My world crumbled. The man I had loved, trusted, and built my life around had never been mine. I pressed my hands to my face, the tears I had been holding back finally spilling over.
“I need you to see this,” Vito said after a long silence, placing a manila envelope on the table.
I looked at it, dread tightening around my chest. With trembling hands, I opened it and pulled out the documents inside. My breath hitched as I read the first page:
Marriage Contract: Celia Moretti and Marco Moretti.
Clause after clause laid bare the cold, calculated reality of my marriage. Financial agreements, stipulations, and even a payment of one billion dollars. It was all there in black and white.
“This can’t be real,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
Vito sighed heavily. “It’s the truth, Celia. Marco’s choice is clear—he’s marrying Victoria and starting a family with her. You deserve to know that what you had with him… it wasn’t love. It was just part of the deal.”
The weight of betrayal crushed me. Marco had used me. Marco had never loved me.
“Celia,” Vito finally said, his voice soft but steady, “I never wanted this for you.”