Winning The Week Novels & Stories

In the tenth year of being Don Vitelli’s sugar baby, the most reckless man alive was ready to change his ways for a good girl. On my twenty‑eighth birthday, he told me it would be our last time together and prepared an entire box of protection. I opened one of the wrappers and asked casually who that good girl was. Caino Vitelli leaned against the headboard and released a slow ring of smoke. “Your sister. I don’t even know how I fell for her. “That little fool can barely breathe after we kiss. She’s as pure as they come.” His tone sounded like a complaint, yet his eyes held a smile. The wrapper slipped from my hand. I stared at him, unable to move. Why her, of all people?

In order to help my family take over the Vitales' casino that's based in North Melcina, I conceal my identity as the sole daughter of Don Leonardo Ricci and begin working as a dealer in Las Vogis. During my undercover mission, I get close to Mattia Vitale, the heir of the Vitales, on purpose. At the same time, I secretly get my hands on the Vitales' weak points. Not only does Mattia not realize my intentions, but he also showers me with love and affection. He doesn't hesitate to gift me jewelry worth millions of dollars. Sometimes, he surprises me with fireworks worth tens of millions of dollars. In fact, he once burns a contract worth a hundred million dollars just to light my cigarette. As I stand under the sky filled with fireworks in Las Vogis, I hear my heart pounding wildly in my chest. Hence, I reject my dad's decision to devour the Vitale family. I thought I finally found true love. But lately, Mattia hasn't been coming home that much now. He also grows colder toward me. In fact, he even announces to everyone else that I'm just his personal assistant at his family gathering. His excuse for hiding our relationship is that he's worried his family elders might target me. But what he doesn't know is that when he almost lost his net worth at the gambling table, I was the one who secretly swapped the cards, allowing him to make a victorious comeback. I plan on telling Mattia the truth on his birthday, and I've already drafted a business deal between my family and his as a surprise for him. But I end up witnessing Mattia being entangled with another woman from my position outside his office. That woman is Ginevra Bellini, the heiress of the Bellini family, a nouveau riche family that has earned their gold from real estate in North Melcina. The Bellinis are as wealthy and powerful as the Vitales, so to the Vitales, Ginevra is the most perfect and suitable marriage partner to Mattia. So, it turns out that Mattia has already labelled his love accordingly. I'm just the bargaining chip that he has chosen to discard after weighing the pros and cons. With a sneer on my face, I toss the contract into the shredder. Then, I call my dad's number. "Do it, Dad. Let's devour the Vitales."

Everyone said my good looks were what saved me from my family's downfall. It was how I managed to become a Donna. I was the only one who knew why he had to compromise to marry me. Xavier Whitmore, the tall and handsome Don, was unable to have physical relationships with a woman. When I shyly took off the gown on our wedding night, he sat in his chair and lit a cigarette before remarking in an icy voice, "I'm allergic to women. That said, you have my word that you will be the only woman in my life." He kept his promise. Though he never so much as touched me in the five years of our marriage, he provided me with a life of luxury and wealth. Although it was merely a title, being his only woman brought me happiness. Everything changed on the day my men and I were ambushed by a rival mafia family. We barely made it out alive. When I returned home, I found him locked in a tight embrace with his widowed sister-in-law, Alice Ortega. "Alice, I won't let you remarry. If you do, I'll make sure that man dies a thousand deaths." I scoffed. It wasn't so much that he couldn't handle being physical with a woman. It was simply that he could not be physical with anyone but her. In that case, she could have the pleasure of being the Donna.

Alicia’s wedding once made headlines across all of New Yorke. The man who put the ring on her finger was Matteo Vitale, the youngest Don of the Vitale family. She was not a socialite heiress. She was a lawyer who had won countless cases for powerful families. She was also five years older than her husband. When Matteo was thirty and at the peak of his career, Alicia was already thirty-five. Back then, Matteo told her that age would never be a problem between them. As long as she wanted him, he would never let her go for the rest of his life. But in the fifth year of their marriage, a young woman burst into her office and dropped a divorce agreement on her desk. “I heard you’re the best divorce lawyer on New Yorke’s East Side. There isn’t a divorce case you can’t win, right? “I want to hire you to help my boyfriend get a divorce from his wife. “My boyfriend says his wife is thirty-five now. She smells old. Every time he touches her, he feels sick.” She opened the divorce agreement with practiced ease. She looked first at the names, as she always did. [Husband: Matteo Vitale [Wife: Alicia Leon] Her fingers paused for a brief moment. She was Alicia Leon!

Reborn into a new life, the first thing I did was call off my marking ceremony with Alexander. I even handed the Luna Crown over to my younger sister, Lilith. I deliberately engineered every opportunity for them to be alone, quietly stepping out of their way. I did it because in our past life, we were husband and wife. Yet, when I was old, bedridden, and drawing my final breaths, he never visited me once. Instead, he spent every single day by Lilith's side. Only later did I discover that he had been sleeping with her behind my back. They had even had pups together. On my deathbed, he actually fell to his knees and begged me, with sickening devotion, to dissolve our bond so he could finally fulfill his "true love" with my sister. Now that I’ve been given a second chance, my only wish is to go somewhere he can never reach me.

At a class reunion, my husband, Sebastian Smith, played a "how well do we know each other" game with Hanna Rodgers, the prettiest girl in our class. They answered twenty questions correctly in a row. The room erupted with cheers, and everyone urged them to drink from the same glass. Tears filled my eyes when I saw the two of them blush. Another classmate gave me a side eye. "Why are you upset? He didn't even know you didn't like cilantro. They're a handsome couple and have secretly loved each other for years. They're destined to be together. Let me give you a piece of advice. Stop fawning over him. It's beneath you." I glanced at them and kept quiet. Were they destined to be together? But Sebastian and I had been secretly married for three years. I was going to announce our marriage to the group. But before I could, Sebastian turned around and drank with another woman. The cheers stopped, and Sebastian texted me. "Honey, don't be mad. I'm here for a business deal. It's all just for show. I will make our relationship public when I get the chance later." I smiled. He saw me and smiled too. But I no longer needed him to make anything public. I had had enough of this life of hiding.

Arthur Black is the heir to the Alpha position in the Northland pack. He's cold and decisive, and he intimidates the rest of the pack. All in all, he's a cold-blooded black wolf. But after he and I get together, he formally announces to the entire pack that I, Ella Grant, am his mate. He never speaks with other she-wolves just to make me feel extremely secure. But what he doesn't know is that I've already personally witnessed his betrayal to my love. On the night of the full moon, Arthur embraces a sexy she-wolf while kissing her. He remarks casually, "Ella told me before that she will leave me if she ever finds out that I've cheated on her. I love her, and I can't ever lose her. "That's why you'd better not expose our affair to Ella. Otherwise… well, you know the consequences of doing so." The she-wolf, Lilian Frisk, retorts in displeasure, "Then why did you still seek me out?" Arthur smiles. "I'm just toying around with you, you see. You know that the she-wolf I love is Ella. But I've been staring at her face and sleeping with her for seven whole years. Even a devoted wolf like me needs something new every now and then."

I'm Bella, the Donna of the Vitoriano Famiglia. The thing is, no one thinks I'm worthy of this position. After all, I'm a former slave who has been rescued by Giorgio Vitoriano, the next Don in line, from an underground auction house. In order to repay him for his act of benevolence, I become the sharpest weapon of his arsenal. I pull off every task flawlessly, be it assassination, infiltration, or purging the family of unwelcome moles. I make it my life's mission to block every source of danger aimed at him, even if it means sacrificing myself. On the day Giorgio becomes the new Don, he places a family signet ring onto my palm. "Bella, I have a new mission for you that requires both of us to carry out for the rest of our lives. Will you do me the honor of accepting it?" Of course, I will. But Giorgio ends up bringing his adopted sister, Liliana Vitoriano, home one year into our marriage. I think it's my time to leave now.

I had been married to Alexander for three years. Everyone feared his ruthlessness, but he had always been incredibly gentle with me. But ever since Elena took a bullet for him during a shootout six months ago, everything changed. He always said she got hurt saving him, so I had to be accommodating. At the family’s most prestigious gala, my husband—the Don, Alexander—arrived with his secretary, Elena, on his arm. Pinned to her chest was the ruby brooch that symbolized the position of the Donna of the family. "Elena took a bullet for me. She liked the brooch, so I let her borrow it for a while. Regardless, you are the only donna here. Try to show some class." I didn't argue with him. I just removed my wedding ring and pulled out the divorce papers: "Since she likes it so much, she can have it. Including this seat next to you. I'm giving that up, too." Alexander signed without hesitation, a cold smile on his face. "What kind of manipulative trick are you playing now? You're an orphan, separated from your family, you won't survive three days in Sicily. I'll wait for you to come back begging me." I took out an encrypted satellite phone I hadn't used in three years. Alexander didn't know that I was actually the youngest daughter of the oldest Mafia family in Europe. But my family and Alexander’s had always been enemies. To marry him, I had changed my name and even severed ties with my father and brothers. The call connected. I took a deep breath and whispered, "Papa, I regret it. Send someone to pick me up in two weeks."

When my husband, Alessandro, brought his widowed sister-in-law, Anna, back to our home in this life, I stopped putting up a fight. I decided to step aside and give them my blessing. Heck, I even made all their intimate moments possible. I handed over my promise necklace, wedding ring, and even the token of a Donna’s authority to Anna. In my previous life, Alessandro’s love and attention had gone to Anna even though he and I had been married for three decades. On my birthday, he was away, keeping her company at a doctor’s appointment. When I lay on my deathbed, he was busy watching the fireworks with her. Even our children resented me for taking Anna’s place. “A Don of the Colombo family can’t even be with the woman he loves. You have trapped Papa in this marriage. Mama, can’t you set Papa free?” By the time I opened my eyes, I was back to the year Alessandro moved Anna in. This time, I would walk away without looking back.