Chapter 3

The day after breaking up with Liam, I received a reply from the steward.

The tone was cold.

He told me to pack up my things today and never set foot in any Vittore family property again.

It seemed Liam was truly furious this time.

As I passed various strongholds, I heard plenty of mockery.

“Don Liam only took care of her because she’s the deputy’s sister. She really thought she could become the Godmother.”

“So what if Don Liam used to dote on her? She embarrassed the real Godmother the other day. She deserves to be kicked out.”

I acted as if I hadn’t heard the sarcasm and focused on completing the handover.

As long as I returned the key to the Safe house,

I would have nothing to do with Liam ever again.

“Wait.”

Liam’s cold voice came from behind me.

Violet nestled in his arms and shot me a provocative smile. “A shipment was seized by the cops this morning. I heard it passed through your hands.”

I looked at Liam. “You suspect me?”

“Whether it was you or not, we’ll know after checking.”

At a single look from Liam,

my residence was immediately surrounded by family members.

It felt like a hard slap across my face.

I had risked my life for that intelligence. To obtain evidence against the rival family, I had crouched in freezing weather for three days and nights.

And now Liam suspected me of leaking it.

“Don’t touch my things!”

They weren’t just searching through intelligence files—they were about to dig up the things I had hidden as well.

If they found them,

the photos of Liam and me would expose our relationship to everyone.

But restrained by his men, there was nothing I could do.

“Liam, tell them not to touch it. I didn’t leak the information.”

Liam grabbed my wrist, his face livid. “Was it really you?”

Whispers rose around us.

“It has to be Iris. If it wasn’t her, why is she reacting so strongly?”

“Maybe she couldn’t have Liam, so she sold the intel to the rival family out of spite. That’s disgusting.”

Liam cut them off coldly. “All of you, shut up. Did you find anything?”

“Found it!”

I whipped my head around.

“You can’t open it, Liam.”

Liam tightened his grip on my wrist. “Open it!”

Photo after photo appeared before everyone’s eyes, as if stripping away the last shred of dignity I had left.

The overwhelming humiliation nearly made me burst into tears on the spot.

Liam’s expression was unreadable.

After a long moment—

“Liam?” Violet’s voice came from behind him, tentative. “These photos… the editing looks pretty convincing.”

Liam didn’t respond.

He stared at the photos for a long time—so long that the smile on Violet’s face almost faltered.

When he finally lifted his head, he was once again the cold, distant Don Liam.

He looked at me, the corner of his lips curling into a mocking smile. “The editing is quite realistic. It almost fooled even me.”

The words fell.

Laughter erupted all around.

In that instant, humiliation drowned me like a tidal wave.

I had accepted that he married Violet behind my back.

I endured my birthday turning into their wedding party.

But I never expected him to humiliate me like this in public.

Violet sneered.

“Iris, you can’t just Photoshop pictures of you and Liam because he forgot you. Are you in love with Liam? Maybe after Liam and I divorce someday, you two can try building feelings.”

Liam couldn’t help frowning.

“I don’t even remember this person. I’ve always treated Iris like a sister—everyone knows that. If you like these photos, have someone edit a few more of us.”

He was retaliating because I broke up with him, so he deliberately denied everything.

But his words still cut through my heart like countless blades.

I dug my nails into my palm to keep the tears from falling.

Violet feigned sympathy.

“Liam, saying that will hurt Iris. What if she ends up marrying some abusive man like I did back then? That would be tragic.”

Liam didn’t believe I would leave.

“Where could she go? Either she follows Ethan or trails behind me. She’s just throwing a childish tantrum. It won’t even take a day before she begs me to take her back.”

In the past, whenever we fought, it never lasted overnight.

And I was always the one to lower my head first.

In the end, I would return to his side.

But the Iris of today no longer loves him.

When will he finally realize it?