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Home / Mafia Short Story / The Don’s Regret After Insisting on Marrying the Fake Heiress / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Don’s Regret After Insisting on Marrying the Fake Heiress: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1

The instant Orlando saw me, his pupils shrank to pinpoints.A heartbeat later, his face smoothed back over.He gave me a polite little nod, the smile at the corner of his mouth both warm and distant, and said lightly:"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Ophelia."Then he took Romina's hand and brushed his thumb over the ring on her finger, his voice seven parts tender, three parts annoyed."Don't say things like that. You're the one I'm marrying. You're my Donna."The comments hit a fever pitch.[sugar overload warning!][incoming! the villainess is about to use the baby to force a wedding!][lmao! the lead loves the heroine, he's not about to coddle some side character!]Once the shock wore off, I pulled myself together.So much for getting Orlando back. That road was a dead end.Fine, Orlando. You were the one forcing my hand.If we couldn't talk feelings, then we would talk money.I gave him a faint smile. "Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Hale."The comments stalled for a second, then boiled

Chapter 2

What I'd said actually got under Orlando's skin.He slammed a hand against the door, about to say something, when footsteps sounded down the hall.I peeked out. It was Romina, carrying a plate of pastries.She saw me and Orlando alone together, and her eyes went red on cue."Sister... do you blame me for taking your engagement away..."Fat tears splashed onto the floor."The marriage between the Hales and the Bennetts was always meant for you, the real daughter...""Sister... if you love Orlando, I, I can step aside..."It made my skin crawl.Did I say a word? Did I try to take anything? She comes out swinging with the innocent act, ready to "give him up" for me.Funny how that generosity vanished the second I asked her to actually pay me.I was about to fire back when my mother heard the commotion and came over.Her face was dark, her brow furrowed, her voice cold and hard as iron."Ophelia, why do you stir up chaos the moment you come back? Romina isn't well, she can't take this kind

Chapter 3

The next morning at breakfast, Romina ground me a cup of coffee by hand and smiled sweetly."Sister, I recommend the Moretino single-origin beans. You'll love them."Oh? If you were so eager to wait on me, I wouldn’t hold back then.I held out my hand and gave her a sweet smile. "Thank you."As Romina passed me the coffee, her foot slipped.Scalding coffee splashed across my thigh. My skin flared an angry red on contact.Romina fluttered her hands, helpless, head bowed, tears falling. "Sister, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..."My mother frowned, scolding. "Ophelia, you can't even take a cup of coffee without dropping it? What if you'd burned Romina?"[zero out of ten for this performance, the secondhand embarrassment is unreal!][the male lead's about to show up, she's working herself up for the big move!]Right on cue, Orlando appeared.Romina threw herself into his arms, sobbing. "I... I'm so clumsy... I burned my sister..."Orlando's eyes filled with concern. He murmured to her f

Chapter 4

Orlando and Romina's engagement party was a lavish affair.At the party, Romina gave a speech thanking the Bennetts for twenty years of love and care.She wept with emotion, like she was accepting an award onstage.The guests nodded their approval. "Adopted, but truly closer than blood."Someone glanced at me and murmured:"Heard that one's the biological daughter? Looks pretty ordinary to me.""Raised by poor folks, after all. No breeding in her."Orlando held Romina close, tenderly wiping away her tears.I thought I'd let it all go.But seeing it play out in front of me, my chest still ached, faint and dull.The voices around me blurred, like I was hearing them through glass.I couldn't watch anymore. I got up to go back to my room.The moment I pushed the door open, I stopped cold.The room had been torn apart, every drawer hanging open.I lunged for the nightstand.The jade bracelet my adoptive mother left me was gone.I rushed back to the ballroom.In the crowd, Romina was showing

Chapter 5

The plane landed, and I made my way to the exit.Damian was standing in the arrivals hall, holding up a huge sign, scanning the crowd anxiously.My name was written on it, with a little heart drawn beside it.For the first time since coming back to the Bennetts, I smiled for real.When Damian spotted me, his face broke into a grin and he waved like mad.He still had no idea how to dress himself.He was swimming in an oversized T-shirt, his blond hair a complete mess.When he reached me, he said excitedly, "You finally agreed to come to San Francisco!""I told you I would." I nodded seriously. "And I brought forty million in capital with me."Damian blinked, then waved it off:"Your deadpan jokes really aren't funny. Where would you get forty million? As long as you're here..."He paused and looked straight into my eyes. "That's enough for me."Something soft in the deepest part of me shifted, just a little.[so sweet! I'm switching ships, I ship the side guy and the villainess now, THE

Chapter 6

It was drizzling in San Francisco that day.I had just gotten back to my building when I saw a familiar figure.He was in a sharply tailored black suit, standing at the entrance, like he'd been waiting a long time.He had no umbrella. The rain soaked his shoulders, and he didn't seem to notice.I stopped walking.He heard my footsteps and turned, and light flared in his eyes.It was Orlando.Less than a week, and he'd worn down a lot.His eyes were sunken deep, his pupils shrinking back as if they feared the light.When he saw me, Orlando froze, and slowly his gaze turned despondent.He opened his mouth several times before he could rasp out my name."O... Ophelia."My hand tightened slowly around the umbrella handle. I frowned and asked:"Here on vacation? Or business?""I came for you!"He said it on reflex, eyes reddening, tears gathering at the corners.The tears seemed to oil his dry throat, and the words came easier after that."I couldn't reach you. I searched for ages before I

Chapter 7

The next day, Orlando went on standing downstairs, playing the loyal knight.Too bad I wasn't his princess.I ignored him.He could stand down there until he turned into a museum exhibit for all I cared.Before long Damian showed up. He looked at Orlando down below and asked, frowning:"Who's that guy?"Damian had left New York five years ago. He didn't know Orlando, and I'd never mentioned him.I thought it over, then made Damian a cup of hot tea."Want to hear a story?"Damian looked at me and nodded, a little tense.I told him everything about me and Orlando.He listened quietly, sipping his tea now and then."There. Story's over. Anything you want to ask?"I asked it lightly, but my eyes were fixed nervously on the tea in the cup.I was a little afraid of the answer I might hear next."Just one question."I lifted my eyes to him.He swallowed, blinking nervously, his words coming out in a stammer:"You... you're not... you're not going back with him, are you?"Then he looked away a

Chapter 8

Late at night, my phone suddenly rang.An unknown number.I hesitated, then picked up."Hello?""Effie?" It was my mother's voice, thick with tears. "Effie, it's Mom..."I was silent for a few seconds. "Mrs. Bennett. Is there something you need? Otherwise I'd like to rest.""Effie, Mom is so sorry... Mom knows everything now... you lost the baby, all alone..."I frowned and asked calmly, "How do you know that?""Orlando told us. He confessed everything. We only just learned the truth..."She was sobbing, struggling to breathe."We wronged you. Please come home, won't you? I'll make it up to you..."I looked at the moon outside the window, then at Damian, fast asleep.I chose to forgive.Not to forgive my mother. To forgive myself.I stopped blaming the girl I used to be for the mistakes she made.I was just a girl back then, standing lost in the fog like anyone else."Mrs. Bennett, I don't need anything made up to me. And I'm not coming back.""Effie...""That's all. I'm hanging up now

Chapter 9

[Orlando's Perspective]Orlando pulled the wedding ring off his finger and slid it across the table to Romina."Romina, the engagement's off."Romina went white, asking in disbelief, "Orlando, do you know what you're saying?""I do." Orlando raised his voice. "The engagement is off.""Have you lost your mind? Ophelia's gone! And she's never coming back!"Romina shot to her feet and screamed, hysterical, "You're calling it off for her?"Orlando dragged a hand down his face, his voice heavy with exhaustion."Romina, you know exactly what you've done.""All that evidence in your hands, you dug it up yourself, didn't you?"Romina's expression flickered.Of course she knew.The engagement she'd "reluctantly" accepted. The coffee she'd "accidentally" spilled. The ring she'd "hidden." The bracelet she'd "broken."Too many. Far too many to count.Romina's eyes darted, and she dug in stubbornly."I have no idea what you're talking about! Orlando, our engagement isn't a game! This is about two g

Chapter 10

Damian had been under a lot of pressure lately.Once the project officially launched, he ran nonstop, like a machine.A startup was a bottomless pit. The forty million I put in burned through fast.The company was performing well, and the user numbers were climbing quickly.But we needed more capital.Damian decided to bring in another round of investment. For it, he dressed himself up with great care."How do I look?" he asked nervously, knotting his tie.I looked him over with a smile.He had on a well-cut suit that showed off his lean, athletic build, broad at the shoulders and narrow at the waist.His blond hair was combed back without a strand out of place, his fair skin glowing like a diamond.It was true. Clean him up a little, and he was better looking than anyone.[is this even the side guy? I almost didn't recognize him!][tech nerd? this is a full-on finance heartthrob!]He turned a circle in front of me. "Well? Give me your honest take, the investors are coming any minute!"

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