4 Chapter 4
I didn’t return to the Falcone estate, nor did I go anywhere else. Instead, I checked into a private wellness retreat outside the city.
When the receptionist learned of my situation, she thoughtfully placed me on a quiet floor.
For days, I savored the tranquility, until a notification shattered the peace–a video feed pushed to my phone.
It was only then that I remembered I had forgotten to cancel the security account for the penthouse.
Without much thought, I tapped the notification.
On the screen, Dante and my cousin, Carina, were tangled together on the sofa.
Carina was draped in a sheer lace nightgown that did nothing to hide her curves.
Dante’s head was buried in her chest, his breathing heavy.
“I’m going to call Isabella, see when she’s coming back,” he slurred, reaching for his phone. “I’m going to call Isabella, see when
Carina snatched it away, pouting.
attention to what’s right here“Hey. Don’t think about your ex when you’re with me. Pay
Carina hooked her arms around his neck, her hands expertly slipping under his shirt and trailing downward.
Dante folded instantly. He shoved her onto the sofa, his mouth devouring hers with a hunger he’d never once shown me.
Clothes were scattered across the floor in seconds.
I thought I had seen enough, but the absurdity escalated.
A group of men and women from his club–clad in black stockings and little else–entered the frame, draping themselves over Dante.
To my shock, he welcomed them, letting them press their bodies against him as he kissed their exposed necks and chests.
I never imagined my cousin and my fiancé could sink so low.
They hadn’t just betrayed me; they were indulging in a grotesque orgy.
Rage burned in my chest.
A beast inside me howled, wanting to tear through the screen and rip them all apart.
The sounds of their depravity filled the quiet room.
Carina’s seductive voice grated on my ears.
“Oh, Dante, F’m just out of the hospital. Be gentle!”
Dante, bis eyes red with lust, looked at her and growled, “Can’t you handle it, you little vixen?”
Carina, her gaze sultry, playfully lifted his chin.
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“That depends on your performance,” she teased.
“Me or your ex–fiancée, who do you love more?”
Dante, panting, scowled.
“Isabella is my fiancée. Who the hell do you think I love more? And let’s be clear, this was always just transactional. You knew what you were getting into. You like this scene as much as I do.”
Carina abruptly slid off him, her lips trembling as tears began to fall.
“I almost died for you, and this is what I get?”
Dante panicked.
He hated it when women cried.
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her until her complaints turned into breathless moans.
I watched, numb, as they moved from the sofa to the bedroom, then to the bathroom, trying every position imaginable.
I understood with painful clarity–Dante had never loved only me.
When he was seriously injured, I had wept in secret, but he never saw my swollen eyes. Instead, he mocked me for making a fuss, accusing me of using my tears to manipulate him. He even flaunted other women in front of me, claiming that even if he had once loved me, he was justified in playing the field.
A profound sense of relief washed over me that I hadn’t kept the child
Even married, Dante would have continued his sordid affairs.
As their moans once again filled the air, I closed the feed and deleted the security account for good.
The next morning, Dante called.
It was the first time he had reached out since the “incident.”
I didn’t answer.
When he couldn’t get through, he sent a message.
Dante: Isabella, what’s the meaning of this? I agreed to marry you, so why did you throw out all the wedding supplies?
I refused to let him humiliate me further, so I lied.
Isabella: The penthouse wasn’t to my taste. I’ve bought a villa on Long Island and moved my things there.
A moment later, Carina sent me a video,
It was of her and Dante in bed, followed by a crying emoji.
Carina: Oops, cuz. Didn’t mean to send that to you!
Carina: Dante got drunk last night and insisted on seeing me. I didn’t expect hi
<
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the moment he arrived. He must have mistaken me for you. I’m so sorry, cousin! I tried to push him away, but he was too strong.
Her next message was pure malice.
Carina: But God, Dante is incredible. He couldn’t get enough of my body. Maybe you should take a few lessons on how to please a man. Explains why he was always looking for more, doesn’t it? She then transferred me a huge sum of money.
“This is for the custom gown. I’ll be wearing it. You’re welcome to come to our engagement party!”
Faced with her blatant provocation, I returned the transfer.
Isabella Consider it my engagement gift to you both. Happy engagement.
Then, I blocked her.
As my health improved, I decided it was time to leave for good.
I booked a private jet, which, I noted with grim irony, was scheduled to depart during their engagement party.
It no longer mattered.
Before heading to the airport, I made one last stop at a jewelry store, a final “gift” in mind. It was then that I remembered the wedding rings Dante and I had designed.
They were still unclaimed.
But when the clerk checked the records, she told me Dante had already collected them.
As I stepped out of the store, I saw Dante and Carina on the cover of a gossip magazine.
Their fingers were intertwined, wearing the rings I had designed, as they attended a charity gala in an intimate embrace.
Dante saw me looking and rushed over. “Isabella, about the rings-”
“You two look good together,” I cut him off, then turned and walked away.
The day I left, I walked out of the wellness center and went straight to the airport.
At that same moment, Dante’s men, armed with a custom gown and a makeup case, arrived at our former penthouse.
They pounded on the door, the noise echoing in the silent hallway. Finally, the commotion brought a doorman out. “Can I help you? No one lives in this unit.”
