“I need to buy some pastries, and I have to make a proper dinner tonight too.
Your second brother called this morning and said he’s bringing his girlfriend home to stay.
You know he’s never brought a woman home before, so this time he must be serious.
That girl is probably going to be your future sister-in-law…”
Carmela Corleone had nobody else to share her excitement with, so she grabbed the phone and happily rambled to her daughter.
“Yeah, Mom, I know.”
“Then don’t forget—bring Carlo with you tonight.
The whole family’s getting together for a big dinner.”
She even made sure to invite her daughter and son-in-law over so everyone could gather together.
On the other end of the line, Connie hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she still couldn’t bear to disappoint her mother, so with a slightly shaky voice she said, “Okay, Mom.
I’ll bring Carlo home tonight.”
Carmela was far too excited to notice the subtle change in her daughter’s voice.
She simply smiled and said happily, “Good, then it’s settled.
I’m hanging up now—I still need to go see Nazorine about ordering pastries.”
“Okay, Mom.
Bye.”
The moment the call ended, Connie couldn’t hold it in anymore and started crying.
She had only been married a short while, yet married life was already becoming exhausting and miserable.
Her second brother had practically predicted her future like some damn magician.
Carlo loafed around all day, stayed out late every night, and usually came home drunk.
Sometimes when he drank too much, he even hit her.
Then the next day he’d smooth everything over with sweet talk and fake affection.
Divorce never even crossed her mind.
She chose this marriage herself, and she didn’t want to embarrass the Corleone family.
More than that, she didn’t want to admit she picked the wrong man.
Admitting your own mistakes takes courage too.
And deep down, she still believed Carlo would eventually change.
People are like that.
They always cling to that tiny sliver of hope, just like gamblers who lose everything at the table yet still believe the next hand will magically turn their lives around.
But anyone who’s watched any gambler movies knows the God of Gamblers never relies on luck at the table.
Guys like that play mind games, traps, calculations, and setups.
They gamble with brains, not blind luck.
Who the hell actually leaves it to luck?
For a survivalist king like Fredo Corleone, even a ninety-six percent success rate still counts as a losing bet.
The God of Gamblers may be incredible, calculating every detail down to perfection, yet somehow he still can’t stop his wife from dying in every movie.
People always say, “Man proposes, God disposes.”
Anyway…
Hopeless romantic Connie wiped away her tears and called Carlo.
The moment Carlo heard that his mother in law had invited them back to the family estate for dinner tonight, he instantly perked up.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart.
I’ll be home soon…”
“Welcome home…”
For the first time in Fredo’s memory, both Don Corleone and his wife personally came outside to greet someone at the front door.
Even the original owner of this body had never experienced that treatment before.
Of course, the Corleones weren’t out there to welcome their son.
They were there to welcome their future daughter-in-law.
“Good evening, Mr.
Corleone and Mrs.
Corleone.
My name is Monica Daddario…”
After spending hours getting ready that morning, Monica Daddario arrived at the Corleone estate looking absolutely stunning.
Words like breathtaking, elegant, and gorgeous barely did her justice.
People are visual creatures by nature, and first impressions matter.
The most obvious proof was Sonny’s three little kids immediately hugging Monica’s legs and begging her to play with them.
Fredo was instantly speechless.
You little brats are lucky you’re still in the beginner protection phase, otherwise I’d smack the hell outta you.
Before coming here, Monica had been nervous the entire time, constantly asking Fredo whether his family would like her.
Last night, even in the middle of their heated “battle,” she suddenly stopped just to anxiously ask him question after question.
But strangely enough, after arriving at the Corleone estate, all that fear and nervousness disappeared.
She carried herself beautifully—graceful, polite, and composed.
In the eyes of Don Corleone and Carmela, she was the definition of a proper wife and future mother.
The kind of woman you proudly bring home to marry into the family.
More than worthy of their idiot son.
That alone showed just how perfect Monica’s performance had been.
Of course, there was also another possibility.
Maybe in the eyes of the Corleone couple, their second son was just a useless spendthrift who wandered around all day doing nothing productive, so the fact he managed to bring home a sweet, obedient woman already exceeded expectations.
Fredo absolutely did not want to admit the second possibility.
But based on that “more than worthy of our family’s idiot son” energy…
Yeah.
That was probably it.
God damn it.
Before I transmigrated here, this guy was a deadbeat.
After I transmigrated here, he’s still a deadbeat.
Then what the hell was the point of me transmigrating?!
Fine.
Fredo genuinely didn’t know what to say anymore.
Bias really is one hell of a mountain.
At this point, he’d already given up trying to explain himself to the family.
Time would prove everything eventually.
Not long after that, Connie arrived with her husband Carlo.
She turned away quickly, but there was no way that escaped Fredo’s notice.
Something was definitely wrong.
And with Connie still trapped in full love-brain mode, whatever problem she had almost certainly involved Carlo.
Domestic abuse.
Cheating.
Maybe some other issue.
Financial trouble could be ruled out immediately.
If it were money, she could’ve just asked the family for help.
The kind of problem you can’t talk to your family about is usually either cheating or abuse.
Fredo sighed quietly.
Just as he suspected, the moment Connie saw her second brother again, she remembered everything he had warned her about before.
And suddenly she wanted to cry all over again.
…
As the sun set and darkness slowly covered the sky, the entire Corleone family gathered around the dinner table inside the villa.
Everyone was there except the youngest son, Michael Corleone.
Seeing the whole family together under one roof made Don Corleone genuinely happy.
As for tonight’s star guest—Monica Daddario—everyone treated her warmly, constantly checking on her and making conversation.
And after spending some time with her, every member of the Corleone family, aside from Sonny’s clueless little kids, came to the exact same conclusion as Don Corleone and Carmela:
This girl is way too good for our family’s idiot son / brother.
Fredo if he know what everybody though of him: Wow.
Thanks a lot, everybody.
Glasses clinked, laughter filled the room, and cheerful voices echoed through the villa.
The dinner was a success.
Everyone at the table was happy.
And the night itself felt beautiful.
Don Corleone’s face was filled with satisfaction as he looked at his family together like this.
But he could never imagine that, according to the original storyline, years later almost everyone sitting at this table would be gone.
In the end, aside from the children, only Connie would remain by Michael’s side.
A family once overflowing with life would eventually be reduced to a lonely shell.
What was the point of fighting so hard only to end up alone?
But now things were different.
Because the new Fredo Corleone had appeared.
Before dinner was even over, Carmela pulled Monica away to show her around the house—more specifically, to show her Fredo’s old room.
The room had already been completely redecorated earlier that day by Carmela herself.
Aside from not looking outright bridal, everything else practically matched a wedding suite.
When it came to future daughters-in-law, Carmela Corleone was absolutely serious.
Smiling from ear to ear, she warmly said to Monica:
“Come on, Monica.
Let me show you your room and see what you think…”