The Princess Stopped Begging for Love, But They Became Desperate to Give Her Everything Chapter 06

The Princess Stopped Begging for Love, But They Became Desperate to Give Her Everything Chapter 06

At last, she chose her words carefully.

“It’s nothing serious. Isabella is getting engaged.”

Isabella was getting engaged.

Just like in my previous life, the man was Nico Russo, heir to the Russo family.

He came across as charming and mild-mannered.

Underneath it, he was calculating, ambitious, and painfully aware of status.

The Russos controlled shipping lines, docks, and several major port operations along the East Coast.

Russo Maritime and Caruso Holdings had worked together for years.

“Oh. Congratulations.”

“The engagement party is on the eighteenth next month, in New York.”

Hope crept into Mom’s voice.

“Can you come home?”

The eighteenth.

Our project would be entering a critical phase.

Taking time off would be impossible.

Even if it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have gone.

There was no need for me to be there.

“I’m working on a project. I can’t make it.”

I didn’t hesitate.

The other end of the line went quiet for so long that I thought the signal had dropped.

“…All right.”

Mom sounded subdued.

Her disappointment was obvious.

“Get back to work, then. Be careful.”

After hanging up, I looked toward the mountain range in the distance.

The setting sun had painted the slopes in warm gold.

Inside, there wasn’t even a ripple.

I didn’t attend Isabella’s engagement party.

Later, between Mom’s occasional phone calls and Isabella’s Instagram posts, I pieced together just how extravagant it had been.

On paper, the Carusos and Russos were a perfect match: money, status, influence.

To New York society, it was more than an engagement. It tied Caruso Holdings to Russo Maritime.

Everyone in their circle understood the rest. It was a business alliance with a ring on it.

A beautiful couple.

Two prestigious names.

Everyone watching.

It was exactly what their world was supposed to look like.

And none of it had anything to do with me.

I poured all my energy into school and research.

My professors noticed the work I put in, and they noticed that I was good at it.

By sophomore year, I was invited to join one professor’s research group.

My days filled up fast.

And satisfying.

Between tutoring, scholarships, and my research assistant stipend, I became completely financially independent.

I even started putting money aside so I could have my adoptive parents reinterred in a quieter, better-kept cemetery someday.

While I was looking into the arrangements, an unexpected call came in.

It was Vince Bellini, my father’s chief of staff.

Officially, Vince handled much of Lorenzo’s day-to-day business at Caruso Holdings.

Inside the family, he was also one of Lorenzo’s most trusted consiglieri.

His tone was polite, with an undertone of discomfort.

“Miss Caruso, I’m calling to let you know that Don Lorenzo has been hospitalized.”