LOGIN“You're wasting my time!” Dominic yanked the dress off her violently, causing her body to jolt forward. She almost bumped into Dominic, but he quickly dodged her, causing her to stumble and fall onto the floor with a thud. Belladonna cried out in pain as her knees hurt from hitting the floor, as did her hands, which had to support her body abruptly. She writhed in pain, but Dominic just stared at her without any pity. “It hurts. Can you not treat me so harshly?” she pleaded. “It hurts? You’d better endure the pain because you will get more pain after this. Don’t blame me, blame yourself for agreeing to replace Bianca. You’re just an unwanted bride for me. So I will never treat you as my wife!” ************************************ Belladonna Marino was forced to replace her runaway sister on her wedding day, marrying Dominic Costa, the man who was supposed to belong to someone else. She had no choice but to agree. She did it out of gratitude to the family who raised her, never expecting that the price would be her dignity. Dominic never wanted her. He despised her. He humiliated her, tormented her, and reminded her every day that she was nothing more than an unwanted replacement. Living as his wife was hell— until the day his true bride returned, claiming she was finally ready to marry him. Knowing her role was over, Belladonna chose to leave. But what happens when the man who once hated her realizes too late that the woman he broke is the only one he ever loved?
View MoreThe wedding that was about to take place turned into chaos. It was all because the bride mysteriously disappeared, and the commotion caused the Marino family to be in a state of frantic panic.
“You have to replace your sister and get married, Bella,” said Veronica, her adoptive mother.
“Why me, Mom?” she looked at her adoptive mother with a sorrowful gaze.
“You can’t refuse in a situation like this because there’s no one else but you who can replace Bianca to be Dominic Costa’s bride.”
“But Mr. Costa only wants Bianca. How could he possibly want to marry me?” She felt like her adoptive mother had gone mad for asking her to replace her sister in marrying Dominic Costa, who clearly wanted Bianca as his bride.
“I’ve already told you, you can’t refuse, Belladonna. I’m the one who raised you and took care of you. So you have to repay me by marrying Dominic Costa. Show your devotion to me as my daughter. If you don't marry him, our family business will be ruined!"
“But Mom? Isn't that fraud?”
“We will talk to Dominic Costa, so just do it. You must remember that I am the one who raised you, and if it weren't for us, you would have been dead on the streets at that time.”
Belladonna merely lowered her head and forced herself to hold back her tears.
Their first daughter, her older sister, was supposed to marry. But she unexpectedly left, claiming she wanted to pursue her career, and because of her disappearance, the Marino family was forced to find a replacement bride. Tragically, it was Belladonna who had to sacrifice herself to take her place.
She was only an adopted child of the Marino family. During a heavy snowfall, Phillip Marino found her in a thick pile of snow when she was still a baby. If her adoptive father hadn't found her, she would most likely have died.
Belladonna was a lovely twenty-two year old with slightly curled blonde hair and teardrop-shaped emerald green eyes. Her gaze was always melancholy, and she was a gentle girl. However, no one knew that she had a rare disease.
She never told anyone about it. She only found out a few weeks ago, when she went to the hospital for a checkup, that her illness was causing her to lose her memory. Her memory would deteriorate every day, and if she did not receive proper treatment, she would forget everything, even herself.
“Do it, Bella. Do it for this family. Bianca and Dominic Costa's wedding is coming up soon. So you have to replace her, as she will likely leave to pursue her career,” her mother added. “You have to show your devotion as the daughter I raised, and you have to repay me in this way.”
Belladonna lowered her head again upon hearing her mother’s words. She did owe a debt of gratitude to that family, even a debt of life. However, marrying Dominic Costa was not a good choice, especially since that man would surely turn her down.
She and Bianca were polar opposites. They had different body types. Bianca was drop-dead gorgeous, with long, straight hair. She also had a perfectly proportional body; after all, she was a model. Perhaps that was why Dominic Costa wanted Bianca. As for her, she and Bianca were like night and day.
“Do it, Bella. You have to save our family business by marrying Dominic Costa,” her adoptive father demanded this time. Of course, there was no way she could refuse his order.
“But I’m sick, Dad!” she pleaded weakly. She had to tell him about her illness so he would understand the rare disease she suffered from.
“Don't lie and pretend that you're sick, Belladonna!” Veronica went over to her daughter and grabbed her hand. “There's no time left, you have to get dressed right away because the wedding is about to start. Don't let Dominic arrive before you're ready.” She dragged her daughter to a room right away so she could get dressed for the wedding.
“I'm not lying, Mom. I'm really sick!”
“Enough!” her mother shouted, stopping in her tracks.
"Just this once, Bella. I beg you to replace your sister and marry Dominic. If it weren't for our family business being on the brink of bankruptcy, Bianca would never agree to marry him. Everyone knows who he is. You should understand why your sister ran away from this marriage, and I hope you are willing to take her place to save our family business."
“Dad?” Belladonna turned, looking at her father. She seemed to be asking her adoptive father for help. Still, he couldn't do anything and remained silent because now everything depended on Belladonna. Whether she was willing or not to replace Bianca and marry Dominic Costa.
“Belladonna!” her mother shouted again because they didn't have much time left.
She had no choice but to replace her sister and marry Dominic, even though she didn't want to. However, she owed a debt of gratitude to that family, and as a child they had saved, she was obliged to repay the Marino family.
The wedding dress that was supposed to be worn by Bianca now clung to her body, despite the dress not being quite right for her, as it had been specially designed for her sister, who had a perfect figure. However, it didn't look bad on her either.
She shouldn't have done it, as she knew that she was bound to face big problems in the future because of the marriage. But for the sake of repaying the debt, she was powerless and couldn't refuse her father and mother's wishes.
“Madam, Master requests Miss Bella to hurry, as the groom has arrived.” When a servant delivered the news, Belladonna swallowed the lump in her throat hard. If she were honest, she was extremely scared.
*****
Outside, a man stepped inside, looking dashing in his black tuxedo. He wasn't coming to a funeral, but to his own wedding.
Dominic Costa stared intently around him, making anyone who looked at him dare not look back for long. All heads bowed as he walked across the room, and no one dared to speak. His men followed behind him, no less intimidating than Dominic himself.
As soon as he arrived, the atmosphere became tense. Everyone felt an overwhelming pressure, and no one dared to speak because they were all afraid of him.
Dominic was the most influential businessman in the city. He controlled all business, both in high society and the underworld. He was known as the most notorious mafia boss of the Costa family, so no one dared to challenge him.
Phillip Marino was deeply in debt to Dominic. He couldn't pay back the millions of dollars he owed him. Therefore, Dominic offered a marriage proposal, but what he truly desired was Phillip's biological daughter, Bianca Marino, whom he secretly admired. But what happened?
Belladonna had no idea that her encounter with Carlos would drag on, pulling her straight into deep trouble. Unbeknownst to her, that man had been waiting for her on purpose; she was exactly the prey he was targeting.Seeing Carlos make his way toward her, Belladonna put on a sour face as she and Estelle were about to head home. Giving her a wave, a charming smile was plastered on his lips. He flawlessly played the part of the polite, good guy."Who is he? How come he seems to know you?" Estelle asked Belladonna, curiosity written all over her face."He's a VIP guest. I just met him earlier.""A guest you just met?" Estelle stared at Belladonna, then shot a glance over at Carlos. The guy was ridiculously handsome, in her opinion. A sudden thought hit her— he would make the perfect rival for Dominic. "You should get closer to him, Bella," she whispered."What?" Belladonna glared at her best friend in unbelievable shock. Had Estelle completely lost her mind, telling her to do something
During her break, Belladonna counted the money she had collected. The tips she got were quite a lot. She always saved it and never spent it on unnecessary things; even for her meals, she only took leftovers from the restaurant so she wouldn't spend too much money. She wasn't ashamed of it at all. The most important thing for her was to collect as much money as possible and as fast as possible to pay off her debt quickly, even though the money she had saved up hadn't reached a hundred thousand dollars yet.Letting out a heavy sigh, she felt it was utterly impossible to pay off her debt. Estelle looked at Belladonna, then patted her back, making Belladonna turn around and give her a faint smile, though she still seemed completely downhearted."How many times are you going to sigh like that today? Are you and Dominic fighting again?""No, things are pretty much the same as always. Though he’s been acting a bit weird today," Belladonna answered candidly."A bit weird, how so?" Estelle ask
The sound of Belladonna’s ringing phone woke Dominic up for a second, but he ignored it, simply pulling her back into his arms. The ringing stopped briefly, only to start up all over again shortly after. It was starting to get on Dominic's nerves. He grew curious, suddenly wanting to see why her phone was going off non-stop.Carefully, Dominic slipped his arm out from under Belladonna’s resting head. He moved with practiced caution so he wouldn't wake her. The phone chimed again, and Dominic hurried to grab it before it could make another sound. He didn't want Belladonna waking up if it kept ringing. He had to look at it before she opened her eyes.Without wasting a second, Dominic reached for Belladonna’s bag sitting nearby. The phone lit up with another notification, and as Dominic read the reminder on the screen, his eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown. He didn't understand it, and he couldn't help but ask himself: what the hell does this mean?Dominic assumed her phone would
Dominic stood by the window, savoring the glass of wine gripped tightly in his hand. His dark gaze was fixed on the main iron gates, perfectly visible from his bedroom. He refused to admit to himself that he was actually waiting for Belladonna to return. He loathed the thought. Yet, an unfamiliar, gnawing anxiety clawed at his chest, making it impossible for him to just close his eyes and sleep.He cursed himself for having followed her earlier. Had he not followed her, he would have remained blissfully ignorant of what kind of work she did. And perhaps this vile, foreign feeling of pity wouldn't be taking root in his cold heart.The sight of the heavy iron gates finally swinging open led Dominic to walk away. He wouldn't touch her tonight. He would grant her a peaceful rest. She surrendered her body to him almost every single night, but for tonight, he would spare her.The moment Belladonna stepped into the house, she froze, startled to find Dominic already waiting for her. She knew
Belladonna had just arrived at Estelle's house. She wanted to take a shower at her house. Lucky for her, she left right away, so she didn't run into her husband, whom she didn't fully remember yet. She hadn't even seen his face clearly because the room was dimly lit.“You're really something, Bella
Belladonna stormed out of her house, grumbling under her breath. She figured she’d be better off at work, but the screech of a car pulling up beside her brought her to a dead halt. The horn blared as the car door swung open. Dominic was sitting there. A wave of pure loathing washed over her. Domin
One of Dominic's men led Phillips on his way out. The moment he was outside, Phillip rushed to call Belladonna, asking her to come home right away. Having not seen or spoken to her father in ages, Belladonna’s memory of him had faded, and she didn't have a clue who he was."Who is this?" she asked,
Thanks to the reminders that always popped up on her phone, Belladonna made it to Estelle’s place without getting lost. She was dying to know what was really going on between her and Dominic. So curious why Dominic was acting so cold and rude to her. The more she thought about it, the more she got












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