LOGINMy 30th birthday. My childhood friend, Jax, told me to meet him at Chicago City Hall. “Wear the custom wedding dress. Bring your ID.” He promised me a surprise I’d never forget. But when I got there, he just casually lifted his cigar to his rich friends. “See? She actually wore the wedding dress. Pay up. The limited-edition Aston Martin is mine.” Then, he turned to me. “Clara. It was a joke. You didn’t take it seriously, did you?” I said nothing. He was so sure of himself. No matter what he did, I was his little shadow. The girl who couldn't live without him. I’d always come crawling back, crying, begging him to marry me. His face, the one I used to love, twisted into a sneer. “If you’re that desperate to get married, go grab some homeless guy off the street. See if anyone wants you. Don’t worry. I’ll party a few more years. Then maybe I’ll be generous and keep the fiancée spot open for you.” The crowd of men and women behind him erupted in laughter. They laughed at me. The parasite Jax couldn't shake. The idiot waiting for him to throw me a bone. But when I walked out on the arm of my new husband—a literal Mafia Don—and flashed a very real marriage certificate, Jax’s face went dead white.
View MoreAfter they dragged Jax out, the ballroom was dead silent for a full ten seconds.His desperate cries faded behind the heavy doors.You could have heard a pin drop.I thought the whole drama would have embarrassed Alessandro.But he wasn’t angry at all. In fact, he pulled me closer.He led me to my parents, his composure perfect. He poured two glasses of champagne and, with flawless etiquette, toasted them.His Italian was fluent, his humor disarming. In just a few sentences, he not only calmed my parents down but had them laughing.The party’s mood shifted, becoming warm and romantic again.My mother stood up, her eyes still a little red, and pointed at Alessandro. “This one! If you had told me you were the real son-in-law from the start, you would have saved my old heart a lot of stress!”My father clapped him on the shoulder, hard enough to show how thrilled he was. “Young man, you treat my daughter right. Or I'll come after you myself.”For the first time, Alessandro looked a little
Jax hit the carpet hard. He was still shaking, but he forced himself up, crawling on his knees back toward me.He reached my feet and wrapped his arms around my legs, holding on for dear life.“Clara, don’t go. Please, just listen to me,” he begged, looking up. His face was a swollen, red mess.I tried to pull my leg away, but he held on tighter.“In college,” he choked out, his voice breaking, “I never liked Chloe. I swear to God. Not for a single day.”The whole room was silent. Even Chloe was frozen, staring in disbelief.“Then why—” I started.“BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO PERFECT!” he screamed, a dam of repressed feelings bursting wide open. “You were good at everything. You were amazing. I wasn’t good enough for you. I was scared you’d realize what a loser I was and leave me!”“So I found Chloe on purpose,” he sobbed, his voice trembling like a leaf. “I wanted to see if you’d still love me. I made bets with my friends… bets on whether you’d get jealous, on whether you’d wait for me forev
The moment we reached the hotel entrance, two rows of men in black suits bowed in perfect unison.“Welcome back, Mr. Vitale.”The hotel manager rushed forward, a line of staff with party poppers behind him. He was beaming.“Happy birthday, and congratulations on your wedding!”POP!The poppers went off, showering the ground in gold confetti.I stood frozen. Before I could process it, two waiters pulled open the grand doors to the ballroom.A spotlight hit me, square in the face.The room was filled with guests. And in the front row, my parents were smiling at me.My mother was wearing the silk dress I’d bought her, her eyes a little misty. My father’s hand was on her shoulder. They were looking at me with a pride I’d never seen before.Behind them, a massive LED screen displayed two names on a loop.Clara Bennett & Alessandro Vitale.Jax stopped dead in his tracks.“What… what is…” he stammered.My mother looked over at him, her eyes cold. Her voice dripped with scorn.“Isn’t that Jax?
The bulletproof Rolls-Royce glided to a stop at the end of the red carpet.Outside, Jax, Chloe, and their whole crew were waiting by the hotel entrance. They stood with their arms crossed, smirks on their faces. Waiting for the show to end.Chloe saw me through the window and slowly shook her head. A look of pity and disappointment. As if to say, Why are you dragging this out?I stared at her face. My palms were sweating. My legs felt like lead. I couldn’t move.“What is it?” Alessandro noticed my hesitation.“I…” I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t explain.He didn’t wait for an answer. He just pulled me into his arms.The warmth of his chest seeped through his shirt. His chin rested on the top of my head, his voice a low rumble against my ear.“From now on, your world belongs to me.”The words sent a jolt down my spine.I closed my eyes, and the memory of my 20th birthday flooded back.Jax had thrown a huge party. All our friends were there, chanting for him to give me my present.He p


















Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.