I hated the moment. Feeling like an outsider rather than the bride made me feel disgusted.

Before I could excuse myself from Gloria, a delivery interrupted us. A man entered, carrying a garment bag along with several boxes. Dresses. Lorenzo approached, smiling in that way that felt more rehearsed than real.

“Aletta,” he began, his tone light and nonchalant. “I know you’ve been busy, so I had Stefania pick out a wedding dress for you. She has better taste than you, after all.”

His words hit me like a physical blow, but I refused to flinch. Instead, I looked at him, my expression impassive, and said nothing.

Stefania stood then, crossing the room with a smug grin. “I picked a few options,” she said, her voice syrupy sweet. “You’ll look beautiful in whichever one you choose.”

The room was suddenly suffocating. Every gaze felt like a spotlight, every word like a chain tightening around me.

“Thank you,” I said softly, my voice betraying none of the storm raging inside me. “I’ll look at them later.”

The dress might have been a dagger, but I wasn’t ready to bleed for them. Not tonight.

Tomorrow, they could have their wedding. But they’d never see the bride. Tomorrow, everything will change.

Stefania’s voice rang out as she disturbed everyone as her tone dripped with bright enthusiasm. “Aletta, I’m your bridesmaid!” she excitedly said as if she had no idea from the start. “Can you believe it? Lorenzo said only me would fit as your bridesmaid. Wow! We’ll make such a grand entrance at the wedding, sister! And I promised that everyone will see how stunning our family’s daughters are!”

“Okay,” I only said.

Stefania left me next to try on the dress she will wear tomorrow as bridesmaid. She went out of the room where she changed her dresses as soon as she was ready to show us what she was wearing. She twirled on her heels, her delicate lace mermaid-style dress hugging her figure perfectly, the picture of elegance and poise. The dress looked more bridal than anything meant for a bridesmaid.

Lorenzo smiled indulgently, watching Stefania with an expression of pride. “You look beautiful, Stefania,” he said, his voice soft, his gaze lingering.

Meanwhile, my eyes were fixed on the so-called wedding dress lying on the table before me. The fabric was yellowed, cheap, and reeked of neglect. The large tear across the chest was almost mocking, a blatant reminder of just how little I mattered in this charade.

And Stefania said she picked some dresses for me to choose from… Thank God that I don’t believe any words from her anymore.

Domenico Volante, mine and Stefania’s father, ruffled his favorite daughter’s hair affectionately next. “That’s my girl, always stealing the spotlight,” he said to his spoiled Stefania in his jovial tone.

Stefania beamed, glancing at herself in the mirror. “All that’s missing is a crown, Papa!”

Lorenzo chuckled. “That’s easy. Aletta has one. She’s the big sister here; I’m sure she wouldn’t mind sharing.” His gaze turned to me then, noting the tattered dress in my hands. “What happened here?” he asked, his tone shifting to faint annoyance.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Stefania beat me to it. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, feigning concern. “That’s awful! But the bridal shop is closed now… Maybe we can find a second-hand dress for Aletta to wear? It’s just for one day, after all. You’ve always said you wanted something simple, right, Aletta?”

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. All eyes were on me, waiting for my response.

Lorenzo, ever the diplomat as long as to cover Stefania, added, “Stefania has a point, Aletta. No need to make a fuss over this. She did her part and this is all the bridal shop's mistakes.”

A fuss? I could barely hold back the laugh threatening to escape. With Lorenzo’s resources, a new dress could have been arranged with a single phone call. But no one here believed I was worth the effort.

“It’s fine,” I said finally, forcing a faint smile. “I don’t want to bother anyone. I’ll handle it myself.”

The tension in the room dissipated almost instantly. Lorenzo smiled as if I’d said the magic words to keep his carefully curated world intact.

He handed me a black card, his tone light. “Here. Use this. Whatever makes you happy, Aletta.”

I hesitated, then took the card reluctantly. “Thank you,” I said quietly.

The words felt like a chasm between us, widening the already insurmountable distance. Lorenzo shifted on his feet, uncomfortable, as if sensing the gulf but unwilling to address it.

Stefania broke the silence. “We should take a family photo!” she said, clapping her hands together. “It’s rare for us all to be together. Tomorrow will be so hectic, and we need a proper picture to remember this.”

Lorenzo nodded eagerly, pulling me into the center of the room. Stefania fetched her camera, her bright smile unwavering.

As the shutter clicked, Stefania stepped forward suddenly, brushing against me. My balance wavered, my heel catching on the edge of the rug.

“Aletta!”

Lorenzo’s voice was sharp with alarm, but as I stumbled, Stefania let out a sudden sob.

Tears streamed down her face, her cries piercing the air. “I didn’t mean to! Aletta, I’m so sorry!”

Lorenzo hesitated for just a moment, his instincts warring with his loyalties. Then, as though compelled by some unseen force, he moved toward Stefania, his arms wrapping around her trembling frame.

I crashed into the nearby coat rack, the sharp edge of a hanger grazing my arm. Pain flared, but it was nothing compared to the sting of Lorenzo’s choice.

I straightened slowly, brushing off the sting of humiliation. The room had fallen silent, all eyes now focused on Stefania as she wept in Lorenzo’s embrace.

Mikaela, Stefania’s mother, moved to comfort her daughter too, her hand resting on Stefania’s shoulder. “It’s all right, sweetheart. It was just an accident.”

I swallowed hard, the taste of bitterness of my situation thick on my tongue. My gaze met Lorenzo’s for a fleeting moment, but he quickly looked away, his attention fixed entirely on Stefania. Another set of eyes I met next, Matteo’s. I gulped as I tried to hide the pain in my eyes from Matteo’s scrutinizing gazes.

Matteo was looking at me like he wanted to help me and just waiting for me to give him a go signal. But I won’t like him to be classified by Lorenzo as the one caring for me from his ally’s peeps. I can’t let Matteo be questioned once I will be gone tomorrow.

“Aletta,” Lorenzo said after a moment, his tone placating. “You should be more careful!”

Why me? I wanna ask why it was me again to blame?

More careful? The words echoed in my head, each syllable a fresh wound. Damn you, Lorenzo!

“Of course,” I said with my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “I’ll be more careful, Lorenzo.”

As Stefania’s sobs subsided, Lorenzo guided her to a chair, his hand lingering on hers in a way that made my stomach twist.

I excused myself, retreating to the guest room under the pretense of needing rest. Once the door closed behind me, the facade cracked, and the weight of it all came crashing down.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the culmination of everything I’d dreamed for, but tonight had made it clear: this wasn’t my story. It never had been. I was just a side character here.

Stefania had taken center stage, and Lorenzo… Lorenzo had let her.

I cried my heart out. I poured it all out of me with a promise that this would be the last moment I cry a river for Lorenzo. Enough is enough.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, my phone buzzed. A message from Matteo lit up the screen.

MATTEO: Fucking leave it all behind. The Vitale family is ready when you are. Stop making yourself a damsel in distress here.

I frowned. The Vitale family?

The Vitale family is my escape alright, but…

Why does Matteo know my mother’s family? And why did he message me like that?

****

I slipped out of Corvino's Elysian Manor thick with tension inside me. The silence of the night outside was a sharp contrast to the chaos in my mind.

Inside, Stefania had been basking in the glow of Lorenzo’s undivided attention, recalling how her crocodile tears ensured Lorenzo didn’t even glance my way. It was almost impressive, the way she’d mastered the art of manipulation, almost perfect.

Almost. For she didn’t impress me nor manipulated me. Stefania can fool everyone but me.

I walked toward my car, my heels clicking against the cobblestones, each step echoing the resolve building inside me. The USB drive in my clutch was a heavy weight, its contents was like a loaded gun that I could blow tomorrow with some help from Liz.

I grinned. Tomorrow wasn’t going to be a wedding. It was going to be a reckoning.

But first, I needed a drink.

The dim light of a bar caught my eye, its neon sign flickering like a heartbeat. The place was nearly empty, save for a bartender polishing glasses and a man seated at the far end of the counter. I slid onto a stool, nodding at the bartender. “Whiskey. Neat.”

The man at the end of the bar turned his head slightly, his sharp features catching the light.

Matteo. Of course. Of all the gin joints… he found me so easy again.

“Damsel,” he said, his voice smooth and low, like a predator acknowledging its prey. “On the eve of your big day…” He scoffed. “Leaving the fun in the reunion?”

I raised an eyebrow, taking the glass the bartender set in front of me. “You always did have a flair for dramatic approaches, Matteo. Shouldn’t you be out plotting something equally theatrical? You were there. Why not help me earlier to shock the Corvinos and Volantes?”

His lips curved into a smirk as he pushed his glass aside and turned to face me fully. “Maybe I’m only here to save you from making a mistake. But… I need to do it discreetly, right?”

I snorted, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. “The mistake was staying with Lorenzo for as long as I did. I know that already. And you know well I was planning to escape so why are they still following me?”

“Your plan?” Matteo’s expression shifted, his gaze sharpening. “Anyway, what exactly is your plan? To reveal everything by walking into your wedding tomorrow and airing every dirty secret you’ve uncovered?” He grinned. “That’s suicide, Damsel.”

I froze, my glass halfway to my lips. “How do you know about that?”

That was not exactly my plan, of course. The plan I had was already arranged for Liz to do the airing of the content on the USB drive. But all of that will happen once I already boarded the jet to Sicily.

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “As I said, I know most women do, Damsel. And I know Lorenzo would do to you once you humiliate him.”

“Lorenzo Corvino will kill me… was it the one you will say next?” I looked at him sideways. I made a face. “And I thought you already know that I belong to Vitale's organization.”

“Yep, but we are in a place ruled by the Corvinos and Volantes. Vitales are only ruling Sicily. Your mother can’t do anything here in Milan.”

“Let’s say that was really my plan…” I hummed the words. “And let’s say I changed my mind because of your convincing words…”

Matteo chuckled. And again… I gave it to him. Matteo’s really good looking. In fact, much head turner than Lorenzo.

“So what should you suggest this time for me to do, Signor Santoro?”

“Simply.” Matteo shrugged. “You don’t need to show the world what kind of man Lorenzo is. He’s already made that abundantly clear to everyone who matters.”

I set the glass down, staring into its depths. “But everything is not about him! It’s about me, Matteo… I can’t let them walk away unscathed after what they did to me!”

“And what happens after?” Matteo asked, his tone suddenly serious. “You humiliate him, Stefania cries her way into another pity party, and you… what? Ride off into the sunset?”

I looked at him, my jaw tightening. “I’ll figure it out. And the Vitale family is waiting for me, right?”

“No, you won’t figure it out with your condition right now,” he said bluntly. “But yes with the Vitale family waiting for you in Sicily.”

“And?” I asked because I know he will have some additional remarks on his mind.

“The truth is that you’ll still be tied to Lorenzo, the Corvinos and Volantes, to everything you’re trying to leave behind. What you must do is to cut the cord they had on you completely.”

“And you have a better plan?” I asked, boringly asked because I already planned about that by leaving all behind here in Milan.

Matteo’s smirk returned, but there was a glint of something dangerous in his eyes. “As a matter of fact, I do. I almost told you that. You just don’t let me explain it to you at first.”

“Yeah, of course you do,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “So, let me guess… it involves you swooping in to clean up the mess and somehow coming out on top?”

“Something like that,” he admitted, his grin widening. “But it also involves giving you the freedom you’ve been chasing. No strings attached.”