All Chapters of Dumped at Noon, Settled by Night: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Everyone knew that Giovanni Rossi, the Don of the Rossi family, loved me the most. Before he left for Aelfana on a dangerous arms deal, we promised to get married once he came back.He was supposed to return a week before the wedding. Instead, he returned the night before the ceremony—carrying his stepsister, Rosa Bianchi, in his arms. He had kneeled in front of me and begged for forgiveness.I forgave him, but my wedding day brought an even bigger betrayal.I stood backstage for a while before finally walking back to the main hall.Giovanni saw me and immediately beamed. However, I saw a flicker of worry in his eyes."Where did you disappear to?" he asked, reaching for my waist and leaning in to kiss me.I turned my head to the side.His hand hung in the air for a moment before catching my wrist. "You're still mad about Rosa, aren't you? That night was complicated. I swear it was just that one time."I stared at him silently.The man I once believed in had been replaced by th

Chapter 2

I was in a deep sleep when a loud, relentless knock on the door pulled me out of my dreams.My head throbbed from the noise."Rebecca? Are you awake?" Giovanni asked.I didn't bother to answer. Moments later, the bedroom door swung open. Giovanni walked in. Rosa trailed behind him with a few girls she hung out with.Giovanni frowned. "Rebecca, Rosa insisted on coming to apologize.""Apologize?" I pushed myself up and pressed a palm to my pounding head.Rosa rushed to the bed and grabbed my hand."Becca, I'm so sorry… I know what I did was wrong, but—" she trailed off, clutching her stomach with tears in her eyes. "The baby is innocent. Please… let me keep it."Her words snapped me awake. I turned to Giovanni. "Baby?""I forgot protection… that night," he murmured, his gaze flitting to the side and avoiding mine.A humorless laugh escaped me.That night? It seemed like more than one night to me.Rosa's little entourage immediately chimed in."Oh, what's done is done. Why

Chapter 3

I ended up barely sleeping the next two nights, for Rosa kept me up with her endless demands.First, she insisted that her water be exactly 104 degrees Fahrenheit, then she complained that the pillow was too hard. She even complained that the room was too stuffy.If I ignored her, she'd make an even bigger fuss.Around three in the morning, I finally managed to fall into a decent sleep while she was out of the room. That peace didn't last as the bedroom door crashed open.Giovanni stormed in, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yanked me upright."Rebecca! Was it you?" he screamed, eyes bloodshot. "How could you be so vicious?"I hit the floor hard, still groggy. "What?""Don't play dumb!" He hauled me up by the collar and shook me. "My parents had Rosa taken away! They said that despite the lack of blood ties, they couldn't allow the scandal to continue. They want the baby gone!"He shook me harder. "It had to be you! Who else would have told them? You promised to let her keep i

Chapter 4

Giovanni silently held a glass of water to my lips. "Rebecca, why can't you just behave?"He sighed and frowned at me the way a parent might look at a stubborn child."How long has it been?" I asked in a hoarse voice."Three days," he answered, his voice heavy with exhaustion.I did the math in my head. There was just one more day until Angelo would be here. Relief loosened every last thread of tension in my body, and my vision went black.…When I came to, the hard wooden floor in the servant's room had been replaced by a soft mattress. Giovanni was sitting at the bedside with a glass of water in his hand. He let out a breath of relief when he noticed my eyes open."This was just a lesson," he said gently, holding the glass to my lips. "As long as you don't try to hurt Rosa again, I won't leave you."I let out a bitter smile and tried to push myself up with shaky arms. "I told you I didn't hurt her."I braced myself against the mattress to get up, but the moment my feet hit

Chapter 5

Blood soaked the sheets beneath Rosa. She raised a trembling hand and pointed at me. Her eyes were wide with terror and accusation as she said, "The cake… she poisoned it."Before she could finish, her head lolled to the side, and she went limp.I stared in shock, struggling against Giovanni's tightening grip. "Giovanni, calm down! I have no reason to poison her!""Shut up!" Giovanni roared. "You murdered our child with your own hands!"I felt my patience snap, and the words tore out of me. "Stop calling it our child! That was the cursed fruit of your affair with your stepsister!"He released me and stumbled back. His expression was a tangled mess of shock, disappointment, and unfathomable pain."So that's why you've been trying to hurt Rosa all this time?"I tried to deny his words, but he wouldn't listen. He motioned to two housekeepers, who forced me to kneel. "Believing you was the most foolish thing I ever did. Stay here until Rosa wakes up and forgives you."I sank on

Chapter 6

Giovanni turned to leave the moment he saw that Rosa was the only one in the master bedroom.Startled awake, Rosa rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Gio? What's going on?""Rebecca's gone. The muscle relaxant in her system hasn't worn off yet. If she runs into a rival family…" he trailed off, frowning.Rosa slid out of bed and caught his sleeve. "Isn't that a good thing, Gio? The wedding hasn't happened yet. Now that our parents know about us, why not marry me instead?""Enough!" Giovanni roared. "I never planned to marry anyone else."The color drained from Rosa's face. "Why? Is it because of her family's business alliance?""Who told you that nonsense?" he spat, annoyed. "If this were about business, I could just negotiate a deal, and I wouldn't need to marry Rebecca. I grew up with her. She's the woman I chose. Even if she made mistakes, I never once thought of leaving her."Rosa's voice broke into a desperate pitch. "And what about me? You've always cared for me most. You promised

Chapter 7

Inside the luxury car, Angelo held me in his arms. He wrapped a thick cashmere blanket around my chilled body."Full speed ahead," I heard him say, one arm holding me steady while the other handled his phone."Has the evidence been sent to the Rossi family? Good. Cut off three more of their trade routes," he growled. "Anyone who hurts my wife like this will pay for it."I drifted off to the sound of his voice.…When I woke up again, it felt as if I were floating in warm water. The aches and exhaustion that had weighed me down for days were gone.I opened my eyes to find myself in a bedroom decorated just to my taste.Angelo sat in an armchair by the bed as if he had been watching me for a long while. "You're awake?"Memories of how disheveled I'd been before I passed out flashed through my mind. Then, I glanced down at my clean self and smiled. "Thank you," I said.His eyes brightened up, and he instinctively reached over to touch my forehead. "The fever's gone down."He h

Chapter 8

A week before the wedding, we went to try on my dress.In the bridal boutique's private lounge, Angelo carefully helped me sit down. "Easy there."I couldn't help but laugh. "I barely have a bump. What are you so nervous about?"Ever since we'd learned that I was pregnant with twins, he had been extremely protective.Every evening, he came home with either flowers or another box of chocolates. He had even had non-slip carpets laid over every step in the house."If you keep buying things, we'll run out of space," I teased him yesterday.That morning, the butler informed me that the estate next door now bore the Calavaro crest. Apparently, Angelo had bought the whole place overnight."Ms. Costa, your wedding gown," the designer announced softly as he wheeled in a rack.The gown glittered so brightly under the lights that it hurt to look at it. Intricate patterns were embroidered across layers of sheer tulle."This is… a bit much," I whispered.Then, I caught the hopeful look i

Chapter 9

Giovanni gripped the bloodied knife, his face ashen. "You're not going to hurt her again."Rosa stared down at the blade buried in her abdomen in disbelief. She slowly lifted her gaze back to him, saying, "Gio?"Giovanni's eyes were a storm of madness and resolve. Beneath it was a hollow emptiness that came from his mind snapping.He opened his mouth to speak, then instead yanked the knife free.Rosa crumpled to the floor like a rag doll. Her body convulsed, and her eyes were wide in shock.The boutique went silent.I clasped a hand over my mouth.Angelo wrapped an arm around me at once, pulling me into his chest and shielding me from the bloody scene. "Don't look. It's over.""Rebecca!" Giovanni screamed, still holding the dripping blade. "See? I killed her! I killed the woman who hurt you! Come back to me. We can start over."It was beyond absurd.Angelo stepped forward and kicked him aside. "What a lunatic. Restrain him!"The wail of police sirens and the whine of an appr

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