Your Life Comes Before Mine

"Before, you were upset that Wendy never allowed you to touch her. Now that you've played the hero, was Wendy so moved that she cried?

"I guarantee that after today, Wendy won't refuse your advances anymore."

Even after reading the texts, my expression remained calm.

"Wen…" Lucaro's voice sounded in my ear.

I didn't look up, but I heard him let out a sigh.

A moment later, I set the phone back where it was, pretending nothing had happened.

The next morning, I woke to find Carlo gone. Only his trusted man, Enzo Lombardi, was waiting for me.

When he saw me, he explained, "Don Altieri has matters to attend to today, so he asked me to take you directly to the church."

I lightly replied, "Okay."

Enzo probably thought I was upset because Carlo wasn't with me, so he quickly added, "Don Altieri cares about you very much. He knew you were going there, so he specifically contacted the church to receive only you today."

I nodded in acknowledgement. Years ago, this church caught fire by accident. The Altieri famiglia donated money for its renovations, so naturally the priests there would show Carlo some courtesy.

"Let's go and not waste any time," I said.

Enzo hurried off to get the car.

I waited for a while, but when I still saw no sign of Enzo, I started walking toward where the car was parked.

There, I saw him instructing others. "Whatever you do, don't let it slip today that Don Altieri went shopping with Ms. Amy, understand?"

I stopped in my tracks and smiled wryly.

I really didn't mind Carlo fooling around outside. After all, the nature of my relationship with him was clear to both of us—I was just the decoy he put up to appease the famiglia.

I only complied with everything just so Lucaro could truly let me go and ascend to heaven smoothly.

But even such a performance had its limits. I couldn't truly sleep with Carlo, especially in front of Lucaro. Even sharing a bed was unacceptable to me.

Fortunately, Carlo didn't like forcing people to do things. He said he was willing to wait until I truly accepted him.

The car stopped at the church entrance, and I walked in alone. Despite the bright sunshine, it started raining the moment I stepped inside.

I saw Lucaro standing outside, unable to enter. The priest had explained before that spirits couldn't enter holy places like churches.

That was also why I could pray inside with peace of mind.

Inside the church, the priest, Piero Volta, had been waiting for me. He smiled when he saw me. "God has heard your prayers. Each candle you light brings your wish one step closer."

Father Piero and I had known each other for years. He was the first to extend a helping hand after Lucaro's incident.

After all these years, I really would never be able to repay all the kindness I had received. All I could say was, "Thank you, Father Piero."

He handed me a candle. Just as I was about to take it, I heard him say, "Ms. Santoro, it's not too late to change your mind. I believe that Mr. Ricci wouldn't want to see you do this if he knew."

I smiled, took the candle, and lit it. "Father Piero, after all these years of effort, I'm only one step away. As long as I willingly sacrifice myself when Lucaro gives up on me, he'll be able to enter heaven.

"For him, I will never regret it."