The Day He Knelt, I Married a Don Novel

Chapter 3 That same evening, Liam sent over a hand-carved wooden figurine. It was a lifelike sculpture of me. He was apologizing, just like he used to whenever he upset me as a child. I returned it. In my previous life, I always believed Liam married me because of our childhood bond. It took five years of mutual torment after the wedding for me to finally see the truth. He was kind to me just because he had promised my mother. His real love was always for Vivian. If that was true, we didn't need to have any connection anymore.

Since I was being sent to marry far away, I wanted to make sure I kept my inheritance. I went to Father and took back what belonged to my mother. It included the Manhattan mansion, a private island in the Pacific, the rights to operate the Port of Naples, shares in the family business, and a seemingly ordinary sketchbook. Inside that sketchbook were portraits of me drawn every month before I turned six. Even while gravely ill, my mother had insisted on painting them. Every page carried a mother's love for her daughter. Later, after Vivian was brought back into the family, I learned the truth.

My mother sank into depression and eventually died after my father, who appeared devoted, had been unfaithful. He wanted to publicly claim Vivian as my biological sister. I was only seven. I struggled desperately to stop Vivian from becoming part of the Moretti family. Father used my mother's possessions to threaten me, especially that sketchbook. Now it was time to cash in on that deal. I would marry far away in place of his precious daughter, and in return, he would give back everything that was my mother's.

I received stacks of authorization documents, along with the key to the room where my mother's collections were kept. After that, I paid visits to my uncle and several members of the board. Chapter 3 2.21% I'd put up with Vivian for years. Before leaving for Italy, I intended to prepare a little farewell gift for dear old dad and his daughter. Of course, none of this could leak before I left. Otherwise, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. When I finally returned home, I discovered my bedroom had been completely emptied. All my belongings had been dumped into the living room.

Most noticeable were the wooden figurines Liam had given me. Thirty-seven of them. Each one was broken, the limbs snapped off and thrown away as if they meant nothing. When Vivian saw me, she gave a timid apology, but I could see a hint of triumph in her eyes. "I'm sorry, sister... Father said your room gets more sunlight, which is better for my recovery, so he asked me to move in." "The carvings got damaged when we moved the furniture. I'll make it up to you, no matter what. Father even gave me his card." She casually revealed the card that symbolized a family heir's status.

I almost laughed. Those carvings were made of solid wood, not porcelain. There was no way they could all break from a simple fall. I met Vivian's gaze and exposed her intention directly. "You broke them on purpose." Vivian stayed calm, but Liam jumped in front of her like she was about to be attacked. "Isabella, they're just a few wooden carvings. Do you really need to blow this out of proportion?" But every one of them had been carved by Liam himself. He once promised that as long as I liked them, he would keep making them for me forever.

Seeing the challenge in Vivian's eyes, I suddenly realized the whole scene felt pointless. I pushed Liam aside. "I'm not going to argue about it. After all... the person who gave them to me doesn't even care anymore. So why should I?" I told the butler to move my luggage into another room. It didn't matter. Chapter 3 2.21% I'd be leaving soon anyway. If Vivian wanted my room, she could have it. Liam watched me walk away, his gaze lingering for a long time. Early the next morning, someone knocked on my door. When I opened it, no one was there.

Looking down, I saw thirty-seven brand-new wooden carvings neatly lined up on the floor. Only Liam would do something like this. I guessed he must have carved them overnight, whether to apologize or to make amends. But I no longer cared. The craftsmanship was rough, and he'd carved me so poorly. He just didn't put the same care into it anymore. I told the butler to throw them all away. Chapter 3 2.21% 麵 admin