The Lot He Never Drew

Dante froze, then let out a huge sigh of relief. His expression relaxed as he said to me, "I knew you'd understand, Cece. Livia's still young. Just indulge her a little."

He hurried toward the door. "I'll have the staff reserve next season's latest pieces for me. This time I'll definitely get your favorite!"

After Dante left, Livia's pitiful expression turned cold in an instant. She waved the gift box in her hand smugly and looked at me with disdain.

"You see? The person Dante cares about most isn't you anymore. You know why he failed to draw a fortunate lot for all these years straight? It's not because of bad luck. Dante has been swapping the lots on purpose because of me. The person he wants to marry is me, not you. He's waiting for me to grow up!"

Though I already knew the truth, Livia's words still pierced my heart.

Seeing my ashen face, Livia's smile deepened. She leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Celia Moretti, what makes you think you can compete with me? Dante owes his life to my father. With that bond, he'll never escape me.

"Tell me, given the circumstances, where do you think his heart lies? With you or me?"

Before I could react, she grabbed me and slammed us both into the floor-to-ceiling window beside us.

The loud crash of shattering glass alarmed everyone. Amid Livia's piercing screams, Dante rushed frantically into the coffee shop. When he saw the window shattered into fragments, his face turned white as he cried out Livia's name hoarsely.

"Livia!"

He ran to her side. Ignoring the sharp glass, he dug Livia out of the pile of shards with his bare hands, lifted her onto his back, and ran outside without looking back.

I lay barely two feet away, covered in blood, watching it all weakly.

Dante used to have eyes only for me. Now, even with me lying wounded right in front of him, he could not see me. His eyes held only another woman.

…

When I woke again, I lay on a hospital bed reeking of disinfectant.

"You're awake?"

Dante sat by the bedside at some point, his expression dark as he looked at me.

I shifted slightly, and the movement pulled at my wounds. The pain drained all color from my face.

Dante sighed softly. His tone carried barely perceptible reproach. "It's just a bag, Cece. Did you have to make such a scene? If you didn't want to give it to her, you could have just said so. Why hurt Livia? Now look, you've hurt yourself too."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at him.

Dante turned his face away and stopped looking at me. "Livia told me everything. You were angry because she took your bag. You two fought over it and crashed into the glass.

"Cece, being this spoiled, how can you possibly take on your role as my wife? We should postpone our wedding for another two years."

My throat closed up. I took several deep breaths but could not manage a single word of protest.

I roared and cursed in my heart. I wanted to tell Dante about Livia's vicious true colors. I wanted to accuse him of having a change of heart yet continuing to deceive me.

Yet in the end, all my violent emotions turned into tears that silently streamed down from the corners of my eyes.

I closed my eyes and finally said, "That's unnecessary. I'm getting married in three days."

Dante froze, then suddenly laughed out loud. "Cece, what kind of joke is this? You love me so much. How could you marry someone else?

"You're making up lies because you don't want to apologize to Livia. Cece, I'm so disappointed in you."

He stood up and looked down at me from above. "It seems I spoiled you too much before. I made you this arrogant. I won't indulge you anymore. Since you won't apologize to Livia this time, hand over the position of my wife to her!"

He snorted coldly and left the hospital ward without looking back. I watched him leave quietly, my heart completely numb.

Dante thought I was throwing a tantrum, but he did not know that Elder Giuseppe had already arranged my marriage to the heir of the Orsini family in Sacily.

During my two days in the hospital, Dante never came to see me. However, Livia's social media was filled with his presence.

He changed her bandages, stood in line for two hours to buy her favorite food, and hired the most authoritative plastic surgeon at great expense to perform scar removal surgery on Livia.

None of it mattered to me anymore. On the third morning, I completed my discharge procedures. Escorted by bodyguards arranged by Elder Giuseppe, I boarded the plane to Sacily without looking back.