He Said It Was A Prank

Someone knocked on the door.

Lucrezia Calderon stood there with that cloying smile of hers.

“Amelia.”

Her voice was neither too soft nor too loud, but it was just enough for the servants in the hall to hear. “I just finished briefing Don Vitelli on some family business. He seemed a little off and said he wanted to go to the bar for a drink. I was wondering if it was all right for me to go with him?”

Her words were polite, yet the trace of smugness in the corner of her eyes could not be hidden.

For the past six months, she had always been like that in front of me.

She played sweet, acted soft, yet she was unable to completely suppress that little self-satisfied glow.

When had Enzo started to change?

At first, he clearly disliked Lucrezia. He said she was incompetent and her ambitions ran too wild. He was going to get rid of her.

He even complained to me that she was always hanging around him. It greatly annoyed him.

Then there was also that negotiation with the Eastern Bloc crew. Someone slipped Enzo something. He went down to a warehouse.

I was out in Redshore collecting a debt and could not get back.

Word was that Lucrezia drove over by herself, dragged him out of there, and stayed two days in the hospital by his bedside without a wink of sleep.

Since then, Enzo’s attitude toward her changed.

First, he made an exception and allowed her to become an official member of the family. Later, he constantly kept her close. Eventually, he started telling people she was like a little sister to him.

Every mafia family in New Avalon knew that Enzo Vitelli had found himself a little sister.

On the other hand, behind my back, they called me “the woman Enzo keeps at home.”

Every time I heard that, my face would darken.

Enzo did not care. He would just smile and put his arm around my waist. “What is all this ‘at home’ and ‘out there’? Don’t listen to them. I only love you.”

Was that still the case?

Would he still dare to say he only loved me?

I curled my lips and watched the woman at the door playact.

Lucrezia was still smiling. “Amelia, are you upset?”

Before her voice even faded, Enzo was already striding over. His dress shoes were clicking hard against the marble floor.

“Lucrezia, didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the garage? What are you doing here?”

“I… I could not decide.” She twisted her fingers together, her eyes going red at the rims, her voice soft and sweet. “I was afraid Amelia would be upset, so I wanted to ask for her permission first.”

Enzo’s expression softened immediately.

He glanced at me, then turned to her. His look went tender. “I don’t need anyone else’s permission to drink with you.”

Lucrezia lowered her head. The corners of her mouth curled up, though her words still came out haltingly. “But it’s only right to let Amelia know.”

Enzo turned to me with impatience flashing in his eyes. “She’s being respectful enough now, right? She asked your permission just to go have a drink at a bar. What about you? You’re pulling a long face at her just over a prank.”

He still thought that altering my transfer order without permission and treating my future as a prank were merely insignificant pranks.

On top of that, I was the one being unreasonable.

Why should I endure this?

I snorted.

“Respect me? The last six months, how many little shows has she put on for you, right in front of me and behind your back? Are you really blind to it? She was showing up every day in a low-cut dress to bring you coffee while pressing herself against you right in front of me. Do you call that keeping proper boundaries? Even after all that, she keeps clinging to you, saying you’re like her brother to her. Even if she doesn’t feel any shame, watching it certainly makes me sick. Do you, Enzo Vitelli, actually find someone like that appealing?”

Lucrezia’s face paled instantly.

Her skin drained of color. Her tears started to roll down her cheeks onto the floor.

Enzo’s expression darkened completely.

“Amelia, since when have you become so cruel?”

He looked at my expressionless face and suddenly let out a mocking laugh. What he said next struck like a dagger. “With your temper, you’re not fit to be my wife. On top of that, you’re not even fit to be my mistress.”