The Don Hid Me for Seven Years

The moment the email confirmation appeared on my screen, William shared his location with me.

Because of who he was, he was always afraid someone might come after me, so he insisted that we share our locations every night to make sure I was safe.

His message came a moment later.

“Honey, are you asleep? Something came up tonight, so I’m running a little late.”

If I hadn’t just watched that YouTube video, those few words of concern probably would have made my heart flutter like they always did.

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I opened the influencer’s profile again and saw that she was livestreaming.

As usual, William casually shared pieces of his day with me.

“Honey, I’m on my way back now. Monaco is beautiful. I’ll bring you here someday when I get the chance.”

In the past, a promise tossed out so casually would have made me happy for days, and I would have quietly tucked it away in my heart.

Only now did I realize that everything I had treasured so carefully had already been given to someone else.

I typed a few words, deleted them, and eventually sent nothing.

The livestream loaded.

The influencer was sitting aboard a private jet, chatting about the details of their trip.

The camera shifted, and a familiar figure entered the frame, William.

The girl gave the camera a playful smile.

“My boyfriend doesn’t want his face on camera, so don’t go spreading this around, okay?”

I typed a message to William.

“You told me I’d be the only woman to ever call your private jet hers. Do you remember that?”

His reply came almost instantly.

“Of course, baby.”

The next second, the livestream camera tilted to one side.

William was sitting beside her, visible only from the neck down as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Soon, suggestive sounds came through the livestream.

Within a minute, the screen went black, followed by a notification saying the broadcast had ended.

I stared at the dark screen, feeling something inside me turn colder by the second.

William had never allowed me to accompany him when he left on family business.

He always said he was afraid something might happen to me.

That if I ever got hurt because of him, he would blame himself for the rest of his life.

So I never attended his family meetings.

I was never allowed to meet his parents.

Even his own men had no idea what their future Donna looked like.

But in the influencer’s videos, there was always a line of William’s personal guards standing somewhere in the background.

That was when I finally understood.

He had never been afraid to take me with him.

He simply hadn’t wanted me there.

My eyes burned as I opened her profile again with trembling fingers and kept scrolling.

Her earliest post was from five years ago.

It was a photo of a tiny kitten with the caption, “The stray we rescued together.”

I suddenly remembered asking William if we could get a pet.

He had refused, saying it would be too much trouble.

On my birthday, William had told me he was away handling family business.

That same period was when the two of them had first met.

I closed my laptop and shut my eyes, forcing myself, little by little, to accept the truth that I was no longer loved.

Another email notification appeared. “Welcome to the Network. Please arrive at the base in three days.”