"She knows her place, at least…"

"With a background like that, did she really think she was worthy of being our future Donna?"

"The Heir and Miss Camilla are a true match, a union of power!"

I quickened my pace, the hot sting of tears finally breaking free.

Late that night, I opened the safe deposit box. Inside were standard annulment papers.

"Dissolve the engagement… No, these won't do," I muttered to myself, studying the documents under the dim light. "What I need is leverage. A piece of classified intelligence that will allow them to forge a powerful business alliance."

This intelligence would allow Shelby to cement an even stronger alliance with Camilla's family, a bond of mutual interest far stronger than a marriage contract with a pawn like me.

He could have everything he ever wanted. All it would cost was my existence.

From the bottom of my suitcase, I pulled a forged passport and a plane ticket to the West Coast, prepared in the hazy days after I first woke up.

Staring at my own weary reflection in the mirror, I whispered, "Tomorrow, it will all be over."

"Shelby! Help me!"

A scream shattered the evening's tranquility.

Shelby and I were standing at the entrance to the planetarium, the city lights twinkling below us. The desperate cry made him go rigid.

"Camilla?" He whipped his head around.

"Mr. Giordano!" A disheveled woman stumbled toward us. It was Camilla's assistant, Anya. "It's Miss Camilla! She heard you were still going through with the marriage and she just… snapped! She's locked herself away!"

The color drained from Shelby's face. "Where is she?"

"At the Rostova family safe house…"

Without a single glance in my direction, Shelby spun on his heel. He took three long strides, then paused, his back still to me. "Wait for me."

Then he was gone, vanishing into the darkness.

I stood there, a bitter smile touching my lips. Same old Shelby. For ten years, it was always Camilla first.

Returning to my temporary residence, I retrieved the items from under my pillow—the forged passport and a plane ticket. The flight was for eight o'clock tonight, bound for a sleepy Californian seaside town three thousand miles away.

Tucked beneath the ticket was a small note in familiar handwriting: "Ticket confirmed, window seat. Have a safe trip, Aurora." It was from Father Michael.

He knew. He always knew everything.

I took a deep breath. It was time to face the hardest part of my plan.

The atmosphere in the Giordano family study was heavy and cold. I stood before Shelby's parents, feeling the weight of their icy stares.

"You requested a private meeting. What is it?" the current Don, Marco Giordano, asked, his voice devoid of warmth.

"I've come to say goodbye." I met his gaze directly. "I'm leaving Chicago tonight, and I will not return."

Shelby's mother, Donna Isabella, let out a disdainful snort. "So you've finally come to your senses? But do you really think dissolving an engagement is that simple?"

"I'm not here to talk about dissolving the engagement." I shook my head slowly. "I'm here to give you a warning."

"Warn us?" They both frowned, a flicker of interest in their cold eyes.

"The priest performed a prayer for me, and in it, I received a revelation," I said, my voice low and grave. "If Shelby and I are forced to remain together, ten years from now, he will die a brutal death in a bloody ambush."

A chill descended upon the room.

"What nonsense is this?" Marco thundered.

"He will die saving me." My voice trembled with a pain that was all too real. "A bullet from the Gallo family will tear through him, right here." I pointed to my own heart. "It will shred his organs. He'll die in agony, bleeding out in my arms."

The details were so visceral, so precise, that the anger on Marco's face slowly gave way to a dawning horror.

"I don't know if you believe in revelations, but I cannot take that risk," I pressed on. "Let Shelby be with Camilla. I have prepared a proposal, a business plan that will help the Giordano and Rostova families forge a true strategic bond, something far more valuable than simple annulment papers. Even if they are not husband and wife, they can still have their alliance of interests."

Isabella nervously gripped her husband's arm. "Marco, this sort of thing… we can't simply dismiss it."

"Where will you go?" Marco asked, his voice tight.

"As far away as possible," I said with a hollow smile. "Let Shelby forget this outsider ever existed."

Leaving the study, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. The second regret—his remorse for not defying the elders—was resolved.

As night fell, I went to the planetarium alone. Inside, stars swirled across the vast domed ceiling, a silent, breathtaking cosmos.

This was our appointed time. But I knew he wouldn't come. He would still be with Camilla.

"It's so beautiful…" I whispered, gazing up at the magnificent spectacle. "At least in this life, I saw it for myself."

"You betrayed me."

A voice, cold as the grave, sliced through the quiet. I spun around.

Shelby stood in the shadows, his eyes blazed with a furious light. He radiated danger, his silhouette a predator's in the dim light.

"What the hell did you say to my father and the Capos?" he demanded, stalking toward me. "They've suddenly dropped all pressure on the Rostova family and agreed to that insane business proposal!"

I took a step back. "I just told them the truth—"

"Bullshit!" he roared. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The state Camilla is in right now? She was so distraught she wandered right into a street shootout! That's Gallo territory, a goddamn war zone!"

My eyes widened in shock. A shootout? The kind of chaos that could get her killed?