All Chapters of The Don Begged Me Back? Too Late: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Damian realized he'd gripped too hard. He let go fast.The pain hit sharp through my whole wrist. I looked down at the bruise already spreading across my skin, deep purple forming fast.The dirty work of the Coronelli family had always been Damian's specialty: tracking down debtors, clearing out traitors, the kind of work that built strength and paid well. After years of it, he was stronger than almost anyone, the kind of man who could snap a neck barehanded if he had to.I'd asked him once: was it worth it, nearly dying for me over and over?He'd grinned like he had no doubts at all. "Every time.""Besides, these hands I've built up. They can kill. But they'll protect you, too."The hands built to protect me had just become the thing hurting me."...Did that hurt?"Damian looked at me, standing there not saying a word, and his voice went quieter than I expected."If you weren't trying to push past me, I wouldn't have—"He reached out gently, fingers wrapping around my wrist, expressi

"I thought you'd at least have some sympathy for Nina. You both had heart problems. You of all people should understand.""But instead of cutting her any slack, you go after her just because she has feelings for me?"I touched my cheek, already swelling. I looked at him."When exactly did I go after her?"There was almost a laugh in my voice. "I came to finish my discharge paperwork. She grabbed me, told me I was a mistress, had a crowd cursing me out, and somehow this is my fault?"Nina sat in her wheelchair, wiping her eyes. "I never called you a mistress. I would never say something like that."It was the first time in my life I laughed out of pure bitterness.Damian's hand had moved before he'd even thought about it. When he actually looked at my face, the swelling already blooming red, something stalled in him.He hadn't meant to hit me.But then Nina's crying pulled him back. "Damian — do you really think I'm that kind of person?""I know exactly what kind of person you are." Dam

Damian's lips parted. His pupils shook. He forgot entirely about the officers behind him, about Nina watching. He walked straight across the room to me.His knees hit the floor with a heavy sound, the kind that carries weight. He'd never knelt before anyone in his life, not fully. Even in front of the Don, he'd only ever given one knee. He went down on both in front of me.He took my hands in his, eyes red. "Quinn. Baby, you were pregnant? When? How long? I didn't know. I didn't know."He couldn't stop himself from looking at my stomach. I lifted my shirt.A raw, jagged surgical scar cut across my abdomen, left from the emergency procedure when I'd been hemorrhaging. "I didn't know either. The doctor told me after I woke up from the crash."I smiled. "My poor baby. He only left me this scar to remember him by. He must have hated me for not noticing him in time. That must be why he punished me like this.""No — don't say that—"Damian's voice broke. He stared at the scar, and something

By the time all the paperwork was done and a court date was set, a week had passed.I'd replaced my phone and my messaging account. Damian couldn't reach me.In court, I didn't look much different. Damian looked like he'd aged ten years, clearly lost weight, eyes bruised underneath, his suit hanging off him like it belonged to someone else.He kept trying to get a moment with me. I didn't give him one. The judge granted the divorce, and because I'd waived all property claims, I didn't want anything built on blood, it moved fast.Outside the courthouse, Damian caught up to me. "Wait — Quinn!"I kept walking. A car pulled up. Vincent stepped out from the driver's side and slung an arm around my shoulders, smiling directly at Damian."The great Don, and he still can't let his ex-wife walk away? Quinn really did waste the best years of her life on you."Damian's eyes went red immediately. "Who is he. Quinn — who is he—""Who am I?" Vincent looked delighted. "Guess."He bundled me into the