Chapter 2 - The Groom’s Ultimate Ultimatum**
The silence that blanketed the bridal suite following the shattered cosmetics was deafening. Bianca stood frozen, her jaw slack in disbelief, staring at the broken glass scattered around her custom designer heels. For months, she had believed she held all the cards, manipulating Alessandro into a high-society marriage that would cement her name among the city’s elite. She had expected him to apologize to her for the outburst, to placate her fragile ego with diamonds and soothing words, just as he always did when she threw her frequent public tantrums.
Instead, Alessandro didn’t even look at her face anymore. He knelt down on one knee, completely ignoring the ruin around them, and gently cupped the back of Livia’s head, carefully examining the raw, jagged patch where her hair had been sheared away.
“Rosalie,” Alessandro said, his voice tightly controlled, though a vein throbbed violently at his temple. “Take Livia down to the private garden. Get Dr. Hayes on the phone to come check on her. I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
“Right away, Mr. Alessandro,” Rosalie whispered, scooping the trembling little girl into her arms and carrying her swiftly out of the hostile room, leaving the future husband and wife alone.
As the heavy oak door clicked shut behind them, Bianca finally found her voice, crossing her arms over her wedding dress with an indignant, defensive sneer. “Are you out of your mind?! You threw a tantrum over a bad haircut?! Do you have any idea how much those vanity mirrors cost? And in front of the staff, no less! You humiliated me!”
Alessandro stood up slowly, towering over her. He didn’t yell. His composure was far more terrifying than any scream. “You humiliated my daughter. You laid hands on a recovering child in her own home, and you mocked her pain.”
“She was being disobedient!” Bianca shrieked, her mask of grace completely dissolving to reveal the desperate narcissist underneath. “She refused to sit still while I tried to fix her messy hair so the wedding photos wouldn't look ruined! If you cancel this wedding over a brat with bad hair, my family will sue you into oblivion! You need this merger, Alessandro!”
“I don’t need anything from a monster,” Alessandro replied coldly. He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a thick, platinum-encrusted Cartier wedding band, and dropped it heavily onto the shattered glass of the vanity. “The wedding is canceled, Bianca. Security is downstairs waiting to escort you and your belongings off the estate.”
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Before Bianca could process the devastating finality of his words, Alessandro turned his back on her and walked out of the room, locking the door firmly from the outside, leaving her trapped inside her own golden cage of ruin.
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