chapter 5
606 Words
Before he could speak, Isabella immediately came over, sniffling and tearful.
"Marco, I'm terribly sorry. I merely wished to persuade Miss Elena, considering how well you treated her in the past, not to act on impulse. But she wouldn't listen, insisting that you giving her gifts was only natural."
"Those innocent citizens were merely acting in the heat of the moment... It's all my fault. If only I hadn't come."
The anger on Marco's face gradually faded as he listened to Isabella's words. He took her hand and comforted her, "It's not your fault. You were only trying to look out for me."
He turned to me, a hint of guilt still lingering in his eyes, yet his words were utterly cold: "Elena, what you said today was truly excessive. Those things were indeed given to you willingly, but if I ever wanted them back..."
"Those items will be delivered to your residence tomorrow."
His sentence was cut short by my interruption. The last vestiges of reluctance vanished from my heart, replaced entirely by utter loathing.
Perhaps taken aback by my abruptness, Marco's tone grew urgent: "I'm not here to reclaim those things, I merely..."
"Anthony," I called to our butler, "show him out."
The rest of his words were swallowed by the closing door. I heard him sigh outside before he said, "Very well. I shall have those things placed in the master bedroom prepared for you."
"If you change your mind, you're welcome to come and see me anytime."
He spoke with such confidence, as if utterly certain I'd have no choice but to bow to him in the end.
Indeed, what princess of a Mafia family would willingly marry a notorious cripple she'd never even laid eyes on?
I lifted my head to meet his calculating gaze peering through the door crack, ignoring the jealousy in Isabella's eyes. Without hesitation, I turned and stepped into the dark hallway.
In four days' time, I shall be married. From then on, I shall have no further connection with them whatsoever.
Upon returning home and learning of today's farce, Father was so enraged he nearly took a group of men to pay a 'visit' to the Moretti family restaurant.
I merely interceded: "Father, Mother, I've already had those items cleared away. They'll be delivered to the Moretti residence tomorrow."
Father frowned. "He humiliated you like that, humiliated us, the Costello family. And we're just going to let it slide?"
I shook my head slowly. "Today's events have likely spread throughout all five families. If he accepts those items tomorrow, the old codgers on the committee will drown him in scorn."
Isabella's outburst, whilst ruining the Costello name among common folk, had also thrust Marco into the eye of the storm.
The incensed citizens who had accused me today would, upon returning home and calming down, find the notion of a man demanding back a gift from a woman even more repugnant. The prestige of a great house matters more than money.
I merely wish to conclude this transaction peacefully, without further complications.
The following day, Father dispatched a truck to return every single item Marco had sent, neither more nor less, to the Moretti estate gates. They were dumped there like rubbish. Marco's face turned ashen, but he eventually had the items brought inside.
Three days later, Mother brought a handsome man to my room.
"Elena, come. Meet your future husband."
I was taken aback. The man before me stood tall, with sharp brows and piercing eyes, dressed in a perfectly tailored bespoke suit. He bore no resemblance whatsoever to the decrepit cripple I had imagined.
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