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Divorcing the Don, Ruining His Empire
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
The director called"Cut"three times,but my husband was still locked in a passionate kiss with his old-neighborhood flame. As his house fixer,I kindly reminded them,but the old-neighborhood flame burst...
Chương (6)
第1章
The director called "Cut" three times, but my husband was still locked in a passionate kiss with his old-neighborhood flame.
As his house fixer, I kindly reminded them, but the old-neighborhood flame burst into tears, claiming she was too deep into the role.
In front of the entire crew on the casino nightclub stage, my husband scolded me, saying that my eyes and heart were so dirty that I saw filth in everything. That night, the tabloid photographers caught the two of them entering and leaving a five-star hotel together.
In the past, I would have been devastated, obsessing over him and scrambling to handle the damage control while crying. But this time, I realized our five-year secret marriage was utterly meaningless.
——
Right after I finished speaking with a retained family attorney about the divorce, Dante walked into the lounge. The lipstick mark left by his old-neighborhood flame, Serafina, was still faintly visible at the corner of his lips. It hadn't even been wiped clean.
The moment his eyes landed on me, the warmth in his expression vanished. His smile froze, then disappeared completely, replaced by a cold, distant look. His gaze sharpened as he spoke in a harsh tone. "Bianca, can't you figure out your place? This is a resting room for the leading performers, arranged by the crew. What are you doing here?"
His words were cutting, but I didn't react. I simply reached for the thermos on the makeup table. My fingers brushed over its still-warm surface. My thumb found the inside edge of my wedding band and pressed hard against it before I picked the thermos up. "Getting my stuff."
Dante had started on set at five in the morning. I had woken up at three to prepare the meal inside that thermos. Every dish had been carefully made. But now, just by the weight, I knew he hadn't touched it at all. Not even a bite.
As I turned to leave, he frowned slightly. His voice came again, colder and more dismissive. "Don't bother making food anymore. It's unpalatable."
It wasn't the first time he had said that. Not even close.
In the past, I would have exploded. I would have demanded, "Didn't you say you wanted to eat my cooking for a lifetime? Why is it disgusting now?" I would have clung to those words, desperate for an answer.
But this time, I didn't feel anything. No anger. No urge to argue. Just a quiet emptiness.
I simply replied with a soft "Hmm," and walked out without looking back.
Behind me, Dante called out again. His voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible unease. "There's a crew dinner tonight. The director wants me to discuss the script with Serafina."
I paused for a brief second but didn't turn around. I ignored the trace of guilt in his tone and replied coldly, "Okay."
Then I closed the door.
Once outside, I walked down the hallway and threw the thermos straight into the trash. It landed with a dull sound. The lid rattled once before going still.
The last scene had been filmed at the Family's supper club close to the compound, so Dante hadn't stayed at a hotel. He came back around one in the morning. A soldier held the gate; I heard the low exchange of voices, then the front door.
When he entered, the house was quiet. The living room lights were off. For once, I wasn't waiting for him. There was no warm meal, no greeting, no one asking if he was tired.
He pushed open the bedroom door, already impatient. "Bianca," he said, "you know I have trouble sleeping. Why didn't you brew my calming tea?"
I lay in bed without moving. I pulled the blanket over my head and replied lazily, "I ran out of tea leaves last night. If you want some, order takeout."
There was a brief silence.
Then came a loud bang. Dante slammed the door and went into the study. That was his way of showing anger. Somewhere deeper in the estate, I heard the faint shift of a guard adjusting his post, the way everyone on the property recalibrated whenever the Don's mood turned.
In the past, that sound alone would have kept me awake all night. I would have tossed and turned until I finally gave in and apologized.
But not this time.
He waited until morning. Still, I didn't knock on the study door.
The next day, production moved to a remote location outside the city, some mountainside venue the Family used for location shoots. The road was long and winding.
For once, Dante let me ride in the same car as him. I got in quietly and sat down without saying anything.
Just then, Serafina walked over. She wore a low-cut, backless dress. Her movements were graceful, her presence eye-catching.
"Dante, do you have any bug spray? I always attract mosquitoes..." she said softly. One quick finger touched the pearl at her throat.
Then she saw me. Her expression shifted slightly. "Oh, Bianca, you're here too? Then I'd better take the other car..."
Before she could finish, Dante interrupted coldly. "Bianca, can't you be sensible? Stop causing trouble. Go sit in the staff car."
His words were blunt.
For the first time, I didn't argue. I didn't even look at him. I simply got out and walked away.
My figure grew smaller as I headed toward the staff car.
第2章
Behind me, Dante frowned.
Five minutes later, my phone buzzed. A message from him.
"Today, Serafina has a stage number that shows leg. Don't misunderstand."
I looked at the screen for a moment and replied, "Understood."
The typing indicator appeared. It lingered for several minutes.
I didn't wait. I closed the thread and turned off my phone.
Without Dante's presence weighing on me, the scenery along the way seemed more beautiful. The road wound through the hills above the coast, and the air felt clearer, salted and sharp, as if the world outside the compound had a different atmosphere entirely.
By the time the evening's event wrapped at the Family's mountain lodge, it was already eleven at night.
The venue was dim, and the crew was breaking down the staging for the charity gala front that Dante used every season to launder goodwill. Caterers stacking chairs. Soldiers doing a final walkthrough before locking the building down.
Then a loud crash broke the calm.
The temporary scaffolding rigged by the carpenters for the backdrop display collapsed without warning.
Everything happened in an instant.
Dante rushed forward and pushed Serafina out of the way. The two of them fell to the ground together.
In the chaos, their bodies collided.
Their lips accidentally met.
The staff on site immediately burst into cheers and applause. Laughter and teasing voices filled the air. Serafina lowered her head shyly and nestled into Dante's arms, as if she truly belonged there.
"Oh no, everyone, please don't misunderstand. There's really nothing going on between Dante and me," she said softly, her voice gentle and innocent. One finger drifted to the pearl at her throat and touched it, quick as a breath.
Dante didn't deny it. He didn't explain either. Instead, he simply tightened his arms around her, holding her even closer, as if silently confirming everything they were guessing.
I gritted my teeth and used all my strength to push away the wooden frame pressing against my calf. The pain shot up instantly. I reached down and pulled out the splinter embedded in my flesh.
Without making a sound, I limped away from the chaos and found a quiet corner to tend to my wound. My hands trembled slightly, but I forced myself to stay calm. My thumb found the inside edge of my wedding band and pressed hard, as if the metal could hold something together that was already broken.
When I finally returned to the site, there was no one left. Not a single person. The entire place had been cleared out. The soldiers, the caterers, the woman in his arms. Gone.
Darkness surrounded me. It stretched endlessly in every direction. The distant howling of wild animals echoed through the mountains, making the silence even more terrifying. The Family's lodge sat locked and lightless above me, and the access road had no streetlamps. Just the tree line and the wind.
I curled my injured body into a ball, clutching a tree branch tightly in my hand. I hid on a stone beneath a large tree, forcing myself to stay alert.
That entire night, I didn't dare close my eyes.
It wasn't until dawn that I finally gathered the courage to move. My legs trembled as I slowly began my descent down the mountain.
Halfway down, my phone finally picked up a signal. Almost immediately, Dante's call came through.
The moment I answered, his furious voice exploded through the speaker. "Bianca, you're really something, huh? Not answering my calls and slacking off! Serafina got bitten by mosquitoes during the shoot last night. Go to the clinic and get her something for it."
Serafina was the golden face of the Bellandi nightclub circuit. She was known for her easygoing personality and lack of airs, which had earned her countless loyalists among the neighborhood faithful and the society-page columnists alike.
Everyone believed she managed on her own, no entourage, no handlers.
But no one knew that Dante was the one taking care of all her personal matters. And every task he couldn't do himself, he passed on to me.
When I didn't respond immediately, Dante's patience ran out. His voice turned even sharper. "Bianca, are you deaf? I'm giving you half an hour. Get back to the lodge right now."
I steadied my breathing and replied quietly, "I'm on the mountain."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
Then his tone changed slightly. "You spent the night on the mountain? Alone?"
I looked around instinctively. The dense forest seemed to hide countless unknown dangers. I felt as though a pair of crimson eyes was watching me from behind the trees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The fear I had suppressed all night finally broke free. My chest tightened, and tears welled up in my eyes.
Dante's voice softened a little. "Stay where you are. I'll come get you. It'll take about an hour."
The sun climbed higher and higher in the sky. Time passed slowly, one minute after another. Then one hour. Then two.
But Dante never came.
第3章
In the end, I dragged my exhausted and injured body down the mountain by myself. Each step felt heavy, but I kept going.
By the time I returned to the base camp near the casino renovation site, I was already back inside the trailer. I had just finished a phone call with a candidate for a new courier position.
At that moment, Dante walked in.
His eyes immediately landed on my phone. A trace of cold suspicion flickered across his face. "Bianca, who were you talking to?" he asked in a low voice.
"Someone I don't know," I replied flatly.
He seemed to assume it was just a wrong number. He didn't question me further. And I didn't bother explaining either.
"I figured you'd be hungry, so I brought you some food," he said, tossing a takeout box onto the folding table. The movement was careless, almost dismissive.
The corner of the box lifted slightly, revealing leftover scraps inside. A sour smell drifted out immediately.
Dante quickly picked it up again, clearing his throat awkwardly. "There were a lot of people ordering from the kitchen. They must've grabbed the wrong one."
With someone of his status, eating with capos and the club's inner circle, how could a mistake like that even happen?
I didn't respond. I simply lay down on the cot and turned to face the other side. "It's fine. My delivery should arrive soon anyway," I said coldly.
Hearing that, Dante's expression darkened. His voice dropped. "Why didn't you tell me you were ordering food? Bianca, I've told you many times, there's nothing between Serafina and me. It's all just for appearances, for the public front. Why are you making such a fuss? Why are you so petty?"
I stared ahead blankly and replied, "I'm not making a fuss."
It was the truth. But somehow, it only made him angrier.
He grabbed the takeout box and threw it straight into the trash. His tone turned sharp and accusing. "Then why didn't you bring Serafina her medicine? Didn't I tell you it's inconvenient for me to go to the clinic because of my public image? It's just buying medicine. Is this really necessary?"
Buying medicine was a small thing. But so was doing laundry. So was cooking.
Serafina claimed she had a germ phobia and insisted all her clothes be washed by hand.
Even in the freezing northern winter, with temperatures far below zero, Dante ordered me to wash her clothes by hand. My fingers would go numb from the cold, the skin cracking from frostbite.
I remembered one time when my frostbitten hands started bleeding. The blood stained Serafina's clothes.
When Dante saw it, he didn't ask if I was hurt. Instead, he kicked me out of the hotel and forced me to wash her clothes outside in the snow. I wore nothing but a thin nightgown. The soldier posted at the door didn't look at me. Didn't move. Omertà applied to cruelty, too.
All because Serafina had once casually said, "Dante, I heard snow can cure frostbite." She'd touched the pearl at her throat when she said it, her voice as light as a lullaby.
In his eyes, I had always been nothing more than a servant. Someone who obeyed every command without question.
But after five years of living like that, I was tired. Completely tired.
My thumb found the inside edge of my wedding band. I pressed it there until the metal bit into the skin.
I pulled the blanket over my head and said coldly, "I'm not feeling well. I don't want to go."
The space on the other side fell silent for a long time.
Then Dante stormed out angrily.
That very night, Dante and Serafina shot to the top of every tabloid feed and society column in the city.
In the video, Dante was carrying Serafina in his arms, rushing into the private clinic on the Family's payroll, shouting for help. His expression looked anxious, almost frantic. The Don of the Bellandi Family, a man whose hand never shook, looked undone for a woman who wasn't his wife.
The gossip columns and neighborhood faithful exploded with excitement.
"Is Dante Bellandi finally making it official?"
"He carried her right through the front doors. I would kill for that."
"Doesn't anyone care what actually happened to Serafina?"
"I know someone on the crew. She said her forehead felt a little warm, and Dante picked her up immediately and drove to the clinic himself."
"I always knew they were perfect together."
I scrolled through the comments quietly. Then my phone rang.
It was Dante.
Before I could even say anything, he began explaining in a hurry. "Bianca, I only took Serafina to the clinic because she said she had a fever. I was worried it would affect the event schedule. That's all. Don't misunderstand the tabloids. There's really nothing between us."
第4章
"Okay," I replied.
My calm and genuine response stunned him into silence.
After a long pause, he asked slowly, "What did you say?"
I repeated, "It's all for the new casino opening's promotion. I understand. Don't worry, I'll handle the press."
After I finished speaking, the breathing on the other end of the phone grew heavier and more uneven. It sounded low and restrained, the way Dante always sounded when he was on the verge of losing his temper.
I knew what would come next. Harsh words, accusations, that familiar tone that used to make me flinch.
I didn't want to hear it anymore. Without hesitation, I hung up and turned off my phone.
Then I picked up my work phone and calmly contacted several of the most connected tabloid journalists in the city. One by one, I told them to push the story about Dante carrying Serafina in a princess hold straight to the top of the headlines.
There was a brief silence on the other end of each call.
"Mrs. Valente, are you sure you want to do this?" one of them finally asked, clearly taken aback.
I understood their reaction. In the past, I had always been the one paying to suppress this kind of coverage. I would explain everything away as promotional appearances for the Family's front businesses, controlling the narrative so it never got out of hand.
But this time, I had no intention of doing that.
Since I was already preparing for a civil split, I needed to secure my position. I had to protect the assets we shared, the shell accounts, the restaurant fronts, the real estate, and make sure I wouldn't walk away with nothing.
"So I have one condition," I said calmly.
The reporters immediately became attentive. "Mrs. Valente, please go ahead."
"I want fifty percent of the profits," I said without hesitation. "If you agree, we sign the contract immediately and get started. I can also provide more authentic material if needed."
My confidence only made them more excited. After all, nothing attracted attention more than a scandal involving the golden prince of the Bellandi Family.
By the next day, the story of Dante and Serafina's old-neighborhood romance exploded across every tabloid and society page. It quickly occupied three of the top trending spots.
While the entire city's gossip circles were in chaos, I quietly scheduled an interview with a candidate for a new personal courier.
That night, Dante, who was supposed to be overseeing a sit-down in another city, unexpectedly rushed back to the estate.
The moment he stepped into the living room, I could already smell Serafina's signature perfume lingering on him. It was faint, but unmistakable. The two soldiers flanking the front door had gone rigid the second his car pulled through the gates, and now the whole house held its breath.
"Bianca, don't you have anything to say?" he demanded. His voice was urgent, almost frantic.
His expression was serious, his gaze cold and sharp as it locked onto me. For a brief second, his eyes reminded me of that venomous snake I had encountered on the mountain, the one I had nearly died escaping from.
He didn't wait for me to respond before continuing, his tone turning harsh. "Do you realize what you've done? This is going to seriously damage Serafina's standing. There are photographers swarming outside her apartment right now. She can't even step outside!"
I sat on the couch, casually eating potato chips while watching anime. I didn't even bother to look up at him.
"Isn't this exactly what the neighborhood faithful wanted?" I said calmly. "It's also perfect promotion for the new venue opening. I made this decision after weighing the pros and cons."
Those words were not unfamiliar.
Two years ago, Dante had said the exact same thing to me.
Back then, Serafina had just been brought into the Family's orbit. She was rehearsing a number for the supper club's grand opening, a dramatic entrance off a raised stage meant to showcase the new chanteuse. It was her very first public appearance under the Bellandi name, and she was desperate to make an impression.
Right before the rehearsal, she clung to Dante with teary eyes, saying she was afraid of heights.
Dante didn't hesitate. To keep the schedule on track and make the routine look convincing, he ordered me to wear Serafina's costume and act as her stand-in.
The stage platform was more than ten meters high. There were no proper safety measures.
"Serafina said the crew prepared safety protection at the bottom. Bianca, what are you hesitating for?" he said impatiently.
"But… Dante… I'm afraid of heights too…" I held onto his arm, my voice trembling.
第5章
He shook me off coldly, his expression filled with irritation.
"I've never noticed you being this difficult before. Now that Serafina is here, suddenly you're afraid of heights? Are you pretending?"
"But I really am afraid…" I tried to explain, my voice breaking.
"Enough," he snapped. "Bianca, let me tell you, I'm doing this after weighing the pros and cons."
The next second, he pushed me.
I fell.
That scene never even showed my face in the final broadcast. The casino's grand reopening footage, the promotional reel Serafina needed for the front. A woman plummeting from a rigging platform three stories above the stage floor, and the camera caught only the body, never the face.
To this day, the neighborhood faithful still praise Serafina's nerve, calling her fearless, saying she never lets anyone double for her when the Family needs a spectacle.
That one stunt made her. She became the golden face of every Bellandi front, the chanteuse whose reputation drew crowds and kept the legitimate money flowing.
And me?
I broke my right leg from that fall. I spent more than half a year lying in a private clinic on Family payroll.
During that entire time, Dante only came to see me once.
And even that wasn't for me.
Serafina had been scratched by her pet cat, and he brought her to the clinic to get her finger treated. My room was right next to hers.
But Dante never stepped inside. Not even once.
Perhaps he was afraid it would dirty his shoes.
Back in the present, Dante stood frozen, unable to respond to my words.
The room fell silent. The kind of silence that settles over a sit-down after someone says the wrong name. The guards outside the door would have felt it through the walls.
Without saying anything more, I took out the divorce papers I had prepared earlier. I placed them neatly on the coffee table in front of him.
Then I looked at him calmly and said, "Dante, let's get a divorce."
Hearing my words, Dante froze where he stood. His expression turned blank, as if he couldn't process what he had just heard. His signet ring sat untouched on his finger. Still.
"What did you say? Bianca?" he asked, his voice low but tense.
I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I calmly picked up a pen and signed the sealed marriage papers one page at a time. After that, I pressed my fingertip against my lipstick and left a clear red fingerprint beside my signature.
Then I pushed the papers toward him.
"I said, I want a divorce," I repeated, my tone steady.
Dante tugged at his collar, clearly irritated. His brows furrowed tightly.
"Bianca, are you out of your mind? Who would want you, a middle-aged woman, after leaving me?" he sneered.
So in his eyes, a woman who had just turned thirty was already considered old. Already discarded. Like a soldier who'd given his best years to the Family and then found himself without a chair at the table.
My thumb found the inside edge of my wedding band. I held it there for a breath. Then I let go.
I tossed the pen toward him and let out a faint, almost amused breath.
"Haven't you heard the saying, a woman blossoms at thirty?" I said lightly. "But Dante, after the divorce, I won't be your fixer anymore. I'll need a few days to hand over your book to whoever replaces me."
My calmness seemed to provoke him even more.
Dante let out a mocking laugh. He pointed at me, his eyes filled with impatience and anger.
"Bianca, you're playing with fire. And you're going to get burned."
Just as his words fell, Serafina's distinctive ringtone suddenly rang out.
Dante didn't pick up. Instead, he stared at me, his gaze turning sharp and threatening. The signet ring still hadn't moved. Mercy had left the room long before I'd pulled out the papers.
He spoke again, his tone laced with mockery. "Didn't you always say you wanted to have a baby before turning thirty? I know you're ovulating these days. Bianca, I'm giving you three seconds to take back what you just said."
Last year, on my twenty-ninth birthday, I had made a wish. I even calculated my ovulation days and treated them like a fixed task between us, hoping we could finally have a child together. An heir that might have made me real in his world instead of invisible.
But what he didn't know was that I had already stopped ovulating since last month.
The ringtone continued to echo through the estate's living room, sharp and repetitive, like a ticking time bomb counting down the end of everything between us.
Three seconds passed.
In that silence, whatever connection we still had shattered completely.
"Bianca, you've got guts. Let's see how long you can keep this up!" Dante snapped before storming out of the compound.
The door slammed shut behind him. The chandelier above the dining table swayed once from the force, sending a faint tremor of light across the marble floor, and then everything was still.
As soon as the sound faded, I picked up my phone and calmly scheduled an abortion appointment for the day after tomorrow.
When I lay on the operating table, the doctor glanced at the ultrasound and hesitated.
第6章
"Mrs. Bellandi, the baby is developing well. Are you sure you don't want to discuss this with the father?" she asked gently.
At that moment, my phone lit up with a notification.
It was a trending video from the previous night's charity gala at the Bellandi casino.
On the screen, Dante and Serafina sat side by side. They exchanged shy glances, their lips curving into soft smiles.
Then, under the flashing cameras, Serafina gathered her courage and leaned in to kiss him.
Dante didn't push her away. Instead, he placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her closer, pressing her toward him.
The crowd erupted into deafening screams.
I closed the video.
But I accidentally tapped on a high-definition photo.
In that image, on Dante's Adam's apple, I saw a pair of small bite marks.
That detail pulled me back to our wedding night.
Back then, Dante was still just a soldier running small jobs for his father's crew. He had pinned me down on the bed, teasing me with a low, husky voice.
He held my head gently but firmly, urging me, "Bianca, bite me."
When my teeth sank into his skin, he finally pulled me into his arms.
He kissed the top of my head again and again, his voice trembling slightly.
"It really hurts. It's not a dream. Bianca, I really married you."
Back then, he had looked at me like I was something unreachable. Like I was everything to him.
I locked my phone and set it aside. Then I closed my eyes.
"Go ahead, doctor," I said quietly.
The procedure wasn't as painful as I had imagined.
If anything, when it was over, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Like something heavy had finally been lifted from my chest.
My thumb found the inside edge of my wedding band and stayed there a long time before I let go.
The next morning, after being discharged from the private clinic, I met with my new replacement at a café two neighborhoods away from Bellandi territory.
To make sure whoever took over wouldn't be easily pushed around, I had specifically chosen a male candidate.
After discussing everything in detail, I began signing the contract with Nico Ferraro.
"Bianca, why are you stepping out? Dante is such a good boss. Do you know how many people would fight for a chance to work that close to him?" he asked.
I smiled faintly.
"I'm getting old. This kind of work is better suited for someone younger, someone with more energy," I replied lightly.
Nico looked at me, his expression complicated. There was confusion, but also admiration.
"I don't think you're old at all," he said sincerely. "You've been with Dante through everything, from when he was nobody to where he is now. You've worked so hard. You're an amazing fixer."
I only gave him a faint smile and put the signed contract into my bag.
"Maybe," I said softly. "Nico, I wish you a bright future."
After handling everything, I drove back to the estate.
But to my surprise, Dante, who should have been at a sit-down in another city, was already sitting on the sofa. The room was dim. No guards in sight. An untouched glass of whiskey sat on the side table, the ice long melted.
He looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Bianca, where were you last night?" he asked coldly.
"What does it matter to you?" I replied.
I changed my shoes and walked straight toward the bedroom without stopping.
In the past, when he stayed out all night, I would ask him the same question. I would even call his associates one by one, trying to find him.
Sometimes they would cover for him. Sometimes Dante would grab the phone himself and snap at me.
"Bianca, where I go has nothing to do with you! I'm an adult. I have my own privacy. Stop interfering!"
Even while being scolded like that, I would still worry about him. I would think about how to apologize, how to persuade him to drink less.
But on the other end of the phone, what I often heard was Serafina's soft voice.
"Dante, come dance with me..."
Before I could say anything else, he would hang up.
Now, hearing me give him the same answer, Dante stiffened.
He followed me into the bedroom.
Then he threw two photos straight at my face. His eyes were red with fury.
"Bianca, what's your relationship with him?" he demanded.