All Chapters of HIS BUTTERFLY (BETWEEN TWO DONS): Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

84 Chapters

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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

CHAPTER TWELEVE

SWEET LIES, SWEET LIES, SWEET LIES…SOFIAI'm the one who was left pregnant and alone.I'm the one who had to marry a man I didn't love to save my reputation.I'm the one who's been living in this empty marriage for seven years, raising a daughter who asks about her papa and doesn't understand why he's always so distant.I'm the one who's been suffering.Not him.He's been fine. More than fine.The car turns onto our street and I wipe at my face frantically, trying to compose myself. The driver can't see me like this. No one can see me like this. I need to pull it together before I get home.But the tears won't stop.I can't make it stop. I can't shove it back down. I can't pretend I'm fine when I'm so far from fine I can't even see fine from here.We pull into the driveway and the driver opens my door. I keep my head down, mumbling a thank you, and practically run to the front door. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely get the key in the lock.Finally, finally, I'm inside.The

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“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.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“IF I WAS MEANT TO BE CONTROLLED, THEN I WOULD HAVE BEEN BORN WITH A REMOTE.” SOFIA."It's not Marco."His voice.Dante's voice.Coming through my bedroom door like he has any right to be standing there. Like he has any right to exist in my space, in my life, in my world.I should tell him to go away. I should tell him I don't want to talk to him, don't want to see him, don't want anything to do with him.But my feet won't move. My mouth won't form the words."Sofia." His palm presses against the door and somehow I can feel it, like the wood between us doesn't exist. "It's me. We need to talk."We need to talk.Like it's that simple. Like he can just show up after seven years and demand my time and I'll give it to him.The anger burns through the shock and grief. Hot and righteous and the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.I walk to the door on shaky legs. Unlock it. Open it.And there he is.Up close now. Not across a crowded room. Right in front of me. Close enoug

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“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

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“EVERYONE BECOMES A SAINT WHEN IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT OTHERS SIN.”SOFIA.I must have fallen asleep.One minute I'm sitting on the floor of Marco's bedroom, my back against the door, tears drying on my face. The next, I'm jolting awake to the sound of the door being pushed open behind me.I scramble forward as the door moves, disoriented and confused. Where am I? What time is it?The light flicks on, blinding me.And then I see the gun.Marco is standing in the doorway, his weapon drawn and pointed directly at me, his finger on the trigger. His expression is cold, alert, ready to fire."Fuck, Sofia!" He lowers the gun immediately, his face going from dangerous to shocked. "What are you doing? I could have killed you!"My heart is hammering so hard I think it might burst through my chest. I'm still on the floor, blinking up at him, my mind trying to catch up with what just happened.He almost shot me.Marco almost shot me."I-I'm s-sorry." The words come out stuttered, broken. I'm sha

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“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

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“YOU SAVE EVERYONE, WHO WOULD SAVE YOU?” SOFIA.I bury my face in my hands. This is a nightmare. An impossible, inescapable nightmare."You were the one missing her so badly anyway," Marco says, his tone softening just slightly. "So be happy. You get your daughter back. You get to hold her and see her and be with her. Just... be careful. Be smart. And for God's sake, don't let Dante get close to her.""How am I supposed to do that? He's living here.""I'll keep him busy. I'll make sure he has meetings, obligations, things that take him out of the house. And when he is here, you make sure Isabella stays in her room or with you. Don't let them be alone together. Don't let him have a chance to bond with her or start asking questions about her."It sounds impossible. It sounds like a recipe for disaster.But what choice do I have?"Go back to your room now." Marco walks to the door, opening it. His voice is strict, commanding. "Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll figure out the details

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“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

CHAPTER TWENTY

“DON’T RUN, YOU WILL ONLY DIE TIRED.”DANTE.He pulls out his phone, shows me a series of messages. "The Bratva made their move. Hit three of our shipments in the last forty-eight hours. Killed fifteen of our guys. Took one of our warehouses—the one with the European shipment."My blood, which was already running cold, turns to ice. "How much did they get?""Fifty million in weapons. Plus the advance payment from the European buyers." Nico's jaw is tight. "The buyers are pissed. They're threatening to take their business elsewhere if we don't deliver or refund within the week.""Fuck." I press the towel harder against my bleeding hand. "How did the Russians know which warehouse? Which shipments?""That's the question, isn't it?" Nico's eyes are hard. "Someone talked. Someone in our organization gave them intel. Otherwise, there's no way they could've coordinated hits that precise."A mole. We have a mole.The implications are staggering. If someone in our organization is working with

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