I Quit His Love Tests and Returned to My Mafia Family

Blood dripped onto the snow, staining it red.

The people in front of me exchanged looks.

Then they burst out laughing.

Cecilia Ferguson laughed so hard she cried. "Melville, is your little girlfriend not right in the head?"

Melville shrugged, grabbed a first-aid kit from the back of the car, and started treating my wounds. His touch was gentle, and he spoke softly, trying to soothe me. "Don't be mad. Tonight, you can be on top.

"Cheer up. Don't embarrass me in front of them." He pressed his cheek to mine. "You passed the final test. You should be happy."

He looked delighted, as if his pet had just performed a trick in front of his friends.

I didn't dare imagine how he would have treated me if I hadn't sacrificed myself.

Contempt. Mockery. Like I'd embarrassed him.

I remembered the time he told me he'd run up a huge debt with loan sharks to pay his family's medical bills. When I stepped in to protect him, the debt collectors broke my pinkie with a baseball bat.

Another time, he ran a high fever and passed out in the middle of the night. On my way to find a doctor, a gang of homeless men cornered me. I didn't have a gun, so I played along until they let their guard down, and then I got away.

So all of it had been a test.

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. I could hardly breathe.

He saw all my love and devotion as nothing more than a pet's efforts to pass his tests and earn his approval.

When I didn't react, he sighed. "Sorry, babe. Cecilia's family and mine go way back. She wanted to make a bet, so I had to go along with it. I swear it won't happen again."

I looked at him and went cold inside. He felt like a stranger.

Every word out of his mouth sounded like a lie. Did this test really mean nothing to him? Hadn't he wanted to know the answer?

Then why was he so happy with the result?

Did keeping an old family friend happy really have to cost me my life?

Before all this, if I so much as scraped the back of my hand, it broke his heart. He remembered every little thing I liked.

Maybe a man who loved me that much hadn't noticed how arrogant he'd become after reclaiming his status.

Cecilia had seen enough. She came over, hooked her arm through Melville's, and smirked at me. "Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff. The party's about to start."

I faced them all. The bloodstained snow between us was like a wall, splitting us into two different worlds.

"We're done."

The smile vanished from Melville's face, and he turned serious. "Serafina, what kind of joke is this? You'd never break up with me."

The people around us started muttering.

"A broke nobody like her should be grateful she landed Melville, and she has the nerve to dump him!"

"Is she crazy? He's the heir to the Taylor family."

Melville's face tightened as he stared at me. "Stop making a scene. Come join the party. I'll pretend you never said that."

His eyes held both an order and a threat, as if he'd already been more than patient with me.

But we were supposed to be equals. I loved him, and he loved me. I didn't need him looking down on me and tossing me scraps.

Then Cecilia scoffed and jabbed a finger into my forehead. "Don't tell me you want us to apologize."

In the world of the Mafia, poking someone like that was the ultimate insult. The next second, you were dead.

I whipped out a combat knife and slashed at her face.

Melville rushed over, pulled her into his arms, and took the cut on his own arm. "Serafina, I can tolerate a little temper, but you do not touch Cecilia!"

The others pinned me to the ground.

I couldn't believe the man who kept claiming he loved me had protected another woman without a second's hesitation. Maybe he had his reasons, but I refused to be what he sacrificed to keep his connections happy.

"Melville, we're finished. For good."

Cecilia was fussing over Melville's arm. At that, she raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't tamed your little fiancée? Any other woman would be groveling for your forgiveness by now."