Ninety-Nine Times Too Many

Both of my hands were instantly covered in blood as countless shards embedded themselves into my flesh.

“You need to learn! Clean this place up with your own hands, and nobody is allowed to help her!

“I’ll wait for you to reflect on your mistakes. You can come apologize when you’ve figured things out!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the lounge could hear him clearly.

Dozens of eyes were fixed on me.

Some looked pleased by my humiliation, while others turned away, unable to keep watching.

Gianna stood behind Luca, covering her eyes as her voice trembled.

“Luca… isn’t this too much…”

Luca didn’t look at her. He only stared at me.

“If this place isn’t cleaned properly, you can deal with the consequences yourself.”

After saying that, he picked Gianna up in his arms and left without looking back.

Gradually, the crowd dispersed.

My eyes burned uncontrollably, and my vision slowly blurred.

Tears fell one by one onto the shattered glass beneath me.

My wounds hurt terribly, but the pain in my chest was even worse, so painful I could barely breathe.

When I lifted my hand to wipe my tears away, my gaze accidentally landed on the Cupid statue beside the fountain.

Luca had specifically taken it to a church for a priest’s blessing when he proposed to me.

It still looked just as intact as before.

However, I knew some things had already shattered.

After finishing the cleanup, I went to treat the wounds on my hands.

As I passed a corner in the hallway, I vaguely overheard two family elders speaking in low voices.

“Don Luca went too far today. Isabella is still his fiancée, after all.”

“Haven’t you noticed? Don Luca no longer wants to go through with this marriage. That girl… Gianna has been receiving a lot of his favor lately. Isabella has neither family backing nor Don Luca’s affection anymore. I doubt this wedding will happen.”

I stopped walking and leaned against the cold wall, suddenly feeling incredibly foolish.

Actually, the ending had already been written long ago, in the endlessly postponed weddings and every illness he ignored.

I had only been clinging to those pitiful old feelings, deceiving myself for eight whole years.

I quietly sniffed back my emotions and didn’t go in to greet them. Instead, I silently walked away.

When I passed through the main hall, Luca was entertaining guests while holding Gianna’s hand.

Luca looked confident and charismatic as he moved through the crowd with Gianna at his side, looking almost like a married couple.

Not long ago, I had accidentally overheard someone asking him, “Isabella worked herself to exhaustion as your secretary for so many years. She’s both your partner and your fiancée. Why don’t you let her be your date for the gala?”

Back then, Luca had answered with clear disdain.

“She comes from an ordinary background and has never attended any high-end events. Wouldn’t bringing her along just embarrass me?”

My thoughts returned to the present.

Gianna stood beside Luca on stage, smiling brightly.

Under the lights, the two of them really did look well-matched.

At that moment, my phone notification suddenly rang. My travel approval had officially gone through.

Halfway through packing my luggage at home, Luca returned.

He tossed a half-used bottle of brown antiseptic solution toward me.

“Here. Brought you some medicine.”

I picked up the bottle.

It was the exact bottle I had seen Gianna privately showing off to her friends, saying proudly, “Luca personally treated my wound for me.”

However, I was allergic to iodine.

Back when Luca was eighteen and had just started getting involved in family affairs, his talent and leadership had already made him stand out among everyone else.

Some members of rival mafia families had grown jealous because of it and deliberately hired people to cripple his hand.

Back then, I had risked my life and stood in front of Luca to protect him.

Although I had only suffered minor injuries, the family doctor accidentally used iodine to disinfect my wound.

I went into anaphylactic shock immediately and was rushed to the hospital. The surgery lasted almost an entire day and night before they finally saved me.

I heard from others that while I was in critical condition, Luca stayed outside the operating room the entire night. They said his eyes had been frighteningly red.

Later, when we returned home, Luca had flown into a rage. He threw away every bottle of iodine in the family estate and even established a rule banning it completely.

But now, he himself had broken that rule.

Lowering my gaze, I tossed the bottle into the trash can.

When Luca saw that, he merely let out an indifferent scoff. “Use it or don’t.”

Just then, Gianna called him.

The moment he answered, his expression softened again as he spoke gently into the phone.

“Baby, remember not to let the wound touch water. And watch what you eat for now. Once you recover, I’ll take you out for something good.”

Perhaps because he found my silence strange, Luca glanced at me several times from the corner of his eye.

Finally, he couldn’t help speaking first.

“What happened today was only meant as a warning to others. You know how many dirty things happen within the family.

“Punishing you like that was to warn everyone else. And the reason I’m caring for Gianna now is also so people won’t gossip about you.”

I nodded without arguing or explaining anymore. “I understand.”

Luca visibly froze.

A strange feeling slowly spread through his chest.

He looked like he still wanted to say something else, but by then, I had already walked into the bathroom to pack some toiletries.