Ninety-Nine Times Too Many

Today, several other mafia families had come to headquarters for negotiations and discussions.

Most of the ongoing handover work still needed me to handle it personally.

I led them into the lounge to settle in first.

The moment the group walked in, they immediately noticed Luca and Gianna sitting together on a sofa in the corner.

He was supposedly “feeding” her fruit, but it looked more like flirtatious teasing.

Gianna leaned against the armrest while Luca held a strawberry out to her with a fork.

She turned her head away stubbornly instead of eating it, so Luca leaned closer and whispered something to her. Instantly, Gianna blushed and finally took a bite.

The mafia members from the various families were all professionally trained, so they quickly looked away.

Still, I could hear their whispers drifting into my ears.

“I heard long ago that Don Luca got engaged to Miss Isabella years ago. I didn’t expect them to be so loving.”

“Right?! Did you see that? He fed Miss Isabella with his own hands. Don Luca!”

Yeah. Ever since we got together, I had taken care of everything for him.

I personally served him every meal and ironed every piece of his clothing.

Him, however?

Not only had he stood me up and postponed our wedding, but he was now flirting openly with another woman.

Eventually, the admiring voices around me reached the two of them as well.

The moment Gianna saw me standing at the front of the group, she immediately complained in a spoiled tone.

“Isabella, look at Luca! He keeps forcing me to eat. I’m getting fat because of him!”

Luca didn’t even glance at me. Instead, he gently wiped the corner of Gianna’s lips.

“Be good and eat more fruit. It’s good for your health.”

The discussions around us instantly stopped.

I met everyone’s awkward gazes and maintained my smile as I guided them to their seats.

After arranging everyone properly, I took out my phone and continued organizing my plans for leaving the country.

At some point, Luca appeared behind me.

When he saw my screen, his brows immediately furrowed in confusion.

He asked coldly, “Leaving the country? Who are you arranging that for?”

Before I could think of an answer, he suddenly grabbed my hand. His voice overflowed with shock.

“Isabella, where’s your ring?! Don’t tell me you accidentally left it at home!”

I knew why he reacted that way.

For the entire eight years of our engagement, my ring had never once left my finger.

His own ring, on the other hand, had never once appeared in public.

When he saw my expressionless face, a flicker of unease clearly passed through his eyes.

He gripped my hand tightly and stared directly at me.

“Answer me!”

I was planning to tell him the truth.

However, at that moment, Gianna suddenly let out a scream.

“Ah! It hurts so much, Luca…”

Everyone immediately turned toward the sound.

Gianna had fallen on the stairs, and there was a bleeding cut across her open palm.

Luca shoved me aside and immediately rushed over to pull her into his arms.

“My God, how were you this careless?!”

Tears streamed down Gianna’s face as she hid in Luca’s arms. Then she glanced toward me several times, looking frightened and wronged.

“I don’t know either… Isabella should’ve checked everything last night… I really don’t understand why there would be such a large piece of broken glass here… Luca, it hurts so much…”

Luca’s gaze landed on the bloodstained glass shards scattered across the floor, and anger immediately appeared on his face.

The next second, he turned toward me and roared furiously.

“Isabella, have your schemes really gotten so vicious that you’re hurting people now?!

“Get over here and apologize right now!”

Ignoring the contemptuous looks everyone else was throwing at me, I walked over to them.

“I didn’t do it.”

“Who else could it have been? Everyone knows how controlling you are. Haven’t you always personally handled and inspected all family affairs yourself?!”

Luca stared into my eyes and lowered his voice. “You’re truly disgusting.”

Then he turned to the men beside him.

“Teach her a lesson.”

Right after speaking, he raised his gun and fired at the glass nearby without hesitation.

The glass exploded instantly.

A sharp shard scraped across my cheek, and warm blood immediately slid down my jawline and into my collar.

Luca held the frightened Gianna tightly in his arms.

For the first time, I saw nothing in his eyes except cold disgust. There was no room for forgiveness.

The entire room fell silent.

I raised my hand and pressed against the bleeding wound, my fingertips smearing red.

I looked at Gianna, who was curled up in Luca’s arms while secretly peeking at me ‌over his shoulder.

Suddenly, all the years I had spent holding on felt like a ridiculous joke.

I didn’t apologize, nor did I defend myself.

I simply wiped the blood from my face and looked directly at Luca.

“If you’ve already decided it was me, then there’s no point in anything I say. How do you plan to punish me?”

Luca’s breathing suddenly faltered. His brows tightened further, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak.

However, Gianna whimpered softly in his arms and shrank closer to him, and he immediately swallowed his words back down.

Grinding his teeth, he ordered the men beside him, “Force her hand onto the glass.”

The two bodyguards hesitated before stepping forward and grabbing my arms.

I didn’t struggle and simply allowed them to drag my hand down onto the shattered glass scattered across the floor.