Rehana woke up to the sunlight streaming through the balcony of her room.
She looked around for a moment, then reached for her phone and pressed the call button.
— "Good morning, Mama… I'm fine, don't worry."
Her voice was soft, reassuring, trying to ease her mother's distant worry.
After the call, she heard a gentle knock at the door.
It was Matteo, peeking in with his sleepy little face and saying:
— "I want my breakfast!"
She laughed, took his hand, and headed downstairs — only to be surprised to find Leonardo sitting at the table.
— "Good morning…" she said quietly, catching his eyes on her for a moment before they returned to his cup of coffee.
— "Morning." he replied coldly, as always.
Maria was preparing the food herself, and when everyone gathered, she chatted with them lightly.
At one point, Maria said calmly:
— "We're visiting my sister today, Leonardo. I'll take Rehana and Matteo with me."
He answered curtly, without looking at them:
— "Alright… I have some business to take care of."
Rehana stayed silent, though something in his tone didn't sit right with her.
---
At four in the afternoon, Maria knocked on Rehana's suite door.
She was holding a deep crimson dress, neatly wrapped, along with a small black box.
— "Wear this, it's for you."
Rehana opened the box to find a delicate, simple diamond necklace.
She hesitated for a moment, but complied.
She wore the dress, which perfectly highlighted her feminine figure, gathered her black hair in a half-up style, letting strands fall over her shoulders.
She added a touch of lipstick and mascara.
When she went downstairs, Maria and Matteo were already waiting by the car.
---
At Maria's sister's house, the welcome was warm.
They chatted together, though the sister's son — a man in his mid-thirties — kept casting admiring glances at Rehana, which didn't go unnoticed.
Rehana felt slightly uneasy but remained polite, focusing on Matteo and the women's conversation.
---
Elsewhere in the city, Leonardo sat in a luxurious room reserved for high-ranking members of the mafia world.
He was in the middle of a call about a deal when a new message from the unknown number popped up.
He opened it tensely…
This time, the picture was clearer — taken from a side angle, showing Rehana walking in her red dress, her hair flowing freely, the diamond necklace glinting under the sun.
Underneath, the text read:
"As I thought… She's at your aunt's. Truly, a ticking time bomb."
He gripped the phone tightly, then stood abruptly.
— "Excuse me, I have something urgent."
He left quickly, got into his car, and drove recklessly — every thought in his head pulsing with one name: Rehana.
When he arrived at his aunt's mansion, his mother was surprised.
— "Didn't you have work?" she asked.
He answered, eyes fixed on Rehana:
— "I thought you might need a driver."
Maria smiled, then suggested:
— "Why don't you show Rehana around the mansion?"
— "Fine," he replied coldly.
---
A few moments after Leonardo and Rehana disappeared inside, Maria sat holding Matteo on her lap, studying his sleeping features — so much like his father's.
Her sister leaned in and whispered slyly:
— "Your son's wife is really young and beautiful."
Maria didn't answer right away.
Instead, she lifted her eyes toward the window, where she caught sight of faint shadows — a quiet exchange between her son and Rehana.
She said softly, with depth:
— "Yes…"
Then added, almost to herself:
— "Fate doesn't always choose the easiest path… but it chooses the right one."
Her sister chuckled:
— "She's smart too… I saw how she dealt with Matteo and made him laugh so quickly."
Maria smiled gratefully, then looked back at the window.
Inside, something stirred within her — perhaps a faint hope that this marriage, despite its strangeness and circumstances, might plant something beautiful in her son's frozen heart.
She whispered to herself:
— "Leonardo… will you let life come back to you through this girl?"
And as night's curtains fell, the old mansion began writing a new line in its history…