I wanted to.]

Then,after a pause:[But this time,I do not want to tell you to wait.Elena,if you choose to leave,I will clear the road.]

My eyes burned.Everyone said a Moretti daughter did not need protection.Sophia was the only one who still treated me like a girl who could hurt,get tired,and cry in the dark.

I wrote back,[When have I ever broken a promise to you,babe?]

At three in the morning,the family lawyer arrived downstairs.Nico,my older brother,sat in the car,black sleeves rolled up,a stack of documents beside him.He saw me and asked nothing,only draped his jacket over my shoulders.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"The apartment?"

"Sell it."

He raised a brow."You loved that place for five years."

I looked at the keys in my palm."I loved it because I thought it would be a home."

Nico was quiet for a moment,then ruffled my hair.In the Moretti family,softness was something we hid from enemies.But right then,he was only my brother.

"All right,"he said."I will handle it.Do not look back."

The next day,Adrian moved into his emergency apartment near the office and sent me one message.

[When you figure yourself out,I will come back.]

I did not reply.

He thought it was a cold war.He thought a few days away would make me lower my head first,swallow my hurt first,and go back to folding his shirts like nothing had happened.

This time,I gave him no step to stand on.

I listed the apartment,moved my share out of the joint account,mailed his spare key back to his office,and deleted his friends one by one.Finally,in the empty living room,I texted my father.

[I accept the Valenti marriage.]

His answer came fast.

[Good.]

The Morettis did not waste time asking why someone finally woke up.They gave you a road,a car,and enough power to leave.

I went to Adrian's temporary apartment three afternoons later,not to see him,but to return a file.It was for the port warehouse project he had been handling,and without it,his report the next week would be a mess.

I no longer loved him,but I was not interested in petty revenge.

His apartment was above a coffee shop and a dry cleaner.The elevator opened on the nineteenth floor,and laughter drifted down the hallway.His door was not fully closed.I lifted my hand to knock,but Claire's voice came from inside.

"It is my fault.I should not have reached for the bouquet.Now the company chat keeps joking that I look more like Adrian's fiancee.I do not even know how to explain."Her voice was soft,wounded in just the right amount.

A man laughed."Claire,do you want him to explain,or do you want him to say there is nothing to explain?"

The room filled with teasing.Claire said sweetly,"Stop it.Adrian has someone in his heart."

Adrian's voice followed,indulgent as always."Enough.Do not tease her."

Someone asked,"What about Elena?I heard she really is preparing a wedding.Are you not afraid she will leave?"

After a brief silence,Adrian laughed softly."She will not."

A friend tried again."Do not be so sure.A Moretti woman can walk before you blink.And giving the bouquet to Claire in public was too much."

"I know,"Adrian said."But I am not refusing to marry her.It is just not the right time.I will marry her sooner or later.That never changed.I only need to secure my own position first,so people cannot say I climbed by grabbing her skirt."

Another man sighed."And Claire?Do not get mad,but her timing is always perfect.You are about to get engaged,she has a crisis.You are about to meet the Moretti elders,she gets sick.You really do not see it?"

Claire's voice trembled at once."I did not.I am just scared of losing Adrian.In New York,he is all I have."

Adrian said,"Enough.Do not make her out to be a villain.Elena grew up spoiled.Her temper is bigger than most.Let her cool off.She needs to learn that not everything can be forced with the Moretti name."

Someone muttered,"But what if she really goes?"

Adrian smiled."Goes where?She has loved me for eight years.We bought a home.We kept a nursery.Every time she talks tough,she comes back.She just wants me to coax her."

The hallway light clicked off.

In the darkness,I looked down at the file and almost laughed.

So my eight years were not love to him,not trust,not forgiveness.They were leverage.Proof that I would never leave.

I did not knock.I placed the file by the door,pushed it under the crack with my shoe,and left.

When the elevator doors closed,I texted Nico.

[Proceed with the wedding.]

His reply came quickly.

[The motorcade is ready,little princess.]

I smiled,and for once,it was real.