I Accepted Divorce, But My Don Panicked

Just as I was on the verge of miscarriage from a fall, my husband—New York's most powerful Don—was throwing a lavish birthday gala for his childhood sweetheart, Camilla. I called, begging for help, but he dismissed it as a cheap stunt and coldly hung up. As his wife, I bore the honor of being the Donna—yet no one knew I couldn't even scrape together a thousand dollars. All because, to "train" me into a proper Donna, he had handed total control of my life and finances straight to Camilla. Desperate, I begged anyone who would listen. But by the time I finally scraped the money together, my baby's heartbeat stopped forever. After waking up in that hospital bed, I dragged myself back to his penthouse to pack my bags. That was when I stumbled upon the auction receipt for Camilla's birthday gift. A ten-million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills, plus endless custom jewelry. Just then, his deep, raspy voice drifted from the study next door. He was on a call with his underbosses. "Boss, was Scarlett really at the hospital begging you for a grand?" Cassius scoffed. "Scarlett is my Donna. She has my men guarding her 24/7. How could anything possibly happen to her? She's just pulling a cheap stunt for attention. Camilla is right. I've spoiled Scarlett too much lately. If Camilla isn't strict with her, how is an orphan going to earn the Famiglia's respect? She'll understand my good intentions later." Tears slipped down my face. Fuck his rules. Fuck his Donna. The second the doctor called my baby's time of death, I decided I was out of his life—never to return. Chapter 1 I shoved the receipt back into the drawer just as the front door clicked open. "Scarlett. You finally decided to come home." Cassius walked in and dropped onto the sofa. His tie hung loose around his neck. His deep gray eyes were full of impatience. When he spoke, it sounded like he was scolding a disobedient puppy. "Are you still throwing a tantrum over a thousand bucks? Grow up, Scarlett. Be more like Camilla. You're going to be the Donna of the Gallo family, not some crying street girl." He sounded so self-righteous. Like this was just tough love. But the subtext was brutally clear. I had to be a flawless, absolutely obedient puppet before I was worthy to stand by his side and rule his empire. He reached out to pull me into his lap. I instinctively stepped back, dodging his commanding touch. Cassius froze. He stared at his empty hand, then narrowed his eyes at me dangerously. In his mind, I was just throwing a childish fit over my little hospital drama. He let out a sigh. Walking over, he carelessly brushed his thumb against my cheek. "Alright, stop throwing a tantrum," he coaxed softly. "Just be a good girl, and I'll give you whatever you want. It's just a thousand bucks, right? I'll have someone send you a pricier set of jewelry tomorrow." He cupped my face in his hands. For a second, he looked at me just like he did five years ago—like I was the only woman in his world. "But you have to understand," he murmured, "you're not some wild little girl anymore. You're the future Donna. You need to start acting like it and see the bigger picture." Always the same speech. I’d heard those exact words a thousand times over the last five years. Suddenly, my mind drifted back to the old days. Back before I ever knew who he really was. When we first met, he was just a bartender at a rundown joint in Brooklyn. Late at night, he would stroke my hair, kiss my face, and hold me like I was his entire world. "Scarlett, I have nothing. I can't give you a stable life," he had told me, his eyes so sincere. "But we can build it together. We'll make it ours." I bought his bullshit and said yes. Then the truth came out. I watched him step out of a bulletproof SUV, flanked by heavily armed guards, walking into an exclusive club. "Our marriage has to stay in the dark," he had said. Because I had no background, no protection. Going public would put a target on my back. So I had to endure. I had to take Camilla's degrading, abusive "Donna training" at the family company. But he turned a blind eye to my pain. Because every time, Camilla got to him first and spun the story. Cassius's voice snapped me back to reality. "If you really feel sick, just stay home. But stop testing me with these extreme stunts," he sighed, sounding condescending and tired. "If the Famiglia sees you crying and throwing a fit, they'll only look down on you more." His words felt like a sick joke. All I could think about was the tearing agony in my stomach and the doctor's cold words: No heartbeat. I didn't want to explain a damn thing. I couldn't even stand to look at him anymore. I stood up, ready to leave this suffocating room, but the front door opened again. Camilla walked right in, punching in the passcode like she owned the place. She was dressed in full Chanel. Seeing me, she let out a dramatic gasp and rushed to Cassius's side. "Scarlett? You're actually home? I thought after you skipped your etiquette class, bailed on the merger meeting, and threw the financial reports at the executives, you ran away for good." I looked coldly at Cassius. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this penthouse is our home. Why does she have the passcode? Why is she waltzing in here like this?" Camilla instantly played the victim. She sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Cassius, looking at him with hurt eyes. Her hand "accidentally" knocked over the financial reports I had stayed up all night organizing. Papers scattered all over the floor. "Cassius, look at her... I just came out of the goodness of my heart to drop off tomorrow's merger files. I know because of her background, she hates those of us who grew up in the business. But I only want to help you. I want her to stand on her own two feet. How can she accuse me like this?" God knows how much of this poison she had whispered in his ear over the years. Cassius didn't see anything wrong with it. To him, Camilla was making perfect sense. "Camilla is right. Scarlett, she's here to help you. Stop being so defensive and bitter. If you can't even show a little grace, how are you ever going to run this Famiglia?" Chapter 2 "Grace?" My voice trembled. My eyes were dead. "What kind of grace are you talking about, Cassius?" I stood up and looked him dead in the eye. "The kind where I wait on her hand and foot like a maid? Or the kind where she locks me in a freezing wine cellar until I catch a raging fever?" Camilla's face paled for a second, but she quickly put her innocent mask back on. "Scarlett, you're talking nonsense again—" "Nonsense?" I cut her off, my voice thick with desperate anger. "You said you were teaching me about vintage wines. You locked me in that cellar for four straight hours. By the time they found me, I was half-dead from the cold." A tear slipped out. Not for him, but for my wasted youth. For my dead baby. I had wasted five years of my life on a monster. Cassius rubbed his temples, annoyed, like he was dealing with a tedious business dispute. "You're too sensitive, Scarlett. The door closed on its own. Camilla already apologized. Didn't I comfort you after that?" Comfort? He meant his dismissive, "Be careful next time"? Camilla let out a fake sigh. "Cassius, since Scarlett is struggling so much, maybe she shouldn't attend the syndicate galas anymore. Just so she doesn't..." She paused, her eyes flashing with vicious triumph. "...embarrass you." Right then, something inside me snapped for good. Five years. I was done with their sick, twisted games. "You're right," I said, my voice eerily calm. "From now on, I won't attend any Famiglia events." I turned toward the bedroom to grab the suitcase I had already packed. But I didn't even make it to the door. Cassius lunged at me like a feral beast. His hand clamped down on my jaw, gripping so hard I thought he would crush my bones. His arrogant mask slipped, replaced by the sheer, unhinged fury of a man losing control. "Take one step out that door," he snarled, his voice low and lethal. "And I will never come back for you. Are we clear?" In that moment, I realized just how wrong I had been. I was stupid enough to cling to our memories. When I was sick, he never left my side. Hands that ended lives had held me so gently. On my birthday, he would drop the Don act, watching fireworks with me and blowing out candles like a normal husband. And the countless nights he pinned me to the mattress, taking me over and over again. "My girl. Be with me forever," he used to promise. Maybe we did love each other once. But our love didn't stand a chance against the daily venom of another woman, or his deep-rooted, arrogant obsession with power. "Cassius," I said calmly. "I want a divorce." The air froze. Cassius's grip loosened. He took a step back, sheer disbelief flashing in his eyes. "What did you say?" "A divorce," I repeated, my tone deadpan. "I'm divorcing you." His face darkened like a gathering storm. "You're threatening me with divorce because you don't want to learn high society rules?" His voice carried a suffocating weight. "Scarlett, I overestimated you. I thought you had a spine." A threat? I almost laughed. Cassius Gallo sat so high on his throne, he actually thought his love was an act of charity. "I'm not throwing a fit," I said, my heart completely dead. "Go find a woman who's worthy of the Famiglia. Like Camilla." I pulled out of his grasp and walked into the bedroom. "Scarlett!" his roar echoed through the penthouse. "If you walk out that door today, you're going to regret it!" I dragged my suitcase through the living room without giving him a second glance. I had endured five years of a hidden marriage and endless bullying. When I lay in a hospital bed, begging for just one grand to save our baby, he coldly refused. All because he listened to her poison and thought I was just slacking off. Yesterday, in that freezing operating room, I lost our first child. And he didn't even know that tiny life existed. "Stop right there!" Cassius bellowed behind me. "You have nothing! Without me, you are nothing!" My hand gripped the doorknob. I paused for a second. The moment my baby died, my love for him—and the family I thought we were building—died with it. Chapter 3 Late that night, I dragged my suitcase to an abandoned basketball court in Brooklyn. I spent the rest of the night shivering on a cold bench. New York had no safe haven for me, and I had no reason to stay. My baby was gone. My love had turned to ash. But after five years, I was finally free. I walked straight into the executive floor of the Gallo family's headquarters. I wanted to sever every last tie with him. But just as I dropped my security badge and the company files on the front desk manager's counter, the office doors burst open. Cassius swaggered in with his usual entourage of made men. Camilla trailed right behind him like a snake. Seeing me, Cassius gave a condescending sneer. "Scarlett. I wondered how far you'd run. Turns out you just came to HQ to throw a tantrum and quit? Your attitude is getting completely out of line. You think this childish stunt is going to make me bow down to you?" I couldn't even be bothered to look at him. I turned to walk away. "My security badge is on the desk. We are done." Just as I stepped past them to leave, Camilla suddenly blocked my path. "Scarlett, please don't be so impulsive!" She raised her voice, playing the role of the caring peacemaker, while intimately hooking her arm through mine. The second Cassius's view was blocked by his men, she leaned in. Her red lips brushed my ear, her tone dripping with venom and triumph. "Look at you, what a pathetic loser. You think Cassius will even care if you leave? You saw the multi-million dollar mansion he bought me for my birthday last night. A trashy orphan like you never belonged in this seat. Walk away now, while you still have a shred of dignity." My stomach churned at her ugly true colors. I glared at her coldly and instinctively yanked my arm back. "Let go of me. Don't touch me." But the moment I shook her off, Camilla let out a bloodcurdling shriek. "Ah!" She threw herself backward with impossible force, slamming hard into the crystal bar in the center of the VIP lounge. With a deafening crash, she slumped to the floor. The whole floor gasped.. "Why did you push me?" Camilla cried, pointing at me, her voice trembling with hurt. Pushed her? I hadn't even touched her. But all eyes were locked on me, full of shock and accusation. Cassius's face went deadly pale. He pulled Camilla up, then glared at me with absolute, murderous rage. "Scarlett! Are you out of your fucking mind?!" he roared. "Camilla has done nothing but help you, and you're vicious enough to assault her?! You're out of control!" "I didn't touch her," I said calmly. "Still denying it?" He marched over, looking like he wanted to rip me apart. "You're going to lie right to my face in front of everyone?" Camilla wept, the perfect damsel in distress. "Cassius, don't blame Scarlett. Maybe she's just really angry..." Cassius clearly felt my arrogance and my "lies" had crossed the line. He pointed a finger at me, issuing an undeniable threat. "No. She has to take responsibility." Cassius gritted his teeth. "Apologize to Camilla right now, or I'll give you that divorce you want so badly." He thought the threat of divorce would break me. Because he firmly believed an orphan with no power would never give up the throne of a Mafia Donna. But this time, I just stared at his arrogant, confident face. "Fine. Bring me the divorce papers." Cassius froze. He clearly hadn't expected me to call his bluff, but he wasn't going to back down in front of his men. After a few seconds of silence, he sneered and pulled out his phone, dialing his private lawyer. "Bring the divorce papers to HQ. Now." Barely twenty minutes later, the lawyer rushed in. Cassius slammed a document onto the table. But before I could take the papers, his large hand slammed down on the contract. His dark eyes locked onto mine. "Scarlett, while I still have my patience, I'm giving you one last chance. Think carefully," his tone softened slightly. "Without my protection, you are nothing. Apologize to Camilla, admit you were wrong, and promise to stop throwing these little tantrums. Do that, and you'll remain my wife. You'll still be the respected future Donna." Staring at his arrogant face, acting like he was handing out some grand charity, I felt nothing but a wave of absurd pity. "Save it." I looked him dead in the eye. "I'm done." I yanked the papers out from under his hand, grabbed a pen, and signed my name without a second of hesitation. When I finished the last letter, I dropped the pen. Without sparing him a single glance, I turned toward the door. "Scarlett!" his voice rang out behind me, laced with an emotion I couldn't figure out. Watching me walk away without hesitation, Cassius's last thread of sanity snapped. He snatched his phone and punched in the private line for the syndicate's head of finance. "Listen to me! Freeze every single credit card and account under Scarlett's name right now!" Cassius barked, his jaw clenched. "I want her to learn the hard way. She loses every privilege and ounce of protection that comes with being my Donna!" Until now, Cassius still thought I was just being unreasonable. He waiting for me to come to my senses and obediently return to his side, and then he would still give me back the Donna's title. But instead of an immediate 'yes, sir', a suffocating silence hung on the other end of the line. Seconds later, the finance director's trembling voice came through. "Boss... Miss Scarlett's account has been under restriction all along. Even the medical fee request from last night's surgery was returned—we couldn't process it." Cassius frowned in irritation. "What surgery fee? Wasn't she perfectly fine?" The director's voice was laced with pure terror. "That one-thousand-dollar request yesterday came from the ER at the family's private hospital. It was for the emergency procedure to save the baby. Because you personally ordered the transaction denied... Miss Scarlett... she lost the baby."