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Chapter 2

Author: Crimson R
Chloe’s champagne flute toppled, splashing across her lap.

A flight attendant rushed over.

Chloe shrieked, hand to her face. “Are you insane!”

“You deserve worse!”

The attendant physically stepped between us, her smile strained. She guided a furious Chloe to a seat far from mine, speaking in low, placating tones.

Finally, Chloe simmered down. She dabbed at her dress with a towel, shooting me a look of pure contempt.

“I hate women like you. So self-righteous. Calling me a whore. You’re just jealous because you’re old and no one wants you.”

I surged forward.

The attendant held me back.

I forced myself to sit. My hands were fists.

Chloe’s gaze swept over me, dismissive. “Let’s be real. You’re not young. Your husband definitely has someone on the side. Go home and check his phone. A woman like you… no wonder men don’t come home.”

SPLASH

The fresh orange juice the attendant had just handed me was now dripping from Chloe’s hair and face.

Her scream was ear-piercing.

More crew swarmed us, forming a human barrier. The head flight attendant, her smile now brittle, leaned close to me.

“Ms. Lopez, please. She is a… valued guest of Don Matteo Cefalù. It is in your best interest to let this go. He is very protective of her.”

Don Matteo Cefalù.

The title hit me like a bullet.

We landed for a brief layover. Neither of us disembarked. Phones could be turned on.

I texted Matteo.

Where are you

A photo came back. A cluttered ledger desk, stacks of shipment records and betting slips. Working hard for my wife

For me? Or for someone else

No reply.

I sent a question mark.

A second later, I heard his voice. From Chloe’s seat.

“Someone threw a drink on you? Who dared touch you, mi amore?”

“Some old hag! It’s your fault! If you were here she wouldn’t dare!”

“Shh, it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

A mechanical female voice chimed from her phone. Alipay payment received. Five hundred thousand yuan

Matteo’s voice was warm, indulgent. “Buy yourself something pretty. Forget about her.”

My nails dug into my palms.

Chloe’s pout was audible. “Not enough! You said you missed me! You wanted to see me for New Year’s! If not for that, I wouldn’t be on this plane with that psychopath!”

“What about the new villa I just bought for you?”

She went quiet for a beat.

“I see you smiling, cuore mio.”

“I am not!” Her voice was lighter. “But… fine. You get one chance. Only because I love you.”

“Good. I will make it up to you tonight. All night.”

“Three hours. Minimum!”

“However long you want.”

A tremor ran through me. When he was sent to oversee the Family’s New York territory, our visits were brief. Just hugs. Chaste kisses. When I hinted at more, he’d sigh.

“I’ve been under a lot of pressure, amore. The business… it’s exhausting. Let me rest, okay?”

He was always too tired. And then he’d be gone again.

The plane prepared for takeoff. Chloe made a kissing sound into her phone and hung up.

Matteo’s text arrived.

Why don’t you trust me, Sara? Are you sad I’m working over the holiday? When I come home, I’ll take you for that rotisserie you love

As the engines roared, an attendant approached Chloe with a black, gold-embossed box.

“From a gentleman, Ms. Apple gate.”

“My Prada necklace! He remembered!”

The attendant handed her a card. “The gentleman also asked us to convey a message: ‘Do not let the noise of others drown out your own voice. Move forward. I am behind you. Always.’”

I looked at Matteo’s text on my screen. I closed my eyes.

The head attendant appeared beside me. She pressed a small, cool stone into my hand. A diamond.

“For you, Ms. Lopez.”

“For me?”

“Don Cefalù is aware of your… disagreement with Ms. Apple gate. Her doctor says she must avoid stress. So. You will go and apologize to her. Sincerely.”

I stared at the diamond. A bitter laugh escaped. “An apology? This seems excessive.”

“The Don earns several of these in a day. It is nothing.”

Several of these in a day.

A five-figure diamond.

I rolled the stone between my fingers.

And laughed.

A stranger got more from him than I ever did.
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  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 8

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  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 7

    “No.”The word was flat. Absolute.“We follow the agreement. A divorce decree. And five billion.”“Sara…”His voice softened, pleading.“You can have the money. Today. But the divorce… no.”“You signed the paper.”“Can’t I take it back?”“No!”Matteo drew himself up. The Don’s mask slid back into place, but his eyes were still wounded.“Your mind is made up?”“Yes.”“Then my answer is no.”He shook his head slowly.“The five billion will be in your account by sunset. But you are not leaving me.”“Matteo!”“I’m sorry.”His voice was final, edged with steel. “Just this once, Sara. Trust me.”He turned and strode from the room before I could argue, his retreat looking an awful lot like flight.For the next week, only hired nurses attended me.He didn’t visit.The money hit my account. An obscene string of zeros.I checked myself out early, the pain in my ankle a dull throb matching the one in my chest.I returned to the mansion.Before I could open the grand front door, I heard voices fro

  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 6

    The car came out of nowhere.I was walking back from a shopping trip, bags in hand, a bodyguard trailing a discreet distance behind.A black Rolls-Royce, windows tinted to oblivion, swerved and mounted the curb.The impact was a blunt shock against my hip.Before I could scream, the front wheel rolled over my ankle. A sickening, crunchy pain.Then it was gone, speeding away.My bodyguard was shouting into his phone.I woke up in a private hospital room that smelled like antiseptic and money.Matteo burst in. His tie was crooked, his hair disheveled. He must have run from a sit-down with the capos.“Sara? Christ, I’m sorry I wasn’t there. Does it hurt?”His eyes were frantic as he hovered over the cast on my leg.“I shouldn’t have been in that meeting. I should have driven you myself. I’ll find the driver. I’ll handle it.”“Still acting, Matteo?”He froze.I picked up my phone from the bedside table, my hand steady with cold fury. I opened a screenshot and held it up for him.It was fro

  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 5

    Matteo stared at me.He stood up.He actually turned and walked to the penthouse window, wrenching it open.The cold city air rushed in.“Stop it!”I shouted.He froze, half his body leaning over the dizzying drop. He looked back at me, his expression pure desperation.“Sara…”“You’d really rather die than let me go?”“Without you, there’s no point in any of it. The business, the money… it’s nothing.”“Alright.”I nodded slowly.I turned, grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper from the desk, and scribbled furiously. I thrust it at him.“If you’re serious, sign this.”It was a post-nuptial agreement.One clause, written in stark, simple terms: If he is unfaithful again, we divorce immediately, and he pays me five billion dollars.“You have the means, Matteo. I know you do.”Matteo looked from the paper to my face.“Of course, if you refuse, that’s fine. We go downtown right now and file for divorce.”“I’ll sign!”He grabbed my wrist, the one holding the suitcase. His voice hitched. “I’m sor

  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 4

    I lifted my head. Pushed back the brim of my cap.“Hello, Don Cefalù.”His face drained of color. “Sara?”The hands that had been holding Chloe fell to his sides.Chloe froze, her tears halting mid-sob. “Sara? Matteo, who is she…”I held up my phone. Pressed play. Max volume.Chloe’s voice, smug and cruel, filled the space between us.“…if her mother died, the wife would have no one left…”“…I really wanted that new Chanel bag. It was exactly fifty grand…”Matteo’s posture, always so commanding, seemed to crumple. “Sara, wait—”I turned. Walked away.“Sara!”I heard him shout. Heard Chloe’s shrill, panicked call. “Matteo! Where are you going! Come back!”I didn’t look back. I went straight to a ticket counter and bought a seat on the next flight home.The man who claimed to be swamped with “business” bought the seat right behind mine.He followed me all the way to our modest apartment, still wearing the tailored suit that cost more than our old yearly rent.He stood in our doorway, his

  • I Left Him and Took Everything He Owed Me   Chapter 3

    I nodded. “Fine. An apology.”The attendant announced me. “Ms. Lopez is here to apologize, Ms. Apple gate!”I gave a slight bow. “My behavior was unacceptable. Please accept my apology.”Chloe stood up. “Okay. Let me slap you twice. Then I’ll accept it.”The head attendant laughed nervously. “Ms. Apple gate, please. She is older. Show some mercy.”“Older means nothing.” Chloe smirked. “That face is already ruined. Slapped or not, no man will want it. I’m doing her a favor. She gets a diamond, I get satisfaction.”Another attendant whispered to me. “Just let her, ma’am. Two slaps and it’s over. She’s the Don’s girl.”“The diamond is six figures, Ms. Lopez. It’s a good deal.”Six figures.A decade of my life.This stone could buy my last ten years.I held it up. Let it catch the light.Then I flicked my wrist.The diamond arced through the air, clattered onto Chloe’s tray table, and bounced to the floor.“I don’t want it.”CRACKHer palm exploded against my cheek.The force snapped my he

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