Done Collecting Your Guilt Gifts

Scarlett was dressed in a black dress, cradling a lavish urn, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Beside her, Lorenzo was directing three Soldati as they dug a hole in the empty plot to the left of my mother's grave.

They didn't see me approach.

Soon, the men had dug a deep pit.

Scarlett knelt down, gently placing the urn inside, her voice catching as she held back tears.

"Rest in peace, Ares."

Rage flooded my veins. I strode forward and slapped her across the face.

"Who gave you permission to use this land?!"

She was startled, her head whipping around, a mixture of shock and hurt on her face.

"I—" she stammered.

My teeth ground together as I slapped her again, harder. "Take that thing and get the hell out of here. Now!"

I rarely lost my composure in public.

My father had paid a fortune for the two empty plots beside my mother—one for me, and one for himself.

It was my mother's last wish, for the three of us to be together forever.

For Scarlett to bury her horse here was an insult to my entire family.

A red handprint bloomed on Scarlett's cheek. She stumbled back against Lorenzo, her eyes instantly welling with tears.

"Enzo, she hit me—" she whimpered.

Lorenzo's face darkened. Clearly, he hadn't expected me to be here.

He took a small step back, putting some distance between himself and Scarlett. "Isabella, calm down. Let me explain."

He reached for me, but Scarlett quickly moved between us.

She looked at him innocently, tears streaming down her swollen cheek. Lorenzo swallowed the reprimand he was about to aim at her.

"Isabella, listen to me. I can explain."

I stared at him coldly.

"Shut up," I snapped. "Make her take that creature's ashes and get out."

Lorenzo sighed. "She meant no harm. She just wanted a resting place for her beloved horse. She promised not to put up a headstone. Maybe we can just—"

"No. Absolutely not." I was shaking with fury. "My mother hated horses, you know that. If that beast is buried here, I swear I will have my father use every resource he has against you."

My voice dropped to a low hiss. "My mother would have never accepted a son-in-law like you. Don't you dare forget how good she was to you when she was alive."

It was the first time I had ever threatened him with my father's name. Lorenzo's expression turned grim.

"Isabella—"

Scarlett suddenly burst into loud sobs.

"I've heard about you, Isabella," she cried. "I understand you're in a bad mood, but we can handle this privately. You don't have to be so aggressive."

She clutched at his arm. "If you just need someone to take it out on, take it out on me. I hate seeing Lorenzo so torn—"

I narrowed my eyes. "You asked for it."

I grabbed her hair and dragged her to the edge of the pit the Soldati had just dug. Then I kicked her hard, forcing her to her knees.

She cried even louder, a pitiful, dramatic display.

I didn't even blink.

"Pick up that urn. Go to my mother's grave. Kneel. Apologize. Or I swear I will slash your face today."

Scarlett trembled. She reached for the urn, then looked up at Lorenzo, her eyes filled with a silent plea.

His face grew even darker.

"That's enough," he snapped. "The urn isn't even in the ground. Making her kneel is going too far."

My heart pounded in my chest.

"I'm too much? There are countless places to bury a pet, so why my mother's cemetery? She is desecrating my family's sacred ground. What do you think she's really trying to do?"

Scarlett cried harder. "Isabella, please don't yell at Lorenzo. I'll kneel."

She started to move, but Lorenzo stopped her, gently taking the urn from her hands. "You don't have to kneel. I'll take you somewhere else to bury Ares."

The two of them turned and walked away, leaving me standing there as if I were the one in the wrong.

I let out a bitter laugh and turned to the Soldati.

"Fill in the hole."

Just then, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye.

On the other side of my mother's grave—on the plot I had also purchased—stood a brand-new marble headstone.