No Sloppy Seconds

On my wedding day,I rode to the church in a prison transport van. I'm the future Godmother of the family. But his little side piece whined that she "wanted to know what marriage feels like." So,my future husband tossed me aside without a second thought. He let her wear my custom bridal gown. She took my bouquet,got into my getaway car,and drove off. Ever since we started planning this wedding,I've been a shadow. Just because that bitch claims she's "anti-marriage." She wanted a taste of a happy ending she'll never get. The wedding photos,the dress fitting—my fiancé put her first every single time. And now,she's hijacking my own damn wedding. I just laughed. It's pathetic. If she wants him that bad,she can have him. I don't do sloppy seconds. Chapter 1 On my wedding day,a convoy of bulletproof Lincolns lined the entire street. The black paint gleamed under the harsh California sun. It made my eyes sting. I held up my heavy gown and walked toward the main bridal car. For seven years,I laundered his money. I took bullets for him. I even cut ties with my own family for him. I thought today I'd finally stand by his side. Officially. But the moment the car door opened,Silas stepped in front of me. He had no intention of letting me in. "Cleo,take the one in the back," he said. His voice was flat,like a routine business announcement. I followed his gaze. At the very end of the convoy sat a rusty piece of shit. It was the Moretti family's transport van for death-row prisoners. My head spun. I couldn't believe my ears. "Today is our wedding. You want me to ride to the church in a cage?" Just then,the window of the main car rolled down. Gia sat inside. She was wearing the custom haute couture gown I spent six months choosing. She turned her head and smirked at me. "Gia got a death threat today. This car is the safest for her," Silas said. He didn't even look back. His excuse sounded so casual. "Besides,she's anti-marriage. She's never getting hitched. She wanted to know what it feels like to be escorted by a Lincoln convoy today. I already said yes." I shook with rage. Tears rushed to my eyes. "She wants to experience it,so she gets to hijack my wedding entrance too?" For the past six months,just because of her "anti-marriage" bullshit,she tried on my dresses first. She picked my venues first. Now,she was stealing my once-in-a-lifetime wedding. Silas scowled,exhaling a sharp,irritated breath. He grabbed my jaw. His grip was so tight his nails dug into my skin. "Stop whining like a clueless little girl,Cleo." He leaned in close. His voice was a low warning. "A title is just a formality. Once we sign the blood oath,the Syndicate will recognize you as the Godmother. When Gia gets bored,I can go through the motions with you again anytime." He let go. He didn't even offer a comforting look. He just got into the car. The heavy door slammed shut right in my face. Dozens of luxury engines roared at once. Exhaust smoke hit me right in the face. The convoy didn't wait a single second. They sped away,leaving me all alone on the empty curb. Two bodyguards in black suits stepped up behind me. Without a word,they pulled open the freezing,heavy iron door of the prison van. I bit my lip until it bled. I forced my tears back. I lifted my dirty skirt—stained by the exhaust—and stepped into the dark van. The iron door slammed shut. All the light vanished. The van drove incredibly slow through the dark underground tunnel. The Lincoln convoy was long gone. This heavy piece of junk was left in the dust. I couldn't even see their taillights. I sat alone on the cold bench. I stared at the pitch-black walls outside. My stomach turned with pure disgust. Seven years of sacrifices flashed before my eyes. "A formality..." I mocked myself. Right then,my heart went completely cold. The man,the wedding—if another woman touched it,it was trash. "Ma'am," the iron mesh upfront slid open. The driver turned around. He looked sympathetic. "The main convoy is long gone. Where to?" I raised my hand and wiped the tears from my eyes. I smiled at the driver. The desperation and hope on my face were completely gone. "Don't bother. Turn the car around." The driver froze. "What? But the entire underworld is waiting at the church..." "I said turn around," I interrupted calmly. "The wedding is off." Chapter 2 The driver didn't dare say another word. He slammed the steering wheel hard. The heavy van scraped the narrow tunnel wall with a deafening screech. The chassis shook violently. He forced the vehicle to whip around,stepping on the gas,moving further and further away from the underground chapel. The exact moment we turned our backs on the wedding,my phone vibrated like crazy. The cold screen glowed in my palm. It made my eyes sting. I took a deep breath. I slid the screen open. It wasn't a late apology. It wasn't a panicked question. It was a block of text from Silas. I had the convoy leave you behind on purpose. Don't follow us. That first sentence turned my blood to ice. I stared at the screen. My knuckles went white from gripping the phone. Tell your driver to slow down. Don't arrive at the chapel at the same time as Gia. She hates it when people steal her spotlight. Also,enter through the secret security doors in the kitchen. Gia is fragile. If people see you two in the same room,it'll look bad for her. I looked at the text. My stomach cramped with pure disgust. I wanted to vomit. The kitchen? The secret security entrance? This was a high-profile wedding watched by the entire North American underworld. Yet,he wanted his bride to sneak in like a fugitive. He wanted me to crawl through grease,smoke,and trash. "Ma'am,are we going straight back to the Moretti estate?" the driver asked quietly. He was already slowing down. I didn't answer. I just mocked myself with a bitter smile. Tears welled in my eyes. I forced them back. Every single word. Every single thought. He only cared about Gia. He worried she would be embarrassed. He worried it would look bad for her. He even remembered exactly what kind of spotlight she liked. But twenty minutes ago,he dragged me out of my own bridal car. He threw me into this piece-of-shit prison van in broad daylight. Why didn't he think about my dignity then? In that moment,every bodyguard and driver in the Syndicate saw it happen. Tomorrow,the entire underworld will be laughing at the Moretti princess. But Silas didn't care. He thought it was perfectly fine. For the past seven years,whenever Gia was involved,I had to back down. Always. I balled my fists. I wrinkled my custom gown. The cold fabric rubbed against my skin,mocking my foolish hope. My devotion to him,my final wish for this marriage,shattered into pieces with those few lines. A giant hole opened in my chest. The freezing wind rushed right in. I used to think Silas was just cold. I thought he was a ruthless mob boss who didn't know how to be gentle. Now I understood. He knew exactly how to care. He just saved all his softness and attention for another woman. For me,he only had cold suspicion and orders. "Ma'am?" The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror. His voice was careful. Even for a seasoned Syndicate vet, this was messed up. He’d never seen a future Godmother swallow this kind of disrespect. Riding in a literal prison van? It was a sick joke. He shook his head. The Don had completely lost it. Didn't he care about the family backing her? Her people were going to burn this city to the ground. I took a deep breath. I pushed the tears away for good. My heart was dead,but my mind was terrifyingly clear. I looked down at his profile picture. I opened the chat. I didn't type my usual submissive "Understood." I didn't ask him why. I typed it out,word by word: The wedding is off. Do whatever the hell you want. Chapter 3 Ding. The phone made a sharp sound in the dark prison van. The notification tone was quick and sudden. I didn't even have time to press send. The preview messages popped up like crazy at the top of my screen. It was the elite underworld inner circle group chat. The Syndicate Vanguard. I was just added to it last night. Before adding me to the chat, Silas gave me a head-up. He said these guys were his inner circle, his most trusted soldiers. He told me to play nice. But the second I got in, I saw Gia. She was already holding court. Right now, the group is going wild. They're celebrating like it’s a damn holiday. Gia: [The California sun is so perfect! The vinyl records in the main Lincoln are exactly my style. Thank you to a certain someone who claims he's always busy,but still made time for my childish requests! ] She tagged the message with a few sweet emojis and a spam of photos. A dozen couple photos flooded the chat. They burned my eyes. The background was the bulletproof Lincoln. It was supposed to be my exclusive ride. Gia sat on the leather seat. She wore my custom haute couture gown. She smiled so bright. Silas sat right next to her. He let her wrap her arms around his neck. They threw up finger hearts for the camera. Their faces pressed tightly together. The last picture was the worst. Silas was the ruthless Don who made the entire North American underworld shake. Yet,he submissively rested his head in Gia's palm. He looked up slightly. His face was completely relaxed. A gentle,adoring smile hung on his lips. I stared at that pose. My fingers shook. Last month,we took wedding photos. I showed him the exact same pose for reference. Silas just glanced at it coldly. He threw the paper back on the table. "Cleo,I'm busy. Don't waste my time with this cheesy,childish shit." He didn't actually think it was childish. He just didn't want to do it with me. The replies in the chat flooded in like a tidal wave. Silas's best friend and right-hand man: [Perfect match! Honestly,the woman riding in the Lincoln with the Godfather today should be the real Godmother. Some desperate nobody doesn't even deserve to smell the exhaust smoke of a Lincoln.] Silas's cousin: [Haha,don't be so harsh. She begged and begged for seven years. The Moretti family still has the biological keys to the armory. If Silas didn't need that,would she even get to be his side piece? She really thinks she's special.] Filthy. Disgusting. These people were polite to my face. They called me Miss Moretti in front of outsiders. But in their inner circle of power,they stomped on me. They humiliated me for fun. A wave of pure nausea hit my stomach. I almost threw up. My blood turned to ice. Only rage and heartbreak tangled in my chest. Then,Silas sent a message. It pushed me straight into a frozen hell. Silas: [It's a celebration. Don't talk about outsiders. Just tell Gia she looks beautiful.] Outsider. In his eyes,I was just an outsider. A buzzkill. I was his legal fiancée. We were supposed to sign the blood oath today. I even lost a child for him. He allowed his men to publicly humiliate his bride. He even joined in with a joke. He approved of it. He only wanted to make Gia happy. Seven years of my youth. All for the word "outsider" from his own mouth. I clenched my jaw. Tears welled in my eyes. I forced them back. I'm done. I deleted the weak text message about canceling the wedding. I took a deep breath. I opened the group member list. My fingers tapped the keyboard with cold hatred. I fired a message right into the chat. Cleo: [Two-faced bastards. You disgust me.] Chapter 4 The group chat went dead for a full two seconds. Then came the notifications. Silas's best friend frantically unsent his messages. He followed up with a pathetic cover-up: [Sorry,wrong group.] Before I could even laugh,Silas's name flashed on my screen like a threat. I pressed answer. There was no warmth in his voice. There was only an icy command. "Apologize in the chat. Now." I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. My chest ached with heavy pressure. "What did you say? You want me to apologize to the people who just humiliated me?" "Cleo,stop acting like a feral cat." Silas loosened his tie with pure frustration. His impatience cut right through the phone. "You're not a prize,Cleo. You don't get to please everyone. The guys in that chat are my brothers. We grew up together with Gia. We've spilled blood together. It's normal that they don't accept you yet." "Just say you don't care in the chat. Move past it. Gia is crying her eyes out right now. She thinks this is all her fault." I didn't say a word. He lost his patience. "It’s just a text, Cleo. You won't die. Gia is different. We've always ruined her. Plus, you don't want my soldiers turning on you before the wedding, do you?" A wave of pure absurdity washed over me. My eyes burned red. I tilted my head back. I forced the tears down. She cried,so I was the one in the wrong. She felt guilty,so I had to humiliate myself to save her perfect little conscience. "What if I say no?" I gripped the phone. My knuckles went white. "We're getting married today. Why are you throwing another princess tantrum?" Silas scoffed. His voice was full of arrogant certainty. He knew he owned me. "Look at what day it is. I don't have time to baby you. Cleo,if we call off this wedding,your family loses my protection. Without me,you are nothing." Seven years of tied interests made him absolutely sure. He thought I didn't have the balls to flip the board. "You're right," I interrupted him. My voice was so calm it terrified me. "I shouldn't throw a tantrum right now." "Good. I want to see you at the chapel back door in half an hour." He hung up. He sounded satisfied. The dial tone buzzed in my ear. The noise shattered my final illusion of him. Back when he loved me, he never made me bend to his schedule. One whisper from me about feeling sick? He’d postpone a hundred-million-dollar weapons shipment. No questions asked. I’ve seen him love me. I know the standard. That’s why his lazy excuses today are a sick joke. Seven years of companionship and sacrifice meant nothing. To him,I was just a chip he could play anytime. I turned around. I looked at myself in the mirror. My wedding dress was stained gray by the exhaust. There were only three hours left before the nine o'clock vows. I didn't cry. I barely breathed. I raised my right hand. Slowly and firmly,I slid the heavy diamond ring off my ring finger. It was engraved with the Valenti family crest. It was the symbol of the Godmother. Silas Valenti, I'm done playing your Godmother. You can keep the title. Clack. I tossed the ring onto the cold nightstand of the hotel suite. It made a sharp,echoing sound. I ripped off the heavy wedding dress. I changed into sleek,all-black casual clothes. A black getaway car pulled up silently at the hotel back door. I opened the door and stepped inside. The window rolled up slowly. It shut out the noise of the city. It shut out that ridiculous wedding completely. The entire North American underworld royalty was walking into the hall. The ceremony was about to start. Right at that moment,I turned off my phone. I vanished from their world completely.