I Married the Vampire Don After Leaving My Cheating Fiancé

My fiancé and my best friend are talking about their affair. In a language they think I can't understand. Lorenzo DeLuca is my fiancé. He's also the Don of the DeLuca Family. Him and my best friend, Isabella Romano — those two can't stand losing. Not to anyone, not about anything. In our world, they argue over everything. Which bottle of wine is better for dinner. Who handled the latest family deal better. Even who gets to decide what I eat at the table. Neither of them will back down. Tonight is no different. We're sitting in a private room at the back of the DeLuca Family's private club. Quiet enough that all I hear is silverware, clinking. Lorenzo picks up his wineglass and looks at the dessert the waiter just brought over. Then he switches to French. "Pourquoi tu as commandé ce gâteau ? Alessia fait attention au sucre, tu le sais bien? (Why did you order cake? Alessia's cutting back on sugar. You know that.)" Isabella cuts off a small piece and puts it on my plate. She looks straight at Lorenzo. "C'est un dessert en édition limitée. Ça fait un moment qu'elle en a envie. (This is a limited-time dessert. Alessia's been wanting it for a while.)" Then she gives him a cold look. "T'es beaucoup trop coincé pour être son fiancé. (You're way too uptight to be her fiancé.)" I lower my head and take a bite of cake. I can't help smiling a little. Two idiots. They're both fighting over me, but neither of them actually wants to put me in a bad spot. That's why they never argue in English around me. They switch to French instead. Thing is, I taught myself French months ago. In secret. I understand everything. I just never told them. I thought tonight would be like all the other nights. Until Lorenzo suddenly switches languages. He asks in fluent Spanish, his voice calm. "¿No soy lo bastante bueno para ser su prometido... pero sí para ser tuyo? (Not good enough to be her fiancé... good enough to be yours, though?)" My hand freezes. Lorenzo looks at Isabella and keeps going. "Anoche no sonabas así. En la cama. (You weren't singing that tune last night. In bed.)" "¿Te pones la ropa y de repente eres puro hielo? (Clothes go back on and suddenly you're all ice?)" My fingers slowly tighten. Isabella hears it and doesn't even flinch. Just sits there, calm as ever. She answers him in Spanish too. "Tienes el descaro de decir eso con Alessia aquí sentada. (You've got some nerve saying that with Alessia sitting right here.)" Lorenzo raises an eyebrow. "Qué gracioso. Tuviste bastante descaro para acostarte conmigo en el cuarto justo al lado del suyo. (Funny. You had plenty of nerve sleeping with me in the room right next to hers.)" He pauses. Then he gives a low laugh. "Tranquila. (Relax.)" "Ella solo aprendió francés. No sabe español. (She only learned French. She doesn't know Spanish.)" My heart sinks. So that's it. They've known for a long time that I can understand French. Those fake little arguments. All those childish fights. They were never meant for each other. They were meant for me. Whatever they actually needed to hide from me — that's what they saved for Spanish. Too bad. They made one mistake. I lived in Spain for three years when I was a kid. And all these years, I've never told them I speak Spanish. I force the cake down. The cream suddenly tastes so rich it makes me sick. I'm done pretending I don't know anything. I look up at them. "When did this start?" The room goes completely silent. They both look at me at the same time. Isabella's caught off guard. She forces a smile. "Alessia, what are you talking about?" "What could there possibly be between us?" I look at her. Then I repeat myself in Spanish, word by word. "Vosotros dos. (You two.)" "Juntos. En la cama. Engañándome. (Sleeping together. Cheating on me.)" "¿Cuándo empezó? (When did it start?)" Their faces change at the same time. Isabella blurts out. "You've known Spanish this whole time? You hid it from us?" Lorenzo frowns. "Alessia, you gotta make this awkward for everyone?" Same old sync, these two. One jumps straight to me hiding the Spanish. The other flips it around, says I'm the one being harsh. I lower my head and let out a bitter laugh. Then I pick up my glass and take a drink. The water's cold. Washes the sweet out of my mouth. I put the glass down and look at Lorenzo. "What? Feeling sorry for her?" "So saying it out loud is the ugly part now?" "That just means what you did was ugly to begin with." Then I turn to Isabella. Her face has already gone pale. "I never went out of my way to hide it." "I just never brought it up to show off." "You were the ones who looked down on me and assumed I couldn't understand." "When I couldn't understand French, you spoke French." "Once I learned French, you switched to Spanish." I laugh. Can't help it. "Was that fun?" Isabella's lips move. She's clearly trying to explain herself. I don't give her the chance. "Was it because you didn't want me caught in the middle?" "Or was it just easier? Talk about your dirty little secret, and leave me out of it?" Every word out of my mouth feels like it's ripping my chest open. But I hold it together. "I even thought you two were really fighting over me." "That was part of the dirty little plan too?" Isabella's whole face drops. She closes her eyes for a second, then reaches for me. "Alessia, don't do this. Just calm down." Something inside me snaps. I shove her hand away. "Don't touch me!" "I can't calm down!" "My best friend and my fiancé betrayed me. How the hell am I supposed to calm down?" Isabella stumbles backward. She catches the table edge, hard, right in the side. She doubles over. "Isabella!" Lorenzo's expression changes. He rushes over and catches her. "Are you hurt? Where?" There's real worry in his voice. His hands are already on her, careful, fast. Like he can't get to her quick enough. Like he used to worry about me. Only now, he's worried about Isabella. I stand there and watch them. Suddenly the whole thing feels ridiculous. Doesn't even feel real. When did they become like this? Then Lorenzo turns on me. The slap catches me across the face. My ears ring. For a few seconds, I don't even understand what just happened. Lorenzo slowly pulls his hand back. His face is cold enough to scare me. "Are you calm now?" "Alessia, are you done?" Done? Tears run down my face. Lorenzo used to hate it when I went quiet. Now he's asking if I'm done making a scene. I wipe my face. Smile. No warmth in it at all. "Making a scene?" "Wasn't it you two? Competing over me every day. Pretending to care?" "Just a minute ago, you were arguing over whether I should eat dessert." "And now you can't even be bothered to pretend?" I slowly lower my hand. I can still feel his fingers on my cheek. Burning. Lorenzo looks at me. Something in his face shifts. Without thinking, he reaches toward my face. Just like he has so many times before. I step back and avoid his hand. Then I look straight at him. "Lorenzo." "We're done."

Lorenzo's hand freezes in midair. He stares at me, his face getting darker by the second. "You gonna keep dragging this out?" "Over something this small?" My eyes sting. "You think this is small?" Lorenzo looks at me. Then he suddenly laughs and nods. "Yeah." "I slept with her." "So what?" I don't want to hear it. But those words still burn themselves into my head. Lorenzo seems to have finally dropped the last bit of his act. Somehow, he looks more relaxed now. He sits back down, leans into the chair. "Come on, Alessia. You love this, being stuck between the two of us." "Watching us fight over you." "If you can have that, why can't I have both of you?" "The DeLuca Family doesn't have some rule saying its Don can only love one woman." I can barely believe what I'm hearing. Two women. One man. He actually thinks that as long as the Family allows it, there's nothing wrong with this. Lorenzo keeps going. "What's wrong with that?" "The three of us can stay together." "You get to keep being spoiled by both Families." "Isn't that what you like?" I stare at him. Can't get a single word out. This is really how he's seen me, all these years? He's not done. "Remember that beach party?" "You and Isabella were running around on the sand." "She was way out ahead, didn't even notice you'd passed out behind her." "I punched her right there." "Asked her why she wasn't watching you." "Carried you back to the house myself." "She followed the whole way back." "Once you were settled, I turned around and her whole face was wet." "Split lip too. From where I hit her." My eyes narrow a little. I remember that day. I passed out from low blood sugar. So out of it I never even noticed Isabella got hurt. Lorenzo looks at me. There's something accusing in his eyes. "And you?" "When you woke up, did you say one word for her?" "Feel bad for her? Even ask if she was okay?" "You didn't." He smiles. Nothing warm in it at all. "I put the medicine on her lip myself." "Her lips are so small and soft." "Couldn't help it. I kissed her." "That's when it hit me..." "She's a woman too. No different from you." My chest tightens. Hard to breathe. So three years ago, they already betrayed me. Lorenzo looks at me, and now he's actually defending her. "Isabella's always been the most level-headed one out of the three of us." "You have any idea how much she's put up with because of you?" "She's got feelings too. She's a woman too." "No matter how capable she is, she still needs someone to spoil her." "You ever think about any of that?" Tears fall before I even realize it. I look at him. "So..." "You're gonna be the one who spoils her? Loves her?" He doesn't answer. I nod. "Fine. You've got it——" He doesn't even let me finish. "You don't need to put on the wounded act either." "Now that you know, at least I don't have to keep hiding it." "Don't have to find the right time to tell you anymore." I sit there, quiet. Like I'm hearing a stranger plan out my life. Then he tells me, "Don't worry. I'm not breaking off our engagement." "Isabella won't go for that either. She never wanted to actually hurt you." He pauses, glances at her. "We already talked it over." "The Family wedding's still happening this year, same as planned." "You still marry into the DeLuca Family. You're still my Donna." "But I'm giving Isabella her own wedding too. Overseas." "Private estate in France." "Nobody there knows us. Nobody's gonna say a word about it." "It's just a ceremony. Just something for her." I say nothing. Lorenzo keeps going. "And the kid." He pauses. "I'm only having kids with Isabella." "My mother already signed off on it." "Once the baby's born, the Family registers him under your name." "You raise him." He looks at me like he's doing me a favor. "Alessia." "You get your standing." "You're still the Donna of the DeLuca Family." "That should satisfy you, shouldn't it?" I look at him. Suddenly the whole thing is so funny to me. "Guess I should say thank you?" "Thank you both for planning out the rest of my life without asking me a single thing." Who I marry. Who my husband loves. Who gets to have his kid. Who raises that kid after. My life. My marriage. My future. All decided, top to bottom. The one thing nobody ever asked. What I wanted. Lorenzo frowns. "No need to thank me." "Alessia, grow up a little." His tone softens. He reaches over, ruffles my hair. "Your Family's not powerful." "Nobody's gonna treat you like some princess." "Drop the fantasy." He finally runs out of that same bullshit. I look him in the eye. A long time. Then I say: "Okay." Lorenzo smiles. Satisfaction in his eyes. "There you go. Finally getting it." I smile too. Yeah. Now I get it. Get it completely. Isabella's the other woman. And Lorenzo's more worried about her getting called out for it than anything else. They want me to stay in the Family. Be the nice, clean cover for their mess. Hold the marriage together. Raise the kid for them. Dream on. I lower my head, take out my phone. Text my uncle Matteo, all the way over in Spain. [Matteo. That engagement you mentioned before...] [Still on the table?]

A few days later, Lorenzo has me come out to the DeLuca Family estate for his mother's birthday. I don't want to go. But Lucia DeLuca was always good to me. Whenever I visited the estate, she'd have the kitchen cook whatever I liked. She knew my stomach was weak. The Family doctor always kept meds on hand for me. But now, everything's different. Whatever happens with this engagement, I felt like I owed her that. Face to face. So I pick out a gift and go anyway. As the car pulls into the grounds, I see a couple of Family Soldatos posted at the gate. They recognize the car, wave me straight through. I carry the gift into the main hall. The second I walk in, Lucia's eyes light up. She smiles, comes toward me. "Our future Donna is here." I step back on instinct, force a smile. I'm about to say something. Then she walks right past me. Straight to Isabella, who's just come up behind me. She loops her arm through Isabella's. Warm. Like she used to be with me. "Sweetheart, is it cold out there?" "I had someone bring you a shawl. Put it on." Isabella takes it right away. "Thank you." My smile freezes on my face. I don't say anything. Just step back, quiet. Isabella notices. She says softly, "Ma'am, Alessia's here too." Only then does Lucia seem to remember I exist. She glances at me. Whatever warmth was in her eyes is gone. All that's left is faint disgust. "Why is she here too?" The room goes quiet for a second. DeLuca Family members around us start trading looks. Everyone can see it. Isabella's the one this Family actually wanted here. I stand there, fingers curling slowly. I take a breath. "Since you don't want me here. Gift's delivered. I'll head out." I set it down on a nearby table. Turn to leave. "Stop." Lorenzo grabs my arm. His voice drops into a warning. "It's my mother's birthday." "You really want to embarrass her in front of everyone?" I laugh, cold. "So me standing here, letting her look down on me. That's not embarrassing her?" His brow tightens. "Alessia, what happened to you?" I don't answer. "Enough." Lucia cuts in, flat. She picks up her tea. Obvious contempt in her tone. "What gift's so precious it's worth her dragging herself all the way out here?" "Probably just can't let go, that's all." She looks at me, mocking. "You've been trying to get close to the DeLuca name, haven't you?" "Is that why you're here? For the attention?" I look at her. Suddenly this whole thing is funny to me. Lorenzo's arrogance didn't come from nowhere. This whole family, cut from the same cloth. Lucia sets her cup down, slow. "I don't care how Lorenzo plans to handle things with you and Isabella." "But to me, the only future Donna of this Family is Isabella." "Not for any other reason." "She's carrying the Don's baby." My head snaps toward Isabella. I can't believe it. Isabella looks down on instinct. Her hand rests lightly on her stomach. So that's it. They didn't just sleep together behind my back. They already have a kid coming. Isabella looks up, catches me staring. Her face goes a little pale. Lucia's watching my reaction, taking it all in. She smiles, cold. "Nothing to be jealous over, really." "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself." "All these years, and you never gave this Family an heir." She holds out her hand. "Hand it over." I frown. "What?" She looks at me with disgust. "Still playing dumb?" "You're not the future Donna of this Family anymore." "That ring. Time to give it back." I look down at the ring on my finger. Lucia gave it to me herself. Back then. I didn't want to take it at first. She got upset, told me refusing it meant I didn't see her as real family. Now it's just proof I've been squatting on something that isn't mine. I laugh. I take it off, set it on the table. "Since it's your Family's heirloom..." "Better hold onto it tight." I glance at Lucia. A little bite in my voice. "Next time, maybe don't just slide it onto any woman's hand." "Wouldn't want her getting blamed for stealing it down the line." I turn and walk away. A second later, china shatters behind me. Lucia's thrown her teacup. "What kind of attitude is that?" I don't look back. At the estate gate, Lorenzo catches up. Grabs my arm again. "What the hell were you doing back there?" "You talk to my mother like that, and you still think you're marrying into this Family?" I look at him. Then I say it, one word at a time. "When did I ever say I still wanted to marry you?"