All Chapters of The Don’s Fake Poverty: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Back in my cheap apartment, I yanked the fridge open.The $5.90 strawberry cake sat on the top shelf. The cheap frosting was melting.I stood in line for twenty minutes after my shift to get it. I stared at it for three seconds. Yesterday, I would never dare to waste it.Today, I threw the whole box into the trash can.Three years. Three whole years.I dug through discount bins for bruised veggies. I begged the butcher for cheap offcuts. All so Killian could eat a little better.He came home every day in second-hand coveralls, reeking of motor oil. He'd sigh and tell me his boss cut his pay again.I would twist my $50 tarnished wedding ring, kiss his cheek, and say, "You worked so hard today, honey."Out of pure love for him, I worked three grueling part-time jobs. Even in tonight's blizzard, I rode my bike through the freezing wind to deliver food.I just wanted to save enough for a tiny Brooklyn condo.And him?He even let another woman judge me like trash right outside a luxury hote

I jerked my face away from her touch.Chloe chuckled. She wasn't angry. She leaned back against her sports car, looking me up and down. Her eyes dragged from my cheap beanie to my soaked sneakers."No wonder Kil says you're boring. You look like absolute trash."I clenched my frozen fists."Why do you call him yours?" The voice that came out of my throat was hoarse, raw. It didn't sound like me.Chloe froze for a second. Then, she threw her head back and laughed.She laughed so hard her fur coat slipped off her shoulder, exposing the dark bruises on her collarbone."Why?" She wiped a tear of pure amusement from her eye. "Oh, honey. You tell me. Why do you think he's yours?"She took a drag from a slim cigarette. "He is Killian Moretti. The Don of the Moretti family. One of the Five Families of New York."My ears started ringing."Three years ago, a rival family sent six hitmen after him. His real fiancée died in a car bomb." Chloe blew a smoke ring right into my face. "He needed a cove

Aria’s POVWhen the Greyhound bus dropped me off in LA, I had thirty bucks to my name.I had no time to cry. No energy to look back at that New York blizzard.I had to survive.I set up a stall at Venice Beach. I used cheap copper wire and broken glass bought by the pound at the flea market.During those three years in the crappy apartment, to save Killian money, I turned cheap scrap into my own jewelry.I knew exactly how to make trash shine. Just like how I tried to make that cheap marriage shine.My stall blew up.The raw life and pure struggle in my designs caught the eye of a white-haired man in sunglasses.Mr. Arthur. The most mysterious, reclusive jewelry tycoon on the West Coast.He stood at my stall and studied my work for ten whole minutes.Then, he handed me a gold-foiled business card. "Your work has shattered bones in it. An unbreakable soul. Come work for me."I took the card. And I erased my past for good.Three years later.Manhattan Main Exhibition Hall, New York.I st

Aria’s POVAfter saying that, I turned around without looking back."Stop her!"Killian's heart-wrenching roar echoed behind me.His voice was full of completely unhinged madness and obsession.The sharp, synchronized clicks of guns being cocked blasted through the wide hallway.A dozen armed guards in black suits poured out of the shadows, blocking my way completely.This was him. The mafia Don who ruled the New York underworld.If he couldn't have it, he'd take it by force.I stopped and slowly turned around.Killian had stumbled out of that moldy fake apartment.His eyes were blood-red. He glared at me like a rabid beast."Aria, I can't let you go." He panted, his voice hoarse and desperate. "It's too dangerous outside. You're only safe with me! I'll turn this entire estate into your personal castle. I'll give you my life!""Give me your life?" I stared at him and laughed coldly.I reached up and, with extreme, slow arrogance, tucked a curl behind my ear."Killian, do you think I'm

Aria’s POVI stared coldly at the man sobbing like a madman at my feet.His tears mixed with his blood, staining my white couture gown.But I just took a disgusted step back. I yanked my dress out of his bloody grip."Aria..." Killian's hands froze in the air. He stared at the ice in my eyes in disbelief."Don't touch me with your bloody, lying hands." I looked down at him, my voice flat."For three years, you made me look like a clown, pinching every penny for you in that crappy apartment. While you stayed in luxury hotels, trampling my love and pride under your shoes.""You kept saying you were protecting me. But you were the one who almost killed me in that blizzard."Killian twitched violently, shaking his head in despair. "No... I didn't know it was fake... Aria, give me a chance to fix it...""Fix it?" I sneered, cutting him off ruthlessly."You owed her brother your life. You used three years of mine to pay it off."I stared right into his severely bloodshot eyes, fueled by pure