The night before my wedding, I found out my mafia boss fiancé had a child outside of our relationship. He was sorting through the invitations, his voice calm, almost detached: “It was a mistake from my youth. The child is born, I have to take responsibility. She had nowhere else to go, so she’s staying at the estate with Leo.” My entire body stiffened, a cold dread seizing me. It took me a long time to find my voice: “So, these three years we’ve been together… what was all that?” “I wronged you. Whether we get married or not, that’s your call.” My hand instinctively pressed against my lower abdomen. There, a secret was hidden, one I had planned to tell him today. My chest ached with a dull, suffocating pain. “So, for three years, every holiday when you said you had urgent business to handle—” “I was seeing them.” He cut in, his tone flat. “Anya is good with the boy, and Leo is well-behaved.” Three years. He could have told me sooner, but he kept it a secret. A subtle cramp twisted in my lower abdomen. I instinctively covered the spot. Dante’s eyes dropped to my hand, and his brow furrowed. “You look unwell.” He stepped forward, reaching for my forehead. I recoiled abruptly, my spine hitting the cold tile wall. “Don’t touch me.” Just then, his phone rang. From the other end came a woman’s muffled sobs, laced with a faint accent: “Dante, Leo has a fever. Can you please come see him?” Dante rubbed his temples. “Alright, I’ll send a doctor over.” Hanging up, he looked at me: “The boy’s quite fragile.” I laughed, tears streaming down my face: “Take me to them.” He was silent for a long moment. His phone vibrated again. This time, it was my dad, Richard. “Chloe, I’ve sent out all the wedding invitations! Everyone’s saying Dante is powerful, and that you have good taste!” I choked back my sobs: “Dad, I’m busy. I have to hang up!” After I hung up, Dante said: “The invitations are out, the hotel’s booked. I’ve given you the grand wedding you wanted.” I looked up at him: “Are you trying to threaten me with this?” “I said, you can choose whether or not to go through with it! You just need to think clearly.” I choked on my words, then let out a mocking, hollow laugh. “Get out.” Dante paused. “Chloe…” “I said, GET OUT!” I grabbed a glass nearby and hurled it at him! He didn’t dodge. “You’re too emotional right now. I’ll come back when you’ve calmed down.” The door softly clicked shut. I slid down the wall, collapsing to the floor. My phone vibrated. It was Uncle Mike. I took a deep breath before answering: “Uncle Mike?” Uncle Mike sighed: “Chloe, your dad has late-stage cancer. He doesn’t have much time left. He kept it from you, hoping to see you get married, to build a family.” My phone slipped from my grasp, falling to the floor as silent tears ran down my face. After a long time contemplating, I called Dante. “Tomorrow’s wedding? It’s on as scheduled!”
Before the wedding, I insisted on seeing the woman and her child. Dante agreed. The car drove towards a heavily guarded mansion in the city’s outskirts. My heart sank with every passing mile. The estate looked incredibly expensive. Then, I saw the mistress. She was stunning. “This is Chloe King.” Dante’s introduction was curt. The woman greeted me: “Hello, Ms. King, I’m Anya!” I looked behind her. A thirteen-year-old boy stood in the shadows, his features eerily similar to Dante’s, watching me with cold, disdainful eyes. Dante waved him over: “Leo, come here.” The boy slowly walked closer, calling out without expression: “Dad.” Dante instructed the maid: “Bring Mrs. King’s slippers.” The maid brought the slippers, but it was Dante who knelt and helped Anya put them on. I froze. He just called her Mrs. King! Less than three minutes into the meeting, I stood up and said: “I need to go.” Anya walked me to the door: “I heard your father sent out invitations everywhere. How ridiculous. You’re just a mistress, and your family has the nerve to brag.” Without hesitation, I slapped her. Her face quickly swelled and reddened: “You hit me?!” I stepped closer, glaring at her, “Dare to mention my father one more time, and I’ll tear your mouth off.” Dante rushed over at the sound. Seeing Anya’s swollen face, his brow furrowed: “Chloe, you promised not to cause trouble for her.” I met his gaze, “Ask her what she just said.” Anya’s voice was thin and trembling, laced with tears: “Dante!” But young Leo suddenly looked up, glaring at me and shouting: “How dare you hit my mom?!” I looked coldly at the mother and son, not willing to indulge them, and stated directly: “Dante, she just called my father a pimp, saying he sold me off to you as a mistress!” Dante took a deep breath. “Even if she said something inappropriate, you shouldn’t have resorted to violence. When did you become so utterly unreasonable?” Unreasonable? I watched as he subtly shielded Anya and Leo behind him, and my anger turned to a dull ache of despair. I lifted my head, forcing back the tears. I used to crave a grand wedding so much. Now, I just wanted it to be over. On the wedding day, the sun shone brightly. Everything went smoothly until the moment before we were to exchange rings. The banquet hall doors burst open, and Anya rushed in. “Dante… Leo’s gone missing!” Before she finished speaking, she collapsed to the floor. My heart instantly clenched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father’s strained smile. I forcefully suppressed all the surging emotions within me. I saw Dante instinctively about to rush off the stage. I grabbed his hand tightly, pleading pathetically: “Dante, the ceremony is just twenty minutes from being finished. Please, can you just play along with me? My dad is watching us.” I tried to force a smile, one that looked uglier than any cry. Dante’s brow was tightly furrowed, and he challenged me: “Anya has collapsed, and Leo is missing. You still want me to stay here and finish this twenty-minute charade with you? Is your ‘ceremony’ more important than a human life?” The next second, I was violently thrown off by him, my mind in a daze, knocking over the champagne tower behind me. And he, to the shock of all the guests, strode quickly towards the unconscious Anya. “Dante!” I screamed with all my might to stop him, “If you leave now, I’m breaking up with you for good!” The entire hall fell silent. But he just turned his head, throwing back a cold, harsh remark: “You look so… unfamiliar to me right now.” Then he gestured for his men to help Anya up, and left without looking back. The wedding host stood awkwardly on the stage. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold floor. The sharp pain in my lower abdomen intensified. Until my pristine white gown was stained red…
Shortly after the car started, Anya slowly regained consciousness in Dante’s arms. She leaned weakly on his shoulder, murmuring things like “I didn’t mean to, I was just so scared when I couldn’t find Leo.” Dante absentmindedly hummed in response. Suddenly, Chloe’s final look at him flashed before his eyes. A strange pang hit his heart, but it was quickly replaced by impatience. Women were such a hassle. They made a huge fuss over every little thing. Was his personal safety so trivial in her eyes? His phone suddenly vibrated. He answered, his tone impatient: “Speak.” On the other end, his trusted subordinate Jax’s voice was unusually panicked: “Mr. King, something big happened with Ms. King…” Dante rubbed his throbbing temples. “What happened?” “I don’t know, but they say Chloe was covered in blood!” Dante just froze for a moment, then let out a scoff, “She’s really playing the victim, isn’t she?” “Just yesterday you were saying she’s too proud, that she’d never tolerate Anya and Leo’s presence, right?” His voice was firm and derisive. “She just wants to blow things up, force me to make a public statement, and completely ditch Anya. Isn’t that always how women try to manipulate things?” “But this time it just feels… off! Did Chloe have a miscarriage? They say her father collapsed right there! The whole place was chaos!” The stress of the past few days and the current confusion pushed Dante’s irritation to its peak. “Alright, Jax.” Dante cut him off. “You know how much I’ve wanted a child with her all these years. She never got pregnant.” Jax tried to say something else, but Dante’s voice came again: “I’ve just spoiled her too much, that’s why she thinks she can manipulate me like this.” “But…” “Enough. I know what I’m doing. I’ll hang up now; I’ll deal with this when I’m done here.” Dante hung up without further discussion, tossing his phone aside. He told the driver to drive carefully, then adjusted his posture slightly to make Anya more comfortable in his arms. His fingertips brushed away the sweat-dampened strands of hair from her forehead. See. Anya was so simple, so obedient, needing his complete protection and control. And Chloe… His eyes darkened. When did she become so cunning, resorting to such methods to compete? He felt a pang of disappointment. He’d thought they were soulmates. He chose to be honest before the wedding because he believed their bond was strong enough. But she needed to know there were some lines she couldn’t cross. Upon arriving at the mansion, after much coaxing, Leo locked himself in his room, and Anya took a sedative and fell asleep. Dante sat in his study, an unexplainable frustration simmering within him. At this moment, he clearly realized that his carefully planned wedding had been ruined. It could have gone so smoothly… Anya timidly knocked on the study door: “Dante, I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I didn’t know the wedding was today, and Leo was just having a tantrum and hid. I just panicked and wanted to see you, I never thought it would turn out like this.” “Did I… cause you and Ms. King trouble again?” Looking at her fragile, helpless demeanor, Dante’s irritation finally dissipated. He sighed, his tone softening slightly: “It’s fine now. Just keep a closer eye on Leo from now on, don’t let him run off. You should rest too.” As he turned to handle some business, his encrypted phone rang. It was one of his men at the hospital. The man’s voice was urgent as he relayed a few sentences. Dante’s face instantly changed. His steps halted for a second, then he clenched his fist violently. Something truly terrible had happened at the wedding. Chloe had been rushed to the hospital with severe bleeding, and her father had died on the spot…
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