All Chapters of HIS BUTTERFLY (BETWEEN TWO DONS): Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON MY ENEMIES CAUSE I WON’T”DANTE.We're walking to the car now. Nico's driving—my hand is useless, blood soaking through the towel again. I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes.Seven years. Seven years I've been searching for her. And now that I've found her, now that I know she's real and alive and close enough to touch, I'm supposed to just walk away because she's married to my cousin?No.Not happening.I don't care if it takes weeks or months. I don't care if I have to dismantle every wall she's built. I don't care if she fights me every step of the way.She's mine. Has always been mine. And I'm going to prove it to her.Even if it destroys me in the process."I'll have Luca on a plane tonight." Nico's voice breaks through my thoughts. "He can be here by tomorrow afternoon.""Take the private jet." I open my eyes, looking at him. "Both of you. You fly to Colombia on it, Luca flies back on it. I don't want to miss a second. The longer those Ru

"DON’T BE TOO SWEET OR THEY WOULD EAT YOU”DANTE.Marco's face pales slightly but he holds my gaze. "I didn't know. I had no idea she was your Sofia until you showed up. She never told me your name. Just that she was with a guy that abadoned her.""I didn't abandon her.""She doesn't know that." Marco's voice softens just slightly. "From her perspective, you left and never came back. Can you blame her for moving on?"I can't. That's the hell of it. I can't blame her for anything she did to survive. But it doesn't change what I'm going to do."Your man stays here, but" Marco says finally. "He doesn't wander the house at night. He doesn't intimidate my staff. And he doesn't interact with Sofia or Isabella unless absolutely necessary.""Agreed. On one condition.""What?""You give me space to talk to Sofia. To fix things with her. You don't interfere."Marco's laugh is bitter. "You want me to help you steal my wife?""She's not really your wife though, is she?" I watch his expression car

“TALENT: OVERTHINKING”SOFIA.I've been sneaking out of my room before dawn for three days now.It's pathetic, really. A grown woman tiptoeing through her own house like a thief, just to avoid being caught coming out of a bedroom that isn't her husband's. But with Dante staying here, with his sharp eyes that miss nothing, I can't risk him seeing me emerge from my room while Marco comes out of his. Can't risk him figuring out that we don't actually share a bed. That we never have.So every morning, around five, I slip out of my room and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I make coffee. Sit at the counter. Sometimes I just put my head down and take little naps, my arms folded under my cheek, too exhausted to do anything else.I listen for sounds of movement upstairs. Wait until I hear Dante leave—for a run, or a meeting, or whatever it is he does in the early mornings. Only then do I feel safe enough to go back upstairs and actually get ready for the day.It's exhausting. I'm exhaus

“I THINK, I THINK TOO MUCH”SOFIA."Wait." I stop walking, nearly dropping the pack of markers I'm holding. "He killed his parents?"Luca looks at me, surprised. "You didn't know? I figured he told you—oh, right. You two haven't really talked, huh?" He leans against the cart. "Yeah, he killed them. But don't feel pity for them. They were the worst. The absolute worst."My mouth is dry. My heart is pounding. "What did they do?""Made him go through hell, basically. All in the name of grooming him to be the next Pakhan. They were brutal about it." Luca's jaw tightens. "They drugged him from the time he was a teenager. Kept him controlled. And when he started getting too independent, when he fell for you actually, they decided to get rid of him. Kidnapped him from this place, shipped him to Colombia, and left him to die."The world tilts slightly. I grip the cart handle to steady myself."Trust me," Luca continues, "the worst thing that could ever happen to a young person is getting dump

“HE IS NOT PERFECT BUT HE IS ALL I WANT, ALL I CRAVE, ALL I IMAGINE.”SOFIA.My eyes snap open. My heart stops.How did he know? I told him I was staying in Marco's room. I've been so careful. How did he figure out which room is actually mine?"You still won't talk to me?" His voice is low, intimate. Like he's whispering against my skin instead of through a door.I don't answer. Can't answer. My throat has closed up. My whole body is frozen."You know you can't hide and pretend forever, farfalla."The nickname. God, the nickname. It used to make me feel precious, cherished. Now it just makes me ache."I know you're listening to me." There's certainty in his voice. He knows I'm here. Knows I'm awake. Knows I can hear every word. "I can feel you on the other side of this wall."I press my hand to my mouth, holding back the sob that wants to escape."I miss you." His voice drops lower. More raw. "I miss you so much it's killing me. Do you know what it's like? To finally find you after se