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Chapter 3

Author: duran1995
Before the banquet, Daisy claimed she had nothing suitable to wear.

She went through my closet and picked out the exact dress Andre had given me for my twentieth birthday.

But she still wasn't satisfied. She gazed longingly at the glass pendant on my table, her eyes wide and pitiful.

"I don't have a single piece of jewelry."

Andre said nothing. Daisy reached for it.

That necklace meant everything to me. It had been tucked inside my blanket when I was found at the orphanage.

It was my anchor. Through every brush with death over the years, I'd kept it close.

Andre knew how much it meant. Yet now he pretended not to see.

My heart seized. I slammed my hand down on the table, blocking Daisy's reach.

Only then did Andre lazily look up and meet my red-rimmed gaze.

He sighed. "That necklace is far too cheap. Go pick something from the vault."

Daisy bit her lip. "But the only pink diamond that goes with this dress was already taken by Ash."

Andre didn't hesitate. He gestured at me. "Give it to her."

There wasn't much time before the banquet.

If I gave her my necklace, I'd have to show up with nothing around my neck.

I wanted to ask Andre what I was supposed to do.

But there was no point asking a question I already knew the answer to.

Daisy got what she wanted. She walked in on Andre's arm, with me at her side, and became the center of attention.

She ordered me around without pause, sending me to fetch drinks and pastries.

Andre assured me in private that he'd make it up to me.

In front of everyone, though, he didn't lift a finger.

The Family members exchanged disbelieving glances. Whispers spread.

"My God. Ash, of all people, is running errands for her?"

"Haven't people always said she was sleeping with the Don?"

"Looks like the Don's heart belongs to his wife after all."

Daisy was triumphant. She turned to me. "Now those nasty rumors will die on their own."

I kept my composure.

"Congratulations."

"Keep at it. Maybe next time you'll even get a dress of your own."

Ignoring her livid face, I turned and headed for the lounge.

Hurried footsteps followed.

I turned. Daisy stormed toward me and swung her hand.

I dodged on reflex. Quick as I was, her ring caught my cheek and tore the skin.

It didn't hurt much, but my face swelled immediately.

Daisy clenched her teeth. "Shameless. You know Andre married me, and you're still clinging to him?"

"You love being the other woman? Maybe I should have Andre pass you around to his men."

"Then again, an orphan like you was probably getting by on her back before she latched onto Andre."

"Does Andre know that's what you are? A whore."

The woman in front of me was vicious, and every word out of her mouth was crude.

I laughed, too furious for anything else. But before I could retaliate, she slapped herself hard across the face, then shrieked, ripped the front of her dress open, and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

"Ash!"

The lounge door burst open. Andre rushed out and swept Daisy into his arms.

She clutched his sleeve, trembling all over. "Andre, Ash is right. I'm the other woman."

"This is all my fault."

Andre fixed a dark look on me. Daisy pressed the torn fabric to her chest.

"Ash, I'll give you the dress back."

"If I'd known you'd been in love with Andre this whole time, I never would have said yes."

"You can kill me if it makes you feel better, but please, don't hurt my family."

The underboss immediately sent people to pull the surveillance footage.

But by sheer "coincidence," the cameras in that area had just been taken offline for an "upgrade." Nothing had been recorded.

With no evidence, Andre looked at me. "You threatened her?"

I pointed at the wound on my cheek. "Do you believe me, or her?"
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  • The Wife He Never Married   Chapter 10

    But the senior members refused.Eric once suggested killing a few of the holdouts to send a message.I turned him down. "Do you know what makes a good hunter?"Eric guessed. "A perfect shot?"I said, "Patience. We wait for the perfect moment."I continued my recovery in Italy. By the following summer, I was fully healed.Back in Boston, the authorities had used the earlier arrests to launch a full reckoning. The Family had no choice but to sell off property and resources just to survive.I was the generous buyer.Eric proposed my return one more time, arguing that the partnerships I held and the operations the Dente Family had entrusted to me could restore the Family to its former glory.By now, he had total control over the Family's real power. The elders understood perfectly. This wasn't a proposal. It was a notice.Faced with the strength I'd demonstrated, backed by Eric's full support, the elders seemed to come to their senses all at once.The ones who'd called for my head had died

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  • The Wife He Never Married   Chapter 7

    Andre's mind went blank.His first instinct was to ask me what to do.Then he remembered. He'd sent me to the water cell.Irritation surged, but he fought it down and told Eric, "Send reinforcements. Contain the damage.""Put every pending order on hold. Count the losses and replace the shipment as fast as possible.""Find out who did this before dawn."Andre hadn't taken the attack seriously. He issued his orders swiftly and precisely.By his estimate, mobilizing the full Family would be enough to cover it up.But through the night, one disaster followed another.Across the other three districts, allied families suddenly closed their ports to him.He activated backup ports, but he'd neglected those connections for too long. By the time his people had them up and running, it was already dawn.The bulk of the arms couldn't be shipped out. Even the portion he'd asked the Cardona Family to help move was destroyed before it cleared the docks.Andre knew the enemy was working from the shado

  • The Wife He Never Married   Chapter 6

    Fury overwhelmed reason. I slapped her.She'd been standing well away from the staircase, yet she shrieked and stumbled backward toward it.I tried to grab her, but she dodged. Her whole body tumbled down the stairs.Blood pooled beneath her instantly. At that same moment, Andre walked through the door.Daisy let out a wail. "Andre, the baby! My baby!"Andre scooped her up. He looked at me, and the accusation in his eyes was clear: Why couldn't I just behave?But he said nothing to me. Instead, he turned to Eric."Restrain Ash. Send her to the water cell in the East District."That was where the Family punished its worst offenders.Before I could say a word in my defense, Daisy clutched Andre's arm and whispered weakly, "Don't blame Ash. I accidentally broke her pendant. That's why she..."Andre turned back. His gaze was pure ice. "Is that so? Then you really are vicious, Ash."Rage churned inside me.I fought to keep control. My voice came out hoarse. "You know that pendant was from m

  • The Wife He Never Married   Chapter 5

    Eric rattled off names from among the elders. Some of them, he told me, had even wanted to cut off my fingers.I smiled coldly. "Good. It's time to clean house."Six months ago, anticipating that resistance might persist even after the purge and block Andre's rise, I'd bought off the Family's accountant and obtained the original ledgers.And years of recordings had given me a trove of evidence tying Andre and his inner circle to tax evasion.I'd already had informants feed leads to the authorities. All I had to do now was hand over the evidence, and arrest warrants could be issued at any time.Everything had originally been put in place to protect Andre.Now I would make Andre understand the price of making the wrong choice.Two days later, Andre came to the isolation cell to collect me.On the ride back, we sat in silence until he tossed a prenatal exam report onto my lap."Daisy's pregnancy isn't stable," he said.I let out a mocking laugh. "What's your point?""I need you to behave.

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