The Cost of Playing Favorites

Giulia's eyes gleamed with provocation as she stared at me intently.

"I spent the entire afternoon supervising the kitchen to prepare these dishes. You two had better eat up."

Dante's brow furrowed as if he wanted to say something. I caught his wrist under the table and said softly, "Preparing so many dishes must have taken a lot of effort. We can't disappoint her."

Dante nodded and turned to Giulia with pity in his eyes. "Giulia, thank you for all your hard work tonight."

She smiled, humble and polite, though she could not quite hide her smugness. Dante took a sip of wine but did not touch any of the food.

That was until his mother, Angela Romano, brought out a specially made mousse cake with a rich, irresistible aroma.

He carefully cut a slice, saw no sign of caviar, and ate three pieces in quick succession. I barely touched anything.

Giulia suddenly leaned close and pushed a slice of cake in front of me.

"Ms. Leone, this is a handmade cake. I made it with a special mousse base. You have to try it."

I hesitated, remembering my previous life. I did not want to touch anything that passed through her hands.

"I'm not very hungry..." Her eyes instantly turned red.

"Ms. Leone, do you not like me?" Her voice trembled. "I made this especially for you!"

Dante's gaze sharpened. "It's just a piece of cake. What's the big deal? Don't make Giulia feel like she's being rejected."

Angela glared at me as well.

"Giulia spent the whole afternoon preparing this, and you haven't even said thank you.”

"You've probably never even had quality handmade cake before, have you? It’s no wonder you have no taste."

I did not argue back. I just took a small bite, keeping my face calm.

Giulia's tears turned to laughter. "Matilde, I crushed the caviar and mixed it into the mousse base. The flavors blend together so well, don't they?"

Before I could speak, Dante gasped and pointed at the cake. "You put caviar in the cake?"

Giulia nodded. "Yes. It's a new flavor I'm trying. It makes the texture more savory."

Dante slammed his plate to the floor. Mousse splattered everywhere.

"Matilde said she's allergic to caviar!" he shouted. "Why would you still add it?"

Giulia froze, tears immediately welling up.

"I thought Matilde said she liked caviar... Besides, she's fine, isn't she?"

I was indeed fine, but Dante was not. He tried to speak but suddenly clutched his throat and collapsed to the floor.

Panic flashed across Giulia's face. "Dante, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

I also put on an urgent expression and knelt beside him.

"This is anaphylactic shock. His airway is closing. Get a doctor! He could suffocate to death!"

By the time the private doctor arrived, Dante had lost consciousness completely.

After several hours of emergency treatment, his condition finally stabilized. The doctor walked out of the treatment room and shook his head.

"He has a severe allergy to caviar. You let him eat that much?”

"One more minute without treatment and he would have died."

Giulia froze. Then she whirled around and lunged at me, screaming. "Dante is allergic to caviar. Why didn't you warn me?"

I stepped back, my face full of distress. "I clearly told you not to use caviar. Dante heard me say it too."

I turned to Angela. "Madre, you were there too. Do you want to check the security footage?"

Angela glared daggers at Giulia. "Giulia! Dante never looked down on you for being the housekeeper's daughter. He always protected you, yet you tried to kill him!”

"Matilde told you not to use caviar, but you still put it in the cake. Was this done on purpose?"