Chapter 3. The Third Party

My heart clenched despite knowing how he felt about her when his hands rested on her slim waist. I averted my eyes and got up, trying to pull my zipper closed behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I heard Leone ask my sister.

“To see you, my love.” She said it in her most sensual voice, and I let out a frustrated breath. Why couldn’t I speak like her?

“It’s late,” he said as he gently pushed her away and turned to look at me.

“Yeah, and I’m staying here tonight,” she whispered sweetly.

I was still struggling with my zipper. When I looked toward the door, I found Naya’s blue eyes, identical to mine, fixed on me with disgust. But then her gaze fell on the necklace around my neck, and I saw a flash of jealousy in her eyes before she quickly masked her expression.

“Oh my god, Gia, what do you think you are doing?” she giggled innocently, but the mockery in her voice wasn’t hidden from me. “We are here, and you’re removing your dress. Don’t be so shameless.”

Then she placed a hand on Leone’s arm and whispered, “Please, forgive her. It's on us. My sister is naive. We are the ones who failed to teach her how to behave.” She sighed in feigned exhaustion, and my eyes narrowed at her.

“Naya, it’s our bedroom, and we were in the middle of something before you interrupted,” I said with a soft smile, and was so pleased to see her smile falter and her face twist into a nasty expression.

Why should she have all the fun?

“God, this isn’t pulling up,” I said in a tired voice as the zipper seemed to be stuck.

Leone walked over to me and took hold of the zipper, pulling it up for me. I locked eyes with my sister, and she was clearly furious to see this. The way her face twisted into an ugly scowl made me press my lips together to suppress my grin.

He pulled away, and I didn’t thank him. Why would I thank my husband when he was the one who had opened it in the first place?

But suddenly, Naya’s face changed into a gloomy, pained expression as she looked at Leone.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. Gia isn't happy to see me here,” she murmured, her voice breaking as though she were on the verge of sobbing.

She was such a good actress. If she ever tried acting in movies, she could win an Oscar for Best Villainess.

As she turned to leave, Leone called out, “Naya, you can come whenever you want.”

“No, Leo. I don't want to cause trouble for you,” she pleaded.

“You're no trouble, Naya. And I'm telling you, no one will stop you. You can come and stay whenever you wish.”

I didn’t want him to see how much his words hurt me. Hell, I didn’t even want to let them hurt me. But they did, whether I wanted them to or not.

He was basically telling me that he intended to shove the bitter truth in my face—that my sister was the one who mattered to him. As if watching them make headlines every day wasn't enough to break me, now he was making it clear that she would always have a place in his life, while I was expected to stand aside and accept it.

But he didn't know that I had stopped caring. I was done fighting for a love that had never truly been mine. I knew first love was never easy to forget, and Naya was Leone's first love. She was back in his life now, and there was no way I could compete with her and win. She already had his heart. I didn't want to be her replacement. I had never wanted that.

All I had ever wanted was to make a place for myself in his heart, in his life. But it seemed there had never been room for me. He had given all of it to her long ago.

So it was time to set myself free from this miserable marriage. It was better for both of us.

But what I never expected was for him to refuse when I asked for a divorce. Now that Naya was staying here, perhaps he would finally see things differently. Perhaps he would also see divorce as the easiest way out.

“I'll get the guest room ready for you,” he declared before striding out of the room.

And just like that, I was left alone with my sister.

“This necklace looks good on you. I don't know why Leone kept insisting it wouldn't suit you,” she said with a taunting smile.

Her words stung. But I swallowed the hurt and ignored her mocking remark, just as I had learned to do all my life.

“Gia, you're my baby sister. Of course I care about you. That's why I reminded Leone that it was your wedding anniversary and suggested he give you this necklace instead of me. I already have more than enough jewellery from him,” she said with another smug giggle.

So Leone remembering our wedding anniversary hadn't been a coincidence after all. Naya had reminded him. Even this necklace, worth sixty million dollars, hadn't been chosen for me. It had only been passed down because she didn't want it.

“You're so generous, Naya. You actually told him to give me a sixty-million-dollar necklace? That's incredibly sweet of you, especially considering you've never spent a dime on me.”

Her smile faltered. She narrowed her eyes at me before letting out a sigh and giving me a look of pity.

“Gia, stop being so condescending. Throwing yourself at Leone won't get you anywhere.” Her voice sharpened, but she quickly shook her head and softened her expression again. “He doesn't want you. He would never be interested in a girl like you. You're not his type, darling. Just accept it and stop embarrassing yourself. If you keep behaving this desperate, you're only going to make yourself look like a whore.”

She delivered those cruel words with a face full of concern, as though she were only trying to protect me from humiliation.

But I knew better than to mistake her cruelty for kindness. I'd seen that sweet, innocent act too many times to believe it.

My jaw clenched as I shot to my feet and walked over to stand in front of my sister, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Who’s a whore here, Naya?” I asked calmly.

Her smug eyes widened in shock.

She had never expected me to fight back. The innocent, obedient daughter of the Valenti family never talked back and had certainly never stood up to Naya like this.

“You’re clinging to my husband and calling me names. That makes you look pathetic.”

Her fake concern disappeared, replaced by cold hatred. The disgust she had been trying to hide was now plain on her face.

“Don't act so high and mighty. I was only warning you,” she said coldly. “He loves me, and now that I'm back, your time is running out. Do yourself a favor and leave him with some dignity. It's better for everyone.”

I smiled at her threat. I wasn't afraid of her. I was simply tired of being caught in the middle of their games.

She wanted me to leave Leone. I had already asked him for a divorce, but he had refused to let me go.

So, if Naya was truly so certain that Leone loved her, why not give her the chance to prove it?

“If he loves you and you love him, why are you begging me to walk away?” I met her eyes. “Make him divorce me. You're so sure he wants you, aren't you? Then convince him to choose you over me. Prove that you actually have that kind of power over him.”

She stared at me, completely stunned by my words.

I smiled and took a step closer. “How about we make a deal? Keep him from coming back to our bedroom tonight, and I'll sign the divorce papers in the morning. No arguments. No fight.”

Naya blinked, her mouth falling open. She clearly hadn't expected me to make such an offer. And why would she? What wife in her right mind would challenge her own sister to keep her husband away for a night, knowing how desperately that sister wanted him?

And this wasn't just any man. It was Leone Romano—the invincible Italian don, a man whose power, wealth, and looks made women fall at his feet, desperate for even a little of his attention. Yet here I was, his wife, practically offering him to the very woman who wanted to take my place. To Naya, I must have looked as though I'd lost my mind.

But I hadn't. I was simply trying to find a way out of the pathetic life I'd been trapped in.

To her, it must have looked as though I was digging my own marriage's grave. But she didn't understand that my marriage had been dead from the very beginning. I was simply driving the final nail into its coffin.

Knowing how big my mafia husband's ego was, I doubted he'd ever agree to a divorce, especially now that I was the one asking for it.

He had told me that only death could part us. He would never let me go willingly. Whatever sick ideas he had in mind, I refused to let him torture me any further. And I certainly wasn't going to wait until death came to claim me just to gain my freedom.

So let his precious Naya be the one to set me free from this miserable marriage.

“Is that a challenge?” she asked, her brows drawing together.

I smiled. “A demand.”