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Seven Years as the Don’s Wife, Only to Be Replaced
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
After seven years together,Dominic Valente,who had never once given me flowers,sent me 9,999 roses and a set of lingerie for my birthday. I happily posted about it on social media,only for his'ideal w...
Chương (7)
第1章
After seven years together, Dominic Valente, who had never once given me flowers, sent me 9,999 roses and a set of lingerie for my birthday.
I happily posted about it on social media, only for his 'ideal woman' to comment underneath: [Some people can only pick up the trash I don't want.]
That's when I learned that he had bought a safehouse for her, right below the residence he kept for us in the family compound. The gifts he gave me were actually meant for her.
I personally delivered the flowers to them and caught them having a candlelit dinner together.
Dominic, without any hesitation, cursed at me. "Can you stop being so dirty-minded? Serafina and I are just discussing business. Besides, if there really was something between us, would you have even had the chance to become my alliance bride?"
In the past, I would have argued with him endlessly to get to the truth. But this time, I just casually tossed the flowers and my alliance ring at him and said calmly, "I wish you both happiness."
——
The ring rolled across the floor in a slow, almost mocking arc before coming to a stop at Dominic's feet. He lowered his gaze, a cold sneer forming on his lips. Without hesitation, he lifted his foot and pressed down hard, grinding the ring into the ground as if it were worthless. In that instant, it felt like he had crushed not just the ring, but also every ounce of dignity and love I had once held for him.
The room was silent. Serafina sat perfectly still at the table, candlelight catching the edge of her wine glass. A soldier stood near the kitchen doorway, eyes fixed on the middle distance, pretending he hadn't seen a thing. In this world, witnessing a Don's private cruelty was its own kind of danger.
His voice followed, sharp and impatient. "If you want to marry me, then fix that suspicious, paranoid attitude of yours." He didn't even look at me as he spoke. "Stop making a scene over nothing. Now move aside. We have serious matters to discuss. Go home and reflect on yourself."
Hearing those familiar accusations again, I expected anger, or maybe the sting of humiliation. But instead, an unfamiliar calm spread through me. It was quiet, almost numb, like something inside me had finally broken beyond repair.
My thumb drifted to the pale mark on my ring finger where the band had sat for years. I felt the bare skin there, the slight indentation that hadn't yet faded. Then I forced my hand back to my side.
I didn't argue. I didn't cry. I simply turned around and walked away, leaving behind the ring, the place, and the version of myself that had once begged for his attention.
After leaving Serafina's safehouse, I opened the family group chat without hesitation. My fingers moved quickly as I typed out everything, exposing Dominic's betrayal and clearly stating that I was breaking the alliance.
For a brief moment, the chat fell silent. Then, almost immediately, the man who never replied to my messages suddenly appeared. He sent a photo of his computer screen, as if that could erase everything.
[Just working late with a female associate.]
Then, as expected, he shifted the blame with practiced ease. [Bianca, there's no need to throw a tantrum just because I didn't buy you that eight-thousand-dollar wedding dress.]
Another message followed quickly. [I didn't even mention how you used my credit card to drink at bars with your male friends.] His words were calculated, each one designed to make me look unreasonable.
The once-quiet group chat exploded in an instant. Notifications poured in rapidly, one after another, filling the screen with noise and judgment.
My Hale was the first to speak. Her words were harsh, cutting, and relentless. She scolded me as if I had committed some unforgivable mistake, saying I wasn't worthy of Dominic and that I should be grateful he even tolerated someone from a line as faded as the Bellavias.
She demanded that I apologize to him immediately. Then, as always, she escalated things, threatening that if I let go of such a powerful union, she would rather die to prove her point. I could almost see it: Evelina wetting her lower lip, that small injured sigh through her nose, before the manipulation arrived dressed as motherhood.
I stared at the screen, watching everything unfold exactly as I had expected. There was no surprise left in me, only a quiet sense of inevitability.
With a soft sigh, I exited the group chat, cutting myself off from the suffocating noise.
After my parents split, my Hale had changed completely. The warmth she once had slowly disappeared, replaced by constant irritability and sharp criticism. She had clung to what remained of the Bellavia name the way a drowning woman clings to driftwood, and every decision she made for me was about restoring what the family had lost. Growing up in that suffocating environment, I had longed for something gentle, something stable.
That was why I had been drawn to Dominic in the first place. He seemed calm, polished, and patient, everything my home life was not. The young Don of the Valente Family, with his tailored suits and quiet authority, his hand at the small of my back at charity dinners. I thought I had finally found someone who could give me peace.
But after seven years together, I finally understood the truth. He was nothing like what he appeared to be.
His patience and kindness were reserved for Serafina Conti. His courtesy was for strangers and associates whose loyalty he still needed to secure.
With me, there was only cold indifference, subtle cruelty, and words that cut deeper than any blade.
He was especially skilled at manipulating situations in front of others. He would provoke me again and again until I lost control.
He would watch as I broke down, raising my voice, questioning him in anger, while he remained calm and composed. Then, at just the right moment, he would step in and play the understanding partner.
He would "forgive" me in front of everyone, making himself look generous, while I was left standing there, reduced to an irrational, hysterical woman. The capos watched. The wives whispered. And Dominic's reputation as a measured, patient man only grew.
Over time, that became the story everyone believed. I was the unreasonable one. The emotional one. The problem.
第2章
And he was the patient man who endured it all.
But this time, he had miscalculated.
Only those who still care make a scene. Only those who still hope will fight.
A heart that has already withered does neither.
When Dominic came through the front door, two soldiers trailed him to the threshold before peeling off to their posts outside. He was holding a bouquet of roses. The petals were wilted, their edges damp and curled, as if they had already been used and discarded before being brought here.
I was lying on the sofa, casually scrolling through my phone, completely indifferent to his arrival.
He scoffed when he saw me. "Why haven't you cooked dinner? Still mad?" His tone was full of impatience.
"Enough is enough," he continued. "Haven't you always wanted flowers? I bought them, didn't I? So stop sulking."
He threw the bouquet in front of me, as if tossing something insignificant.
There was a time when I would have been happy. I used to envy women at Sunday Mass clutching fresh bouquets their husbands had brought, their faces filled with quiet joy.
I had mentioned it to Dominic many times, hoping for something simple, something ordinary.
But every time, he responded with irritation. "If I'd known you were this vain, I wouldn't have gotten involved with you."
"It's not that I can't afford it," he said coldly. "But you, Bianca, what have you achieved? You're just a woman who cooks and keeps house. Do you even deserve it?"
He called me lazy. He called me materialistic.
Yet he conveniently forgot that it was he who persuaded me to step away from my work at the Bellavia family's last legitimate front, who promised me a future, a marriage, a life bound to his. He said the alliance would protect my family's name. He said I would never want for anything.
I believed him. I gave up everything for him.
And in return, I became nothing more than a servant in his eyes.
He was too stingy to buy me a single fresh rose, yet he had no hesitation when it came to Serafina.
For her, he set up a safehouse. For her, he prepared countless flowers.
Not long ago, I saw Serafina's post. They were soaking together in a bathtub filled with rose petals, laughing and playing like lovers without shame.
After ruining those 9,999 roses, they picked out a few intact ones and brought them to me, as if I should feel grateful.
I looked at the wilted bouquet in front of me, disgust rising in my chest.
Without hesitation, I lifted my foot and kicked it away.
Then I raised my eyes to Dominic, my voice calm and steady.
"I don't like dirty, second-hand things."
I paused for a moment, then added,
"And I dislike dirty, second-hand men even more."
Upon hearing my words, Dominic's face darkened instantly, his expression turning cold and displeased. His hand went still at his side, the signet ring motionless against his thumb. His voice carried a sharp edge as he snapped, "Bianca, what right do you have to speak to me like that?" He took a step closer, his tone growing even harsher. "Don't forget, you're living under my roof. My protection. My name keeps your family breathing."
For a brief moment, I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. In the seven years of our arrangement, we had always split expenses equally. Even after I stepped away from work, I had been using my own savings, carefully budgeting every cent. Not once had I truly depended on him.
I wanted to argue, to expose his hypocrisy right then and there. But before I could say a word, the oven suddenly beeped, cutting through the tense silence. The sound felt strangely grounding. Too tired to continue the argument, I simply turned away, put on my gloves, and carefully took the cake out of the oven.
Dominic frowned slightly as he stared at the cake, his gaze lingering on it for a few seconds. Then, as if something clicked in his mind, his expression softened just a little. "Is today… your birthday?" he asked, his tone no longer as sharp.
Today was my thirtieth birthday. It was also the seventh anniversary of being bound to him. I had spent the entire day in the kitchen of this guarded house, carefully baking this cake by hand, hoping that we could celebrate together once he came back from whatever sit-down or back room had kept him. It was a simple wish, yet it now felt almost laughable.
Perhaps out of a trace of guilt, Dominic took the initiative to find some candles. He placed them awkwardly on the cake and hurriedly said, "I've been really busy lately. Family business has been overwhelming. I'll make it up to you." He paused briefly before adding, "How about this afternoon, I take you out to pick a new alliance ring? Bigger stone. Something people notice."
第3章
He sat down across from me, straightening his posture, slipping back into that familiar, polished version of himself. The candlelight caught the edge of his signet ring as he folded his hands on the table. His voice softened as he spoke again. "Bianca, there's really no need to be jealous of Serafina. We were together when we were young, but that was years ago. I've already moved on."
Moved on?
The words echoed faintly in my mind, pulling up an old memory I could never quite erase. Back when we had just started seeing each other, I once brought him lunch as a surprise at the social club on Mulberry. Standing outside the back room, I overheard him talking to his capos. When they asked why he chose me, he had replied casually, "Anyone is fine, as long as it's not Serafina."
At the time, I had been too young, too proud, and too naive. I believed that sincerity could change everything, that love could fill any gap. Looking back now, I finally understood how foolish I had been. I had made the same mistake over and over again, and now it was time to stop before I lost myself completely.
I looked at him and replied coldly, "No need. You can go. I'll handle it myself."
Dominic froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard by my tone. But after years of me giving in, of swallowing my pride and forgiving him, he quickly relaxed. He assumed this was just another one of those times, that I would eventually compromise again.
With a small smile, he lit the candles and pushed the cake slightly closer to me. "Go on, make a wish," he said lightly, as if everything was normal.
In the past, every birthday wish I made was about him. I wished for us to be happy, to stay together, to grow old side by side. But this time, as I closed my eyes, my wish was simple and clear.
I want to be happy. I want to be free from Dominic, forever.
When I opened my eyes, ready to blow out the candles, I realized that he was already gone. The room felt strangely empty. The faint smell of his cologne still hung in the air, mixing with the candle smoke.
The cake I had spent six or seven hours making lay on the floor, smashed beyond recognition. He had left in such a hurry that he knocked it over, not even bothering to stop or pick it up. The door was left half open, as if even that small detail didn't matter to him.
After silently cleaning up the mess, I picked up my phone.
Serafina had just posted a new update: I'm such a clumsy girl. I bumped into the cabinet while walking. Luckily, my Prince Charming is always there to protect me.
In the comments, Dominic, the same man who had ignored me even when I was in a car accident, replied almost instantly: Whenever you need me, I'll always be there.
I stared at the screen for a moment, then calmly pressed the like button.
Not long after, a new message from him popped up. Serafina hurt her foot. I'm taking her to the private clinic. Go over and clean up her place.
Another message followed immediately. And make some bone broth to bring over. Don't put cilantro in it.
At that moment, everything suddenly made sense. Dominic never had any dietary restrictions. Yet every time I added cilantro to a dish, he would explode in anger, calling me useless and incapable.
It wasn't that he hated cilantro. It was Serafina who did.
I stared at the message for a long time, thinking about ignoring it completely. My thumb drifted to the pale mark on my ring finger where the alliance ring used to sit. But after a brief hesitation, I still walked downstairs.
Dominic was holding Serafina in his arms, speaking to her in a soft, gentle voice. One of his soldiers stood near the car with the rear door already open, eyes averted, as though tenderness from the Don was something no one was supposed to witness. The moment Dominic saw me, his expression turned cold again. "Why are you so late?" he snapped. "If Serafina's treatment gets delayed—"
Before he could finish, Serafina gently tugged on his sleeve, her voice soft and considerate. "Dominic, I'm fine. Don't be mad at Bianca because of me. I know she's never liked me."
Her words were gentle, but they cut deeper than any accusation.
Dominic immediately frowned and turned his anger toward me. "Enough, Bianca. Clean this place properly. I'm not going to marry a jealous woman who can't even handle simple things."
With that, he carried Serafina away without another glance. The soldier followed, and the door of the black sedan closed with a quiet, final sound.
第4章
I watched his retreating figure quietly and whispered under my breath, "I wouldn't marry a shameless, cheating man either."
After they left, I slowly looked around the room. The bathroom floor was wet, the air still heavy with moisture. In the trash bin, two used condoms lay discarded carelessly.
A wave of nausea rose in my chest, making me feel sick.
So this was what his "overtime" had been all about. Every night, before climbing the stairs back to the main residence, he had been down here with her in this safehouse kept off the Family's books.
I walked into Serafina's bedroom. It was filled with luxury items: designer bags, high-end skincare products neatly arranged on every surface, silk scarves draped over a chair still warm from use. Everything in the room spoke of indulgence and excess. The kind of indulgence only a Don's protected woman could afford.
I suddenly remembered how, just a few days ago, I had asked Dominic for a lipstick as a birthday gift.
He had looked at me with pure disdain and said, "You're already thirty. Why are you still celebrating birthdays? Trying to act young? It's disgusting. Just stay home and do your chores. No amount of expensive makeup will make you twenty again."
He was right about one thing. I would never be twenty again.
But Dominic had never lacked twenty-year-old girls around him. Serafina was just the one he favored the most.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Then I pulled out my phone and began taking pictures of everything in the room, documenting every detail. The bags with their receipts. The skincare with the price tags still attached. The bedroom that cost more per month than most of the associates earned running his legitimate fronts. Every photograph was leverage, and leverage was the only currency this world respected.
After that, I went back upstairs and started packing my things.
In the seven years we had been together, the things Dominic had given me were pitifully few. A set of French kitchenware, a robot vacuum, and a so-called "master-crafted" knife set. I left them all behind without hesitation.
As I packed, I couldn't help but let out a quiet, bitter laugh. Serafina's belongings downstairs filled an entire room. Yet in this place where I had lived for years, everything I owned could fit into a single suitcase.
When I was done, I picked up my phone and called my best friend, Adriana Ricci, who was overseas running a legitimate front in allied territory. After three missed calls, she finally answered.
I bit my lip, holding back my tears as I spoke. "Adriana… I was wrong. I shouldn't have given up my career and my life for Dominic. I regret everything. I want to come find you."
She called me a fool, her tone harsh and unfiltered, saying I deserved it. Then she hung up.
I sat there in the empty room, a wave of sadness washing over me.
All the moments when she had tried to warn me came rushing back. I remembered the disappointment in her eyes the last time we spoke face to face. She had told me that a woman who gave up her own name for a man's protection ended up with neither.
Just as my tears finally began to fall, my phone lit up again.
Adriana had booked me the earliest available ticket. Three days later, at noon.
The tears I had been holding back for so long finally broke free.
Tears for myself. Tears for the seven years I had wasted.
Dominic didn't come home that night. After I refused to cook for Serafina, he blocked my number without hesitation, as if cutting me off was the most natural thing in the world. A Don's silence was its own kind of punishment, and he wielded it the way other men wielded fists.
I didn't bother trying to reach him again. Instead, I packed lightly and took the trip back to my hometown, planning to collect a few things from my childhood before leaving for good.
I had no idea what Dominic had told my Hale beforehand. The moment I stepped off the bus, I saw Evelina already waiting at the door, craning her neck and looking around anxiously, clearly expecting someone else.
When she realized that Dominic hadn't come with me, the anticipation on her face disappeared instantly. Her expression darkened, her lips pressing into a thin, displeased line. The look of a woman watching her family's last connection to protection and tribute walk away.
What she didn't know was that Dominic would never come here again. From the very beginning, he had looked down on me and the Bellavia name, treating our fading bloodline as something beneath him. We were useful for the alliance. Nothing more.
My Hale walked up to me quickly and asked, "Have you two made up yet?" Her tone carried both urgency and expectation, as if there was only one acceptable answer.
"We're not going to," I replied calmly. But the moment the words left my mouth, her hand came down hard across my face.
第5章
The slap rang loudly, and I staggered slightly. Half of my face burned instantly, swelling up as the pain spread.
Still not satisfied, she raised her hand again and began hitting me, just like she used to when I was a child. This time, she didn't even try to hold back, doing it right there in front of the neighbors, in front of anyone who passed along our narrow street where everyone knew the Bellavia name and what little was left of it.
She grabbed the wooden stick leaning by the door and started beating me with it, her strikes fast and forceful. One blow after another landed on my body, each one heavier than the last.
As she hit me, she shouted accusations, her voice sharp and furious. "Dominic already told me everything! Do you have any idea how lucky you are? A man like him is something you'd only deserve after several lifetimes of good fortune!"
"And yet you can't even keep him! Jealous, unruly, acting however you want. You're nothing but a lowly, useless person!" she continued, her words cutting just as deeply as the blows. Somewhere down the block a car idled, its engine low, and I knew one of Dominic's soldiers sat behind the wheel watching this. They were always watching.
Her voice grew louder and more hysterical. "Let me tell you this, no matter what it takes, even if you have to beg or get pregnant, you must find a way to marry Dominic! Otherwise, don't even think about coming back here!"
At that moment, a gust of cold wind swept through the street, and heavy rain began to pour down without warning. The sudden downpour soaked everything within seconds.
Only then did my Hale finally stop. Instead of letting me inside, she stepped forward and blocked the doorway, her body acting as a barrier. She wet her lower lip and let out a small, injured sigh through her nose before she spoke again, and I recognized the ritual. The cruelty was about to dress itself as motherhood.
She threw my belongings out one by one, without care, as if they meant nothing. "Get out!" she shouted. "If you're going to die, then die at the Valente family's house. Don't dirty my doorstep!"
One of my childhood trophies struck my forehead as it was tossed out. The impact made my vision blur for a moment, and warm blood mixed with the cold rainwater as it slowly trickled down my cheek.
I bent down silently, my hands trembling slightly as I sifted through the scattered items on the ground, trying to gather what little pieces of my past I could still hold onto. My thumb drifted to the pale mark on my ring finger where the alliance ring had sat for seven years, and for one breath I let it stay there. Then I forced my hand back to my side and kept gathering.
A black Bentley slowly pulled up beside me, its presence out of place in the pouring rain. The door opened, and Dominic stepped out, holding an umbrella in one hand. His suit was perfect, his signet ring catching the streetlight as rain streaked past it.
With the other hand, he grabbed my arm firmly, his grip tight and unyielding. Without giving me a chance to react, he dragged me toward the car and pushed me inside.
Once the door shut, the rain became a muffled roar against the glass. The interior smelled of leather and cigar smoke and something else. He spoke in a low, controlled tone. "Bianca, have you learned your lesson now?"
He looked at me as if he were granting me mercy. "There's no one in this world who will love you except me. Be a good girl and come home. Apologize properly to Serafina, and you'll still be the future Mrs. Valente."
He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. But the moment it touched me, a familiar scent hit my senses. It was Serafina's perfume, lingering unmistakably on the fabric.
I turned my head slowly, looking out the window at the rain-blurred streets. Everything outside looked distorted and distant, just like how I felt inside.
Once, I had believed Dominic was my salvation. I had trusted him with my deepest thoughts, my fears, and my pain, thinking he would understand me better than anyone else.
But now I realized that he had used all of that against me. He had taken my vulnerability and turned it into a tool to control me. Every secret I had whispered in the dark of his bedroom, every fear I had named, he had filed away the way his consigliere filed leverage on judges and union bosses. I was just another asset to manage.
He had never been my refuge. And he was never worth my love.
Only by leaving him, and leaving that so-called home behind, could I truly have a chance at a better life. That thought settled quietly but firmly in my heart.
While I was lost in these thoughts, Dominic's phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence inside the car.
A woman's voice came through the speaker, light and slightly anxious. "Dominic, why aren't you here yet? Everyone's waiting for you."
"They're all teasing me," she continued with a soft laugh. "They're saying how the estate gathering has the boss's wife attending, but the boss himself is nowhere to be seen. I'm running out of ways to explain for you."
第6章
Dominic glanced at me awkwardly after hearing that. There was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, as if he was weighing his options.
He clearly wanted to leave me behind, but at the same time, he seemed to realize that doing so might not look appropriate in front of others. Even a Don had to mind appearances when soldiers and associates were watching.
After a brief pause, he said, "Bianca, why don't you come along to the estate gathering?" His tone was casual, as if he were offering me some kind of favor.
In the past, I was never allowed anywhere near his operations. Even when I brought him meals at the social club, I had to wait outside like a stranger, letting his trusted aide come out to take the food so I wouldn't disturb his work.
This invitation, if it could even be called that, was something unprecedented. A rare "kindness" from him.
I took out a tissue and gently wiped the blood from my forehead. My movements were slow and steady, as if nothing could disturb me anymore.
Then I looked up slightly and replied in a calm voice, "Okay."
I arrived completely soaked, my clothes clinging to my body, my hair dripping with rainwater. I must have looked utterly disheveled standing there in front of everyone, out of place and embarrassing. The Valente vineyard estate was warm with candlelight and low conversation, and I stood at the entrance of it like something the storm had dragged in.
Dominic didn't even try to hide it. The moment we entered, he deliberately quickened his pace, walking ahead of me and putting distance between us. It was as if he was afraid people would realize I was with him, afraid of being associated with someone like me.
When Serafina saw me, her lips immediately curled into a pout of displeasure. Her expression was subtle, but the disdain in her eyes was impossible to miss.
As I stood there, I overheard Dominic lean closer to her and whisper in a low voice, "I don't feel sorry for her. I just want to embarrass her."
He let out a faint, almost amused breath before continuing, "I want everyone to see that without me, she's worse off than a dog."
Those words should have hurt. They should have pierced straight through me. But surrounded by the mocking, curious, and judgmental stares of the people around me, I felt… nothing.
Maybe I had already been hurt too many times. Maybe my heart had long since gone numb.
I raised my hand calmly and asked a passing server for a blanket. Wrapping it around myself, I walked over to the sofa and sat down quietly, watching the crowd move about as if I were just an observer, detached from everything.
Associates laughed, capos talked, men toasted glasses of dark wine. The atmosphere was lively, but none of it had anything to do with me. I simply sat there, still and silent, as if I didn't belong in that world anymore.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Adriana.
Her voice came through the line, steady and efficient. She told me she had already contacted several operations overseas for me and that I could go for interviews anytime I was ready. Her words were direct, but beneath them was a kind of quiet support.
I felt a faint warmth in my chest, something I hadn't felt in a long time. I was just about to respond when suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder.
Startled, I turned my head and saw Dominic standing behind me. His brows were slightly furrowed, his expression carrying a hint of suspicion.
"Who are you talking to?" he asked, his tone sharp. "What interview? Where are you planning to go?"
I met his gaze for a brief moment before answering casually, "Telemarketing."
At my reply, the tension in his expression slowly eased. His frown relaxed, and a trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. His signet ring settled against his thumb, still.
"That makes sense," he said lightly. "Your own family doesn't even want you anymore, so where could you possibly go?"
He glanced toward the window and added indifferently, "The rain has stopped. There's nothing for you to do here. Go home."
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he reminded me, "When you get back, don't forget to wash my coat."
I didn't respond. Instead, I quietly took off the coat he had given me earlier and tossed it onto the sofa beside me.
第7章
Serafina tilted her head slightly, her gaze lingering on me for a moment, as if studying my reaction. Then she softly insisted that Dominic walk me out.
When we reached the edge of the gravel drive, everything seemed calm for a brief second. Then, without warning, Serafina stuck out her foot.
I lost my balance instantly. My body tilted forward uncontrollably, and I fell straight into the rose bushes that lined the low stone wall of the estate garden.
"Bianca!" Dominic reached out reflexively, his hand extending toward me.
But in the very next second, Serafina let out a soft cry.
Without hesitation, Dominic turned away from me and moved to shield her instead. He placed himself between her and any possible harm, completely abandoning me.
I fell heavily into the thorns. The sharp rose branches pierced into my skin, scratching and cutting across my arms and legs. Pain spread instantly, sharp and relentless.
The muddy ground beneath me only made everything worse. My clothes were stained, my body aching as I struggled to push myself up.
When I finally managed to lift my head, the first thing I saw was Dominic kneeling in front of Serafina, gently wiping the mud off her shoes with careful, delicate movements. Two of his soldiers stood a few paces back, watching. Neither moved.
For a brief moment, he glanced at me. There was a flicker of guilt in his eyes, fleeting and almost nonexistent.
"Bianca, are you okay?" he asked. "I can take you to the clinic…"
Before I could respond, Serafina's eyes filled with tears. Her voice trembled softly. "Dominic, you promised to stay with me today."
She looked at him with hurt and vulnerability. "It's our anniversary. How can you leave me alone?"
Dominic hesitated, his gaze shifting between the two of us, clearly torn for a moment.
"I'll go to the clinic by myself," I said quietly, breaking the silence. "You're the Don. It wouldn't look good if you left the gathering early."
He seemed to relax instantly, as if my words had given him an excuse he needed.
"Alright," he said with a small sigh. "Take care of yourself."
Then he added casually, "I'll bring you your favorite pineapple cakes when I get home."
I almost laughed. Pineapple cakes had never been my favorite. They were Serafina's. But correcting him felt pointless.
No matter what happened, I was always the one left behind. The one who was sacrificed without hesitation.
Instead of continuing to wait foolishly for something that was never mine, I decided it was time to leave early, while I still could.
At the private clinic, the doctor carefully removed the thorns embedded in my skin, one by one. Each movement was precise, each pull bringing a dull, lingering pain.
It felt as though, along with those thorns, the love I had clung to for seven years was being pulled out of me as well.
By the time it was over, I felt strangely lighter.
The next morning, Dominic made a rare call to my burner line. His voice carried a hint of impatience. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"
"Didn't you block me?" I asked calmly.
There was a brief pause on the other end. Then he replied, "I'll be home in half an hour."
"I brought you fresh pineapple cakes and egg tarts," he continued, his tone softening slightly. "And I also bought a new alliance ring."
After a moment, he added, "I know I've wronged you these past few days. It won't happen again."
I glanced at the time, my expression calm and unmoved. "There won't be a next time for us," I said quietly.
Unfortunately, he had already hung up before hearing my answer.
There were still three hours left before noon.
I walked over to his laptop and opened it. One by one, I tried several passwords, each one failing.
Until finally, I typed in Serafina's birthday. The screen unlocked instantly.
I sat there in front of the computer, waiting. Half an hour passed. Then an hour.
When I picked up my phone again, I saw that Serafina had posted a new update.
She was sitting in the passenger seat of Dominic's car, their fingers intertwined. Both of them were wearing brand new rings, shining brightly in the photo. Alliance rings. The kind that meant a blood promise had been made.
My thumb drifted to the pale mark on my ring finger. I held it there for a moment, feeling the bare skin where his seal had once sat.
Then I let my hand fall back to my side.
I smiled faintly.