HIS BUTTERFLY (BETWEEN TWO DONS) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

PROMISES ARE THE SWEETEST LIES.SOFIA.I don't know whether to laugh or cry.Both, maybe. Neither.My phone buzzes in my clutch and I pull it out with trembling hands. It's probably my mother, probably sending another video of Isabella. I don't think I can handle that right now. Can't look at my daughter's face and not think about the fact that her father is in this building. But it's not my mother.It's Marco.I'm sending the driver to pick you up. Go home. We'll talk later about what the hell that was.I stare at the message. Read it twice. Three times.He's sending me home.He knows something happened. He knows I can't be here right now. And for once, for maybe the first time in our entire marriage, he's actually being considerate about it.Or maybe he just doesn't want me here making things awkward. Doesn't want people asking questions about why his wife looked like she'd seen a ghost when she met his cousin.Probably that.Another message comes through: The driver is waiting out

“THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO RUIN YOU NOW IS ME”DANTEI need to leave.Now.I'm still standing in the same spot where Sofia was two minutes ago, my hand still tingling from where our fingers touched, and I can't breathe properly. Can't think. Can't focus on anything except the fact that she's real and she's here and she's married to Marco.Marco is talking to the men around us, saying something about territory agreements or shipments or some other bullshit I don't care about. All I can see is the image of Sofia's face, pale and shocked, burned into my vision.I need to talk to her.I need to understand what the hell is happening.I need to know how she ended up married to my cousin."Excuse me," I interrupt Marco mid-sentence. "I need to step out for a moment."Marco turns to me, his expression mildly annoyed. "Now? We're in the middle of—""Now." My voice comes out harsher than I intended. I soften it slightly. "I need to make a call. Business. It can't wait."It's not entirely a lie.

“SHE IS SUNSHINE MIXED WITH A LITTLE HURRICANE.”SOFIA.I'm at Marco's door now. The master bedroom at the end of the hall. I never come in here. Marco is particular about his space. But I need Dante to see this. I need him to understand that I share a life with Marco. A bedroom with Marco.Even if it's a lie.Even if Marco and I have never shared anything more intimate than awkward dinners.I open the door and step inside, my hand on the knob, ready to close it in Dante's face."I have to go to bed now." I force my voice to stay steady. "To our bedroom. Marco's and mine. We have a daughter together. A beautiful little girl. And we love each other very much."The lies taste like ash but I keep going."Marco is a good man. A good husband. A good father. He's everything you could never be. And I'm grateful every day that he chose me. That he gave me a chance at a real life when you threw me away."Dante is just standing there in the hallway, staring at me like I've stabbed him.Good."S

“SOME CHILDREN ARE SIMPLY BORN WITH TRAGEDY IN THEIR BLOOD.” SOFIA."Fuck." Marco sits down on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. "Fuck. This is bad. This is really bad."The tears spill over. I'm crying again, for the hundredth time tonight, and I can't stop. Can't hold it together anymore."I don't know what to do." The words come out as a sob. "He showed up at my door. He wanted to talk. We got into an argument and I came here because I didn't want him to know that we don't share a room. I thought if he saw me go into your bedroom he'd think—""That we're actually married in every sense." Marco finishes for me. He's still holding his head in his hands, thinking. Processing. "Smart. Good instinct.""Marco, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was your cousin. I swear I didn't know. If I had known—""I know." He looks up at me, his expression serious. "I believe you. This is just... complicated. Very complicated.""What do I do?" I wrap my arms around myself. "He wants to talk. He w

“FIND WHAT YOU LOVE AND LET IT KILL YOU”DANTE."I love Marco very much."Sofia's voice echoes in my head, the words cutting deeper each time I replay them."He's my husband. He's been good to me. He has given me everything I need."I take another drink. The bartender is giving me looks—I've been here for two hours, barely moving, just sitting and drinking and trying to make sense of what the hell happened tonight.I found her.After seven years of searching, of carrying her picture like a talisman, of surviving hell just to get back to her—I found her.And she's married to my cousin.And she says she loves him."And you're nothing to me anymore."My hand tightens on the glass."Forget we ever had anything together. Because I have. Marco is my husband. The man I love."The glass is getting warm from my grip. I can feel the pressure building, my knuckles white around it."The man who would never abandon me the way you did."That one hurt the most. Because she's right. I did abandon her