Chapter 33
I wandered around the mall with the bag I'd bought for Fabrizio.
With Kane's permission, I'd started to become bolder.
I even bought myself a dress worth over ten thousand yuan.
I hadn't wanted to buy it originally, but Nina kept repeating what Kane had just said.
"Mr. Moretti said you can't dress too cheap, or else you'd embarrass him."
But for people like Kane, a dress worth tens of thousands probably doesn't even count as money. Compared to money, they care more about their reputation.
I didn't dare imagine what Kane would do to me if I embarrassed him.
So I decisively paid for the dress.
Watching this silk dress wrapped around my body, for the first time, I felt I could actually look this good.
Compared to the formal dress I'd carefully dressed up in last time, I felt this dress better highlighted my facial features.
I never considered myself good-looking, and I still don't know what attracted Kane to me.
But after putting on this dress, I discovered my nose bridge was actually quite high, and my eyes were fairly large too.
The goose-colored silk made my eyes look like clear springs.
Nina watched me spin around several times and couldn't help but sigh.
"People really do need clothes to make them shine. I used to just think you were pretty, but now I think you're like a fairy descended from heaven."
Nina's undisguised praise made me quite embarrassed, and I touched my nose.
"You're exaggerating a bit. Compared to those models, I don't think I'm worth mentioning."
But Nina's tone became even more exaggerated as she winked at me gently.
"Oh my God, Sonya, you have no idea how beautiful you are. I still remember the first time I saw you, you were just wearing a tattered dress, but I still thought you were some young lady who'd escaped from a wealthy family!"
The saleswoman nearby joined Nina in praising me.
"Yes, this dress really brings out your beauty and elegance, miss. I swear to God, out of all our customers, not a single one looks as good as you."
I paid in a daze.
The whole afternoon I bought quite a lot of things—all the things I'd wanted to buy before but didn't dare.
It wasn't until all three of us couldn't carry anything more that we finally got in the car, satisfied.
I watched the car start, then belatedly said to the driver, "Could you please take us to the church?"
I wanted to take this bag to Fabrizio first.
The driver didn't answer me, but he changed the direction he was driving. I knew that was toward the church.
He seemed really serious.
Standing in front of the familiar church, my eyes became slightly moist.
Nina's eyes reddened, too.
When I left the church last time, I never imagined I'd return here in this state.
I didn't know if my Lord could forgive me for the things I'd done during this time, and for those little schemes of mine.
Just as I was hesitating about whether to enter the church, a familiar voice reached my ears.
"Dear Sonya, I've finally been waiting for you."
Fabrizio's voice was always so kind and gentle. I turned my head to look at him, and the tears gathering in my eyes instantly fell.
I walked slowly toward Fabrizio. I lowered my head and put my hands together.
"Father, these days I've done some things the Lord doesn't allow, violated the vows I made. Will the Lord forgive me?"
Fabrizio raised his hand and gently placed it on top of my head, his voice solemn and dignified.
"Everything deserves to be forgiven. All your choices were made against your will. If you'd had a choice, I believe you wouldn't have betrayed your vows."
His words were like sunshine through cloudy skies, driving away all the gloom in my heart.
My heart dropped heavily with relief, and I looked up at Fabrizio with light shining in my eyes.
"Dear Father, I'm so glad you said these things to me. I brought you a gift."
With that, I turned around, took the bag worth a hundred thousand yuan from Athena's hands, and placed it in Fabrizio's hands.
Fabrizio's expression was astonished.
Clearly, he knew this bag was worth a lot.
But he didn't ask anything, just looked at me with a smile and nodded.
"Sonya, I'm very happy, not because you bought me such an expensive bag, but because you dared to spend this money."
His eyes held some nostalgia, looking at me as if seeing the little Sonya who'd first come to the church.
"Back then, you'd just arrived at the church, thin and timid, like a frightened little cat that had been mistreated."
"I believe if it were you back then, even if a million was placed in front of you, you absolutely wouldn't have spent it."
"But in fact, dear Sonya deserves all the most beautiful things in this world."
With that, Fabrizio turned and invited me to enter the church.
Only then did I notice that Fabrizio was walking with a limp.
I couldn't help but frown, stepping forward to support him, my tone carrying some worry.
"What happened to your foot?"
Fabrizio used to walk briskly—nothing like this had ever happened before.
But Fabrizio just smiled and shook his head without speaking, though a churchgoer passing by spoke up.
"You don't know yet? Sonya, after you left here, your stepfather came several times, demanding money from the Father, saying you never brought money home. If the Father wouldn't give it to him, he would beat him."
I was stunned, standing there trembling all over.
My God, Luca had actually done such things. This was all my fault.
While I was enjoying fine food on the yacht and at the estate, was Luca beating Fabrizio?
If it weren't for me, Fabrizio wouldn't have had to suffer such humiliation.
My tears fell like a broken dam.
I grabbed Fabrizio's hand, choking out an apology.
"I'm sorry, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me, Luca wouldn't have come to bother you. Father, this is all my fault."
But Fabrizio didn't blame me at all. He gently stroked my head.
"This isn't your fault. You earned the money yourself and had to give it all to him—it's his own greed wanting more."
"If one day he kills someone because he doesn't have money to gamble, would you blame yourself for not giving him enough money?"
Fabrizio always knew how to comfort me, but I still felt guilty.
I thought for a moment, then looked at Athena and asked sincerely, "Can I donate some money to the church?"
Athena nodded solemnly.
"Of course you can. You just need to tell me the amount, and when we get back, I'll notify the appropriate people to donate it to the church."
I took a breath, looking at Fabrizio's robe that had barely changed over the years, and the somewhat dilapidated parts of the church behind him, and firmly stated a number.
"Three million."