Chapter 3

Dante’s gaze landed on me, cold and filled with warning. It was the same look he gave to Capos who overstepped their bounds.

Then my phone buzzed twice. I glanced down.

Dante: [Do not mention the marriage.]

Dante: [Now is not the right time.]

I almost laughed. Not the right time. When would the right time be? After he and Viviana rewrote their love story? After everyone raised their glasses to celebrate their long‑awaited reunion? Or after I lost the title of Donna entirely?

I lifted my head slowly, and my long hair fell to my sides like armor. “Dante, were you not planning to say something at the banquet?”

The hall went silent.

Dante set down his glass. The gesture looked calm and controlled, and his body stayed rigid with tension.

Every eye turned to him. When he answered, he did not look at me.

“Yes, Tessa and I were together once.” He paused.

“That was in the past. I am single now.”

The words hit me like a bullet I had not seen coming.

My nails dug into my palms as I stared at him. This was the man who had knelt before me five years ago with a ring box in his hand and made vows that sounded eternal.

Just the night before the coalition banquet, he had cradled my face in his hands and told me I was the only thing keeping him human.

Viviana whipped around to face him, and her eyes lit up.

“Really?” she breathed. “You are single?”

Before he could answer, the entire banquet hall erupted. Laughter and cheers filled the air.

“Oh my God, this is perfect!”

“Seven years late, and worth every second of waiting. Fate always finds its way.”

“Someone pinch me. This is better than any movie!”

In the middle of the chaos, Lorenzo passed by me. He let out a quiet sigh, and his voice was so low that only I heard it.

“Pathetic.”

That single word shattered what little pride I had left.

I sank back into my chair. My legs could no longer hold me up.

The whispers around me grew sharper.

“So she is just an ex. I thought she was about to announce she is his wife or something.”

“Please. Look at her, then look at Don Dante. She was never in his league.”

“Imagine getting dumped and still putting on a show. Did she really think dating a Don meant she would become his Donna?”

“She was only a toy to pass the time.”

I stared down at my left hand. The diamond on my wedding ring caught the light from the chandelier above.

Pathetic. I was still wearing it.

Viviana noticed my reddened eyes and walked over with two glasses of champagne in hand.

“What is wrong, Tessa? Are you crying?”

She held out one of the glasses toward me.

“I know breaking up with a man like Dante must be hard. You have to look on the bright side. Dante just admitted publicly that you two had something. That is more than most people ever get.”

She tilted her head slightly. “I suppose being with you helped Dante figure out what he really wanted. I should thank you for that.

“Here, let me toast you.”

She drank smugly and finished her glass in one go.

I did not move. I said nothing.

Viviana did not push. She smiled, pulled the glass back, and turned to clink glasses with the friends congratulating her.

When Dante made his rounds and passed by me, he stopped. “Tessa. Behave. Do not embarrass Viviana.”

I looked him straight in the eye. He was the first to look away. Then he straightened and walked toward Viviana.

The crowd laughed and pushed the two of them together.

“Come on, drink. Make up for the toast you should have had seven years ago!”

“If we are making things up, what about that key card from seven years ago?”

“They are both single anyway. They might as well make up for everything!”