Se connecterCHAPTER FORTY-FOURDANTE’S POVVERY SCANDALOUSGina looks like she is seconds away from snapping. I can see it in the way her fingers tighten around the stem of her wine glass every single time another camera flash reflects against the restaurant windows. She hates this. Every second of it. The fake smiles. The clearly staged, lavish date night that should shut every wagging tongue. The secret paparazzi planted around the restaurant pretending they are ordinary guests even though they can barely hide their interest in their table.One idiot keeps glancing over every thirty seconds like he’s waiting for a zoo animal to perform. At first, Gina plays along. She smiles dreamily and when Mark speaks she even lets him touch her hand across the table. She even laughs softly at one of his stupid jokes while the cameras secretly capture their ‘perfect dinner date’ But then something changes. I notice it immediately because I’ve spent the last few weeks studying every shift in her mood like it’
CHAPTER FORTY-THREEDANTE’S POVA VILLAIN ORIGIN STORYThe older woman paces across my office like a storm wrapped in couture, every movement radiating fury. Even angry, Barbara Washington looks immaculate, dressed head-to-toe in limited-edition Maison Valentino, pearls gleaming at her throat while rage darkens her elegant features. She looks nothing like the woman the world sees on red carpets beside her husband or hosting charity galas with a fabricated smile. That version of Barbara is carefully manufactured, polished so hard until it’s so flawless nobody stops to question what exactly the Washington family keeps hidden behind their billions. This version of her though? This is the real Barbara Washington. So full of pent-up anger and years of abhorring the man she is married to.“Are you fucking insane?” she hisses, finally turning toward me. “Everything I work for-everything we work for-and you are willing to risk it because what? You fall in love with Gina?”The accusation hits
CHAPTER FORTY- TWOANOTHER WAY OUTI cannot let him win. By the time I head downstairs, the house has fallen quiet again. Rita and the rest of the staff keep out of sight whenever Mark and I fight now, as though the tension itself has become something physical lingering in the air. It’s like they can sense it whenever it’s all about to go down. The place that used to be a haven of peace, now is where the storm brews and I doubt Mark gives a shit anymore of how he looks. Afterall, they are all on his payroll. I eventually find Dante outside near the pool lounge area, stretched casually against one of the cushioned chairs with a half-empty beer in one hand and a copy of Crime and Punishment resting open across his lap. The late afternoon sunlight catches against his dark hair and sharp features, making him look unfairly beautiful in a way that instantly irritates me. Who knew he is a fan of Fyodor Dostoevsky. The moment he notices me approaching, he sighs heavily and shuts the book cl
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE DIVORCE & ADDICTION I have no idea how long I sit there staring at the bouquet that sits pleasantly on the table. The roses look almost unreal beneath the afternoon sunlight, their deep crimson petals rich against the black wrapping paper, beautiful in a way that feels excessive and unsettling all at once. Whoever sent them clearly wanted to make an impression.Mission accomplished. Eventually, I force myself to look away. Because the more I think about it, the stranger this entire situation becomes. Who the hell is this anonymous person? And more importantly, why do they care about me? What do they want from me? I am not some celebrity actress or socialite princess worthy of such obsessive grand gestures. Strip away the Washington name and I’m simply Gina, a surgeon who happened to marry a billionaire asshole young enough to mistake love for permanence. That is all there is to me. So why does it feel like someone is quietly inserting themselves into my life piece
CHAPTER FORTYA SUSPICIOUS BOUQUETThere is nothing crueler than love once it turns poisonous. It sinks its claws into your chest and stays there long after the person responsible has already destroyed everything good inside you. Mark has been the only man I have ever loved, the center of my universe since I was seven years old, and somehow he still managed to ruin my trust so thoroughly that I honestly do not know if I will ever fully recover from it.And yet, despite all of that pain, despite swearing to myself that I would never allow another man close enough to wreck me again, there is someone else slowly slipping through the cracks of my defenses.Dante fucking Ricci.The more I try to avoid him, the more I try to keep him away from me, the more impossible he becomes to ignore. Every stolen, lingering glance I catch him throwing at me, feels like the beginning of this dangerous feeling festering inside me. Every accidental brush of his hand against mine lingers too long. Every
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHTPARANOID & JEALOUSSometimes I think the universe finally decided to throw me a bone after months of watching my life collapse in the most humiliating way possible. Because watching my husband slowly lose his mind over the mystery surrounding the pendant has been nothing short of entertaining. The past two weeks have been… fascinating. Every single evening, Mark comes home in a worse mood than the day before, his temper hanging by a thread so thin that even the staff have started walking around him carefully, like one wrong word might trigger an explosion. Half the time, I overhear him raging in his office late at night, barking into his phone at private investigators, security teams, and whoever else he has hired to figure out the identity of the anonymous buyer.So far, they have found nothing and it is driving him insane. The best part is that he refuses to ask me directly and I know exactly why. He is afraid of the answer. Because if someone can casually spen
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEROSES & THORNSMark and I have barely exchanged a single word since I walked back into this house. Not while I cleaned up the disaster he had been living in, not when he disappeared upstairs to pull himself together, and not even now as we sit across from each other at the dinin
CHAPTER FOUR: TRUTH BOMBHere I am again, bombarded by a sea of flashing cameras as I strike poses on the red carpet, Mark’s arm wrapped protectively around my waist. The clicks and flashes are relentless, each photographer vying for the perfect shot. We’re at the premiere of a movie Mark had finan
CHAPTER THREE: A LONELY NIGHTDo you know what sucks more than your husband getting a PR crisis on your anniversary night? It’s knowing your best friend is miles away on a different continent, and asleep. I glance at the clock on my phone. It’s nearly four in the morning wherever she is, and I know
CHAPTER TWO: THE ANNIVERSARY BALLThe anniversary ball is going great so far, or at least as great as it can be. The grand hall is alive with the soft drone of conversation, the clinking of champagne glasses, and the occasional burst of laughter. It’s the kind of event that screams opulence, the k







