Mag-log inI was attending a mafia family wedding with my boyfriend when the bride tossed her bouquet, and it landed right in my arms. According to tradition, everyone in attendance was supposed to bless the lucky person who caught it. So, naturally, I looked over at my boyfriend, Matteo, thinking this was the moment he might finally propose to me. Instead, the groom let out an awkward cough. “Serena, Matteo and I already agreed beforehand that this bouquet is supposed to go to Livia. It’s really not right for you to just snatch it away like that.” Before I could even explain, Matteo stepped out from the crowd. His brows were furrowed, and he glared at me with pure annoyance. “Serena, I told you I have to make things up to Livia one hundred times. This bouquet is only the fifty-eighth time. Just give the flowers back to her and stop making things difficult for me.” It was Livia. Again. Years ago, when the two of them broke up after a massive fight, Livia ended up getting into a terrible car accident on a rainy night. Ever since then, Matteo convinced himself that he owed her for the rest of his life and claimed he had to make it up to her one hundred times. So, when she said she was afraid of the dark, he abandoned me at my apartment in the middle of the night just to be with her. When she said she loved roses, he took her up in a helicopter just to shower the sky with rose petals for her. Meanwhile, if I ever showed that I was upset, I was just being petty and unreasonable. In the past, I used to kick up a ruckus and cry about it. I even threw out a lunch he had personally cooked for Livia straight into the trash, and I smashed a birthday gift that he had meticulously picked out for her. Because of that, all of his family members and friends now looked down on me. They thought I was nothing but a toxic, dramatic shrew who didn’t deserve Matteo at all. To them, he and Livia were the ones who truly belonged together. Now, the entire crowd was staring at me, completely on edge. They were expecting me to throw another massive scene right here at the wedding, but this time, I didn’t. Instead, I just smiled, held out the bouquet, and handed it right over to Livia. "Here you go." Those flowers were filthy anyway, and I didn’t want them anymore. As for Matteo? I didn’t want him anymore, either.
view moreMonths later, the Berradi family hosted a ball. I was representing San Rosa’s Old Port branch to give a speech at the reception. In the ballroom, crystal chandeliers hung high overhead, silver utensils gleamed, and the family crest decorated the walls. Below the stage, Helen stood in the crowd, raising her glass to me with a brilliant smile.Standing at the podium, facing the Don and every member of the family, I announced that the annual revenue from Old Port’s projects had tripled. As the applause erupted, I caught sight of the ocean just outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. At that exact moment, a sudden sense of clarity washed over me. A woman’s true place was never beside a man. It wasn’t in front of a tiny cutting board in some kitchen, nor was it waiting to be chosen and kept like a pet in a gilded cage. Our place could be at the head of a negotiation table, on the deck of a cargo ship at the docks, or on the signature section of a project contract. It could be anywhere we
Later on, I heard about how things ended for Matteo and Livia. It wasn’t that I went out of my way to look for information, but the mafia family circle was just too small, and nobody could keep a secret.After Matteo lost his credit standing, the Moretti family discovered that he had misappropriated family reserve funds to issue cashier’s checks to me. Even more fatal was the fact that a rupture in his cash flow chain led to a shipment of cargo being seized at the docks, causing the family a direct loss of nearly twenty million dollars. This wasn’t just some romantic indiscretion anymore; this was a direct violation of family trust and reputation.On the day of the table meeting, two enforcers dragged him down into the basement right in front of everyone. They broke two of his ribs with iron bars and threw him out onto the street. His name was crossed off the family records, and all his business assets and permissions were revoked.When I heard the news, all I said was, “He brought
The cool September wind swept through Old Port in San Rosa, carrying the first chill of autumn.That evening, my team and I were holding a celebration dinner at a hotel. We had just successfully secured a major warehouse renovation project. After a few rounds of drinks, the supervisor stood up and raised his glass. “Congratulations, Miss Martinez.”I smiled and clinked my glass against his. In that exact moment, my mind flashed back to the girl I had been just a few months ago—the girl standing outside that church, unable to bring herself to throw away a cheap silver chain. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed since then.When the dinner finally ended, I walked out of the hotel. I had just gotten off the phone with my chauffeur when I noticed a shadow crouched down near the back of the car.The streetlights flickered on. Hearing my footsteps, the figure slowly stood up.I frowned. “Matteo?”He looked at me, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Serena.”We hadn’t seen e
Livia shoved him away hard. “Look at me. I’m Livia!”Her chest heaved with rage as she yelled, “How could you mistake me for her? I was the one who was here first! We only broke up because she took advantage of the situation and slid right in. She was just a passerby in your life. You and I are the ones who are supposed to be together.”She grabbed Matteo by the collar of his shirt and continued, “Look at me, and say my name again.”Matteo looked up at her. “Don’t talk about her like that.”Taken aback, Livia asked, “What did you just say?”“I said, don’t talk about Serena like that,” Matteo said, pushing her away.Livia’s back slammed into the photo wall, and she gasped from the sharp pain. However, Matteo didn’t even look at her. His eyes were glued to the wall, which was now covered with photos of him and Livia.He rushed over and started ripping the frames off the wall. “Why are these all of you? Where is Serena? She and I took a lot of photos together.”He knelt by the ent












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