They only remembered what they wanted to remember. They remembered that I stood too close to Dante, close enough to start rumors, close enough to be labeled desperate and delusional.

They decided I was the shameless one who harassed Dante and foolishly dreamed of becoming his Donna. From the very beginning, Dante had been the one who pursued me.

Every invitation, every late‑night phone call, and every step forward in our relationship came from him. He valued his privacy and security, so he never made our relationship public.

That turned him into the innocent victim of my so‑called harassment.

He was the youngest Don in the northern territory, brilliant, ruthless, and magnetic. In their eyes, I was only a woman who trailed half a step behind him at social events. I was an out‑of‑place accessory.

Still, that did not give them the right to tear me apart with their words.

I turned to face them with a blank expression.

“If your tongue is good for anything besides drinking,” I said quietly, “feel free to cut it out.”

The hall fell silent for half a second. Then someone slammed a fist against the marble bar behind them.

“Tessa, who the hell do you think you are?” He jabbed a finger at me, and his face turned red with alcohol.

“If you had anything going for you, you would not have chased Dante for seven years without getting a damn thing out of it. You know what people say about you behind your back?

“A nobody chasing after royalty.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

My cheeks burned. My eyes stung. I bit down hard and refused to let the tears fall.

I turned toward my husband. He still stood beside Viviana, and his gaze met mine for a split second before sliding away.

In that moment, the ring on my finger felt impossibly cold.

I scanned the room and my eyes landed on a man in the corner. He was Lorenzo Moretti, Dante’s closest friend and his Consigliere.

In the entire banquet hall, he was the only one who knew I had been Dante’s Donna for five years.

However, Lorenzo hated me. He believed I had drugged Dante to get that ring on my finger.

He heard every insult thrown at me. When they mocked me, he raised his glass in a distant toast.

“Some people just cannot see themselves clearly. No shame. No dignity.”

Really? I had no dignity?

Today was supposed to be our fifth wedding anniversary.

I preferred quiet. I had not even wanted to go out tonight. Dante had pulled me into his arms and coaxed me gently to be his date.

“Tessa, I know you have always been bothered that I have not gone public with our relationship.

“Tonight’s banquet is the perfect opportunity. I want to announce to everyone that you have been my Donna all along.”

I could not resist his sweet talk, so I agreed. Now, while everyone mocked me for being delusional and having no self‑respect, he said nothing.

I let their vicious words sink in. Then I turned to face the crowd.

“Who told you I do not have anything going for me?”

The atmosphere in the hall shifted at once. Whispers exploded around me.

“What did she just say?”

“Are they actually together?”

I stared at Dante. He froze the moment the words left my mouth.

Dante’s gaze landed on me, cold and filled with warning. It was the same look he gave to Capos who overstepped their bounds.

Then my phone buzzed twice. I glanced down.

Dante: [Do not mention the marriage.]

Dante: [Now is not the right time.]

I almost laughed. Not the right time. When would the right time be? After he and Viviana rewrote their love story? After everyone raised their glasses to celebrate their long‑awaited reunion? Or after I lost the title of Donna entirely?

I lifted my head slowly, and my long hair fell to my sides like armor. “Dante, were you not planning to say something at the banquet?”

The hall went silent.

Dante set down his glass. The gesture looked calm and controlled, and his body stayed rigid with tension.

Every eye turned to him. When he answered, he did not look at me.

“Yes, Tessa and I were together once.” He paused.

“That was in the past. I am single now.”

The words hit me like a bullet I had not seen coming.

My nails dug into my palms as I stared at him. This was the man who had knelt before me five years ago with a ring box in his hand and made vows that sounded eternal.

Just the night before the coalition banquet, he had cradled my face in his hands and told me I was the only thing keeping him human.

Viviana whipped around to face him, and her eyes lit up.

“Really?” she breathed. “You are single?”

Before he could answer, the entire banquet hall erupted. Laughter and cheers filled the air.

“Oh my God, this is perfect!”

“Seven years late, and worth every second of waiting. Fate always finds its way.”

“Someone pinch me. This is better than any movie!”

In the middle of the chaos, Lorenzo passed by me. He let out a quiet sigh, and his voice was so low that only I heard it.

“Pathetic.”

That single word shattered what little pride I had left.

I sank back into my chair. My legs could no longer hold me up.

The whispers around me grew sharper.

“So she is just an ex. I thought she was about to announce she is his wife or something.”

“Please. Look at her, then look at Don Dante. She was never in his league.”

“Imagine getting dumped and still putting on a show. Did she really think dating a Don meant she would become his Donna?”

“She was only a toy to pass the time.”

I stared down at my left hand. The diamond on my wedding ring caught the light from the chandelier above.

Pathetic. I was still wearing it.

Viviana noticed my reddened eyes and walked over with two glasses of champagne in hand.

“What is wrong, Tessa? Are you crying?”

She held out one of the glasses toward me.

“I know breaking up with a man like Dante must be hard. You have to look on the bright side. Dante just admitted publicly that you two had something. That is more than most people ever get.”

She tilted her head slightly. “I suppose being with you helped Dante figure out what he really wanted. I should thank you for that.

“Here, let me toast you.”

She drank smugly and finished her glass in one go.

I did not move. I said nothing.

Viviana did not push. She smiled, pulled the glass back, and turned to clink glasses with the friends congratulating her.

When Dante made his rounds and passed by me, he stopped. “Tessa. Behave. Do not embarrass Viviana.”

I looked him straight in the eye. He was the first to look away. Then he straightened and walked toward Viviana.

The crowd laughed and pushed the two of them together.

“Come on, drink. Make up for the toast you should have had seven years ago!”

“If we are making things up, what about that key card from seven years ago?”

“They are both single anyway. They might as well make up for everything!”

The jokes grew more vulgar with each passing minute. Every burst of laughter stripped away another layer of decency from the room.

Someone suggested sending for sex toys. Another volunteered to be the timekeeper.

Laughter echoed through the hall.

I closed my eyes and wished I could sink into the ground and disappear.

My phone buzzed again. I looked down at the screen.

Dante: [I am only tying up some loose ends.]

Dante: [You are still my wife.]

Dante: [We are only talking. It does not mean anything.]

Dante: [Our marriage is not shaken by this.]

I stared at the screen until the words blurred. Even as he sent that message, Dante and Viviana whispered close together, and her hand rested on his chest.

He could not acknowledge me as his wife in public, yet he expected me to believe this nonsense.

I did not reply. I only drank, glass after glass.

The bourbon burned like fire, and at least it numbed the pain in my chest.

I drank until nausea overtook me, then stumbled into the restroom. I barely made it in time to empty my stomach into the sink.

No one followed. No one checked on me.

When I returned to the banquet hall, the doors were half open and the music had changed to something hot and sleazy.

I stepped inside and found a crowd gathered in a circle in the middle of the hall.

Dante stood in the center, one hand on Viviana’s shoulder. One strap of her dress had slipped off, and it exposed her pale shoulder and delicate collarbone.

“Oh, stop it,” she protested in a weak voice, although her face held a coy smile that begged for more teasing.

The crowd around them chanted with excitement.

“Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!”

My mind went blank. Then someone noticed me at the door.

“Hey, Tessa is back.”

Dante dropped his hand from Viviana’s shoulder and stepped back at once, putting distance between them.

If I had arrived five seconds earlier, he might have fooled me. His face still held the smudge of her lipstick. Her neck still showed the flush from his fingers.

He took a step toward me.

“We were only playing a drinking game,” he said quickly. “They egged us on. It was a penalty for losing.”

“A drinking game?” I repeated softly. “A penalty?”

I let out a soft laugh. “Since you all love drinking so much.”

I grabbed the nearest bottle of champagne and shook it hard.

Dante’s eyes widened. “Tessa, do not—”

I pressed my thumb against the cork and popped it open with a loud crack. Champagne exploded like a fountain and sprayed everyone in the hall.

Screams erupted at once.

“Tessa. Are you insane?”

“My watch. I just got it yesterday.”

“My hair. My makeup.”

Some cursed. Others tried to grab the bottle from my hand, and I dodged them all.

When I finished, everyone stood drenched and stared at me in disbelief.

Viviana stood in the center of the crowd, soaked and shivering.

“Dante,” she shrieked. “Do something. What is wrong with her?”

Dante’s expression changed at once. The warmth, the confusion, and the tipsy softness vanished.

“Are you out of your mind?” he snapped.

“Yes,” I said. “I am.”

I went insane the night I agreed to marry him.

A woman nearby grabbed my wrist and gasped.

“Wait, look. She is wearing a wedding ring.”

The murmurs picked up around me.

“She has some nerve. She is married and still throwing tantrums over her ex.”

“She is only an ex‑girlfriend acting like Dante belongs to her.”

“Someone go get her husband. Let him see how obsessed his wife is with her ex.”

Someone moved to shove me, ready to teach me a lesson. Dante stepped between us.

“Enough. Have we not embarrassed ourselves enough tonight? Do not let the whole city think the mafia is full of lunatics.”

He did not look at me. He took off his jacket and draped it over Viviana’s shoulders. Then he took her hand and led her toward the door.

“The Fumagalli family has a luxury boutique nearby. Whatever you want, it is on me.”

The crowd cheered. “The Don is too generous!”

The hall emptied like a receding tide and left only overturned chairs, spilled wine, and me standing in the wreckage.

After everyone left, the doors opened again. A driver in a black uniform stood in the doorway and bowed slightly.

“Donna, the Don sent me to take you home.”

I walked past him without a word. “No need.”

That place did not deserve to be called home anymore.

I hailed a taxi in the cold night air. When the driver asked for an address, I gave him the location of that luxury boutique.

I already knew what I would find there. I was right.