Chapter 3
“Last Friday, right after you left, she showed up to work in your high heels. I asked her why she was wearing your shoes.
and she said…”
The assistant choked up. “She said Don Vincent told her the shoes suited her, and that you were so generous you’d never mind. Donna.”
She lifted her head, eyes red and puffy, “Donna… do you really… not care?”
I looked at this girl who was clearly upset on my behalf. I smiled, no real emotion in my expression, “Those shoes didn’t fit me anyway. If she likes them, she can have them.”
I’d had no idea the two of them had gotten tangled up in an affair before I left on my business trip. During that period. the family was preparing to expand into the arms market in the northern suburbs of New York City, so I had no time to keep an eye on Vincent. On top of that, Vincent had a steady mistress at the time, who lived in an apartment not far from the De Luca Family Estate. Judging by how bold Lena Gallo was acting, that other mistress had probably already beer. ditched.
“Wipe your tears.” I said, pulling a tissue out and handing it to her, “I’ll be away next week–actually, I won’t be coming back at all after that. Keep a close eye on all family matters, big and small, for me.”
She froze, “Where are you going?”
I didn’t answer, just looked out the window.
The sun was bright, just like it had been the afternoon we got our marriage license seven years ago. Vincent had gone to my father’s estate alone, knelt on the marble floor of the study for three hours, begging for my father’s approval.
“Father–in–law, I know you don’t think much of me, that you see me as nothing but a thug who got. rich off smuggling. But your princess Isabella believes in me, and I’ll never let her down.”
He’d ended up getting thrown out by my father’s bodyguards anyway, though. But that day, my father stood by the
window for a very long time Finally, he went through that arms smuggling proposal of Vincent’s, riddled with flaws, in
his study, revised every gap, and sent it to me secretly.
Bringing up these old memories felt like holding past favors over his head, tainting what had once been sincere with calculation. But if I didn’t bring them up….
If I didn’t mention them, he really thought he was some self–made genius who’d come out of nowhere. He thought all those arms channels, connections, funding–he’d earned every bit of it with his own skill.
Not long after my assistant left, Vincent called me from his car.
“The little girl was terrified by your surprise inspection today,” he said, his voice low and amused, “It’ll take some time to
Chapter 3
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She married for love, but he wed her to save his first love. Heartbroken, she…
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calm her down I’ll be back to the estate late tonight. Remember to leave the door unlocked for me”
I was silent for three seconds before I spoke. “Didn’t we agree you’d never let any of them get pregnant?”
There was a beat of silence on the other end.
“What baby?” His voice was still steady.
“Lena went to the obstetrics and gynecology department. There has to be a reason for that, right?”
Two seconds passed, then he chuckled, “You looked into her?”
“It’s on the family ledger.” I replied calmly. “A $50,000 prenatal care package, charged to family benefits. You approved it
quite generously. Don Vincent.”
He really didn’t seem to know about it. He probably didn’t even read the details when he signed off on the expense. He
softened his tone, his voice laced with coaxing, “Bella, that was an accident! She’s young and foolish, thinks having a baby
will secure her position here.”
“So?”
“I’ll handle it,” he said crisply. “Don’t worry. No one will threaten your place as the lady of this family.”
“Vincent.” I said his name.
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember.” I said slowly, “how we lost our first child?”
His breath caught on the other end of the line.
“Come on, Bella… that’s all in the past. There’s no point bringing it up over and over.”
“Yeah.” I smiled, the sound heavy with quiet resignation, “It’s all in the past.”
Including the baby we never got to meet.
Including the vows he’d made kneeling on that marble floor.
Including that thing he’d held a grudge over for all those years…
“Get some rest early,” he said, “I’ll come home once I’ve calmed her down.”
He hung up.
I lifted my hand too, and blocked his number for the first, and last, time.
Chapter 3
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She married for love, but he wed her to save his first love. Heartbroken, she…
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Then I replied to the message that had been waiting for me for a week: [Everything has been taken care of I will be at
the wedding on timel
Chapter 3
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
