My Ex Wanted Me as His Mistress, So I Married His Uncle, the Don

On the day of the ceremony, I slipped into the chapel early and removed the slip with my name on it, making sure Victor couldn't draw me.

When the ceremony began, Victor casually drew a slip from the box and handed it to one of his men.

"Who will Victor choose?"

"Who else? Elia, the Castellano heiress. She and Victor have been engaged since childhood."

Whispers rippled through the crowd. Everyone was certain Victor would choose me.

I had once believed that too.

"Elia, come here." Victor's mother, Teresa Moretti, waved me over.

Amid everyone's congratulations, I walked slowly to the center of the chapel, the very spot where they'd had sex the night before.

"Mrs. Moretti."

Mrs. Moretti took my hand with a warm smile. "We're family now. No need to be so formal."

"Mrs. Moretti," I cut her off, "why don't you see who Victor actually picked first? What if it's not me?"

His man unfolded the slip and read aloud, "The woman chosen by God is... Chloe Green."

The entire hall went dead silent.

The smile froze on Mrs. Moretti's face. "Who is Chloe Green?"

Chloe stepped out of the crowd, and Victor pulled her into his arms. "Mom, this is Chloe, the wife God chose for me."

Mrs. Moretti's brow furrowed. "Choosing a bride by lottery is far too reckless. Perhaps we should—"

"Mrs. Moretti," I interrupted again, "the ceremony is sacred. Victor drew Chloe's name, so this is God's will. If we reverse it now, people will say we've committed sacrilege."

Mrs. Moretti ignored Victor and turned to me. "Elia, you know I've always thought of you as my daughter-in-law..."

"Mom!" Victor cut in. "I've always seen Elia as a sister, nothing more. I never said I would marry her." He looked at me, his eyes cold. "Elia, I know you've had feelings for me since we were kids, but what I felt for you was never love. You misunderstood."

Those words pierced my heart like a blade.

My mind flashed back to my eighteenth birthday, when he had pulled me into the garden, dropped to one knee, and said, "Elia, once I'm in charge, I'll give you a lavish wedding."

But with a single sentence, he had reduced everything between us to nothing more than my own delusion.

I dug my nails into my palms and forced a smile at Victor. "I'm not sure what I did to give you the wrong impression, but I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Then I turned to face the crowd and announced, "As a matter of fact, my parents arranged a match for me long ago. The wedding will take place in seven days."