[GIOSEFFO]
I don’t want to harm Millie. When I carefully examined her eyes, I noticed her expression blank yet filled with a murderous intent. There was nothing else to see in her eyes but her desire to kill me.
She lunged at me again, clutching her knife. When I realized she was genuinely planning to kill me and not just playing around, I had no choice but to react.
As she attempted to stab me with her knife, I raised one hand to block it, trapping the blade between my fingers. I felt the burning sensation on my hand as I got a cut in the process. I held onto her knife with my fingers, preventing her from taking it back.
“Sorry,” I began before lifting my gaze to her. I gave her a sad smile before continuing to speak. “I don’t know why you want to kill me or if someone ordered you to, but I can’t die yet, not until I say my apologies to my wife and prove to her that I regret everything. I won’t die at the hands of anyone.”
I could see the surprise in her eyes at my words. I gently caressed her cheek with one hand, not hesitating to pull her into an embrace. Millie resisted, but I didn’t let go. I still had her hand with the knife, so she couldn’t escape from me. Just seeing her this close, regardless of our situation, made me happy. I didn’t know what was happening with her, but I was just glad Millie was alive.
She tried to break free from me once more. It seems someone isn’t pleased here, huh?
“Teacher?”
I pushed Millie with all my strength. Her expression changed as she heard the approaching child’s voice. I let her go when I also heard a child’s voice that seemed to be looking for Millie. She turned to face the child entering the courtyard and discreetly hid the knife she had behind her back. I did the same, hiding my bleeding hand from the child’s view.
“Oh, didn’t I say we should take a break and come back later?” Millie’s way of speaking suddenly changed, as if she hadn’t intended to kill me a moment ago. “Michael and Ethan are having an argument, Teacher.”
“What happened to you? Why do you have blood on your face?” The child asked.
“Never mind that. Show me where Michael and Ethan are, and I’ll take care of it.” Millie said to the children.
The child quickly walked away, and Millie hastily composed herself, following the child. Before she left for good, I saw her sharp eyes look at me once again. I smiled, never expecting to see her look at me that way ever.
“Sir, are you okay?” Dario and her companions asked me.
My grin vanished as I realized what had just transpired. Okay? Who could possibly be okay? My wife is out to get me.
Those kinds of eyes weren’t new to me eyes filled with a burning desire to eliminate their target. And I was Millie’s target.
Based on my observation, did she not remember me? The way she looked at me, it was as if she couldn’t recognize me.
I pushed that thought aside. I wouldn’t conclude anything unless I could prove it. For now, I needed to focus on something else: why did she want to kill me?
They took me to the location of the chopper. I hadn’t planned to leave yet, but for the moment, I had to leave Millie behind. I left Dario to keep an eye on her while I was away. Now that I had seen her again, I couldn’t let her out of my sight.
I had my wounds from Millie tended to. I remained silent, my thoughts running deep. I needed to figure out what was happening. Could she genuinely not recognize me? Her actions and the way she responded to my words left me conflicted.
The journey back home seemed to pass in a blur, with my thoughts fixed on Millie. Was she angry with me and pretending not to recognize me because I had hurt her? I preferred to think it was like that.
As soon as I arrived home, I did one thing: I packed my things, as I had made the decision to visit Millie, wherever she might be. I also called Dad and told him it would be a while before I returned to the company. I couldn’t focus with our current situation. I might even be the cause of our company’s downfall if ever they insist of me handling it.
“You’re going to visit Millie in Minnesota even though she wants to kill you? Why does she want to kill you, anyway?” Taddeo asked.
I was wearing a frown because I had called him for a conversation before I left New York the next day. However, when I arrived at the VIP lounge of this bar, I found Carter and Raffaele with him.
“Why are these two here?” I asked, somewhat irritated.
“Geez, you’re harsh, Gio. We’re here to support you. Don’t you know that your companions here are experts in relationships? We’ll provide you with a free consultation since you’re our cousin, and this is the first time we’ve seen you go crazy over a girl,” Taddeo said.
Raffaele shot me a meaningful look. She gave me a wide smile, probably knowing that I didn’t have the patience to argue with him, and I owed him a great deal for his help.
“I won’t let Millie kill me until I’ve told her everything I want to say and explained what led to her feeling this way. After that, if she still wants to kill me, then she can take my life,” I declared.
Carter raised an eyebrow at my statement. “Why did you choose annulment as the solution to your problems back then? Even if you and Millie were to separate, her life wouldn’t change.”
I looked at Carter as he sipped his drink while I was giving him my full attention.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I was crushed, and I wanted to laugh at myself. At first, I blamed others for the pressure I felt during those times. My mind was in chaos because it felt like the consequences of my desire to be with Millie were being laid bare to me. It seemed like my miserable life was my karma for everything I had done, all to have Millie. But I realized it was my fault because I was the one who chose to tell Millie that. But I also realized that I thought she would be better off without me in her life. And I admit that I was wrong about that more than once.”