A Heart in Ruins Chapter 08

Wiping away her tears, Silvia suddenly went still. The frantic, tearful girl vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating calm.

“Vittorio, what gives you so much confidence? Don’t you forget how terribly you’ve treated her for my sake over these years?”

She began to count off on her fingers one by one. “You stood Sylvia up to accompany me to my birthday party. You stopped bringing her to family gatherings just because I said I didn’t like her. When I smashed a bottle over her head, you only gave her a light punishment and grounded me for a single day.”

“She’s not coming back,” Silvia cried out and a note of hysteria crept into her voice. “She really… doesn’t want you anymore.”

Vittorio remained perfectly composed, his dark eyes locking onto hers. “Tomorrow, I’ll send you back to the old residence. Go meet the candidate Dad has arranged for you.”

Silvia stared at him in utter disbelief, “Are you really willing to do this?

Looking at her, Vittorio spoke in a soft voice, “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? I will give you what you want. From now on, everything will return to normal. I will be with Sylvia. And you…will simply be my sister.”

With those words, he resolutely turned and walked away, leaving her standing alone in the wreckage of her own making.

Sitting in his car, Vittorio called his assistant. “Find out Sylvia. I want to see her now!”

On the other end of the line, the assistant hesitated for the first time ever, “Mr. Vittorio… Sylvia has decided to divorce you. Why not just let her go?”

Vittorio’s voice darkened, a dangerous edge creeping in., “Have you forgotten your duty?”

Taking a deep and shuddering breath, the assistant snapped, “I am your assistant, but I love Sylvia!”

Gripping his phone tightly, Vittorio snarled, “What the hell did you say?”

“Mr. Vittorio, Sylvia is beautiful and passionate, like a blazing fire. Anyone who meets her at the first sight can’t help but fall for her. Who wouldn’t want to get close to her?” the assistant strived to suppress his discontent.”

The assistant rattled off like a machine gun.

“But what did you do? What did you treat her as…a substitute? A tool? Or a pawn to satisfy your own desires?”

The assistant finally gave a bitter laugh, “You might as well fire me.”

Vittorio bit back his anger, his voice dropping to a glacial chill. “Go find her. If you don’t, I’ll have someone else do it.”

Hanging up, Vittorio smoked continuously inside the car. The acrid smoke filled the cabin, but it couldn’t drown out the memories. Sylvia’s silhouette haunts his thoughts all the night.

When she was twenty, Sylvia, in a red dress, was like a burning flame, so dazzling it was impossible to look away. Then, she married him and concealed all her brilliant luster. She always kept her eyes fixed solely on him, waiting for him to turn around and sparing her a single glance.

She knew his favorite tea, always keeping it at the right temperature. She would warm up his coat in advance on rainy days. She even…waited silently outside his chamber until daybreak whenever he went into seclusion.

Yet, he had never cherished any of it.

Whenever he neglected her, she would curl up on the sofa and murmur to herself, “Vittorio, when will you look at me a little longer…”

Early the next morning, a text finally lit up his phone screen. [Sylvia is in Germany.]

Staring at the screen, Vittorio frowned in confusion, “Germany? Has she gone… to Gilbert Cross?”

Stubbing out his cigarette in the car’s ashtray, Vittorio called his father the moment the spark died at his fingertips.

“Dad, I’ll choose the candidate for Silvia’s marriage myself.”

His father was surprised but quickly recovered. “No problem. I have a pile of dossiers here. Come take a look when you get back.”

Vittorio hung up and immediately booked the earliest possible flight to Germany.

When he got to the old residence, he found a stack of glossy photographs scattered across the coffee table.

Dad beamed proudly, “I carefully selected these candidates. They were born into distinguished families and hold high social standing. Any of them would be a perfect match for Silvia.”

Scanning those photos, Vittorio expressionlessly pulled out one photo with his slender fingers, “This is the youngest son of the Lawrence. He is mild-mannered. Silvia won’t suffer any grievances if she marries him.”

Nodding in approval, Dad praised, “Exactly. He has an excellent reputation.”

Standing up, Vittorio stated, “I have other matters to attend to. I have to go now.”

“Wait.” Dad suddenly called out, “Where’s Sylvia? It’s been ages since she came back for dinner.”