The Third Time My Don Caught Me Cheating, I Became Another Don's Donna

Elena’s POV The third time Don Marco Vitale caught me in bed with another man, I didn’t panic, scramble for my clothes, or try to explain myself like I had before. His consigliere, Chiara Bellini, stood in front of me. “Donna, this is the third time you’ve done something this disgraceful.” “You’re an embarrassment to every woman in Sicily,” she said mockingly. “You’ll be expelled from the Vitale family. As for Luca, your son with the Don, you’ll have nothing to do with him anymore.” Marco looked at me with pure hatred in his eyes. “The first time, you said you didn’t even know the man.” “The second time, you said you had no idea how you ended up at the hotel.” “What’s your excuse this time?” He expected me to cry and beg again, to drop to my knees and plead my innocence. But I said nothing. I simply signed the divorce papers and disappeared from his world. So why, after I gave him exactly what he wanted—giving up my assets as Donna and custody of Luca, and disappearing without a fight— did he lose his mind? ... Chiara pulled out her phone and quickly took a picture of the divorce agreement. “Don, I’ve already sent it to the family lawyer.” “They’ll immediately prepare the divorce filing, the custody transfer for Luca, and...” She paused, her gaze sweeping over me. “After what Donna has done, she has no right to any of the Vitale family’s assets. Everything currently under her name will also be reassessed.” Marco stared at me, his brows drawn tight. It was as if he were waiting for me to do what I’d done before—slam my forehead against the floor until I bled, sobbing that I was innocent and that none of this was true. Instead, I said calmly, “I’ll move my things out as soon as possible. As for visitation with Luca—” “You don’t deserve to be a mother,” he cut in, his voice low. “You’re never seeing him again.” I didn’t look up. I only smiled. “I was just about to say that I don’t want visitation either.” Marco’s expression darkened instantly. “Good,” he forced out through clenched teeth. Still, he couldn’t help looking at me again, as though he couldn’t understand why I had suddenly become so decisive. For the past four years, he and Luca had been my entire world. Even hearing Luca talk too much about “Aunt Chiara” had been enough to upset me for hours. “Bitch.” Marco sneered. “You’d abandon your own flesh and blood for some man you’re screwing behind my back.” “Then what was the point of everything you did to get into my bed and have my child in the first place?” I listened without feeling the slightest urge to defend myself. The first time he caught me “cheating” with a man at a hotel, my mind had gone completely blank. I desperately tried to explain that I had never betrayed him. The Vitale family’s doctors dragged me by the hair into a small room and examined me. The examination proved my innocence. The man had left behind nothing but a view of his back on the hotel’s security footage, so Marco reluctantly believed me. But he still took my son away. I had to make an appointment with Chiara a week in advance just to see Luca once a month. Chiara always followed right behind him. I even had to watch her expression before daring to hug my own son. If I bought Luca toys or clothes, I had to report them to Chiara first. Otherwise, they would never reach him. I was devastated. Not long afterward, I was caught “cheating” a second time. By then, I had already been stripped of all my power and wealth. I had no choice but to find a job in Sicily to support myself. Then, during a business trip, I stumbled into a hotel in a daze. When I woke up, a fat, sleazy man was lying beside me, practically drooling over me. I called the police. Once again, the Vitale family’s doctors subjected me to a rough examination. They told Marco I hadn’t been sexually assaulted. But Marco remained convinced that I simply hadn’t had the chance to “commit the crime.” After that, Marco declared that I had no right to be involved in anything concerning Luca. Whenever something happened at Luca’s school, Marco sent Chiara instead. He ordered me to stay home and “stop embarrassing myself.” When Luca pointed at me and called me a “bad woman,” Marco stood beside him without saying a word. And now, the third time... I was done playing this game. I was giving them exactly what they wanted. So why was he suddenly asking why I didn’t even want my own son anymore?

Elena’s POV Chiara quickly walked over to Marco and lowered her voice. “Don, Donna has already signed away custody.” Then she squeezed out a couple of tears. “Poor Luca. I’ve never seen a mother give up her own child so easily.” “If Donna can cheat repeatedly, I doubt she has much love for her child either. After all, having a child would only get in the way of her affairs...” She shot me a contemptuous look. I laughed. She seemed to have forgotten... Four years ago, this absurd agreement, right down to the exact number of “affairs,” had been drafted by her. Marco’s expression turned cold. “You’d better keep your word. Don’t come crawling back to me on your knees later.” With that, he turned and left. I watched his retreating back and gave a faint smile. I wouldn’t, Marco. This time, I was going home. I wasn’t Sicilian. When my parents learned who Marco really was, they had furiously taken me back to California and opposed our relationship. I knelt outside my father’s study for three days and three nights, begging him to let me leave, sobbing that I couldn’t live without Marco. Finally, on the third day, my defeated father opened the villa gates. I rushed back to Sicily without looking back. But now, I didn’t want to beg anymore. Chiara looked at me with a slight curve to her lips. “Donna, we’ll leave you and your lover alone, then.” The moment the door closed, silence returned to the room. I glanced down at the man still unconscious on the bed. Nausea churned in my stomach. I had woken up before him. I could have left before they arrived to catch me. I was simply tired of this cat-and-mouse game. At last, I put on my coat and walked out without looking back. The next evening, I returned to pack my things. When I opened the master bedroom door, I realized everything I normally used or wore was gone. The maid stammered, refusing to meet my eyes. “Donna, all your belongings have been moved to the storage room... Consigliere Chiara said the master bedroom needed to be cleared out because... there’ll be a new Donna soon.” I smiled. After four years as Donna, I wasn’t even being allowed a dignified exit. I turned and headed for the storage room in the backyard. When I opened the door, boxes were stacked on boxes, bags piled on bags. I crouched down and searched through them one by one. Nothing else mattered. I had to find the ruby-and-pearl necklace my mother had given me. My grandmother had passed it down to my mother, and my mother had passed it down to me. It was the only thing in this house that truly belonged to me. Finally, I found the necklace at the bottom of a box. I clenched it in my hand and let out a long breath. I was gathering a few clothes to take with me when a childish voice came from the doorway. “What are you doing?” I turned. Luca’s small figure blocked the doorway. My sweet son had once been the only comfort in my miserable marriage. He looked almost exactly like Marco, but that haughty, condescending posture was pure Chiara. “Taking my things.” I lowered my head and continued packing. Usually, whenever I saw him, I would ask for a hug even if he pushed me away. This time, I was completely calm. “Those aren’t yours.” When I ignored him, he walked inside. He stepped directly onto the clothes scattered across the floor. “Aunt Chiara said everything in this house belongs to Dad. You’re not allowed to take anything.” My hands paused. “These are my own things.” “The money you spent was Dad’s.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “Dad’s money belongs to the Vitale family. It has nothing to do with a bad woman like you.” Bad woman? I looked up. My four-year-old son stood in front of me, staring at me as if I were a thief. “I’m only here to take what belongs to me.” I tightened my grip around the necklace and stood. “I don’t want anything else.” “No.” He stepped in front of me and spread his arms. “What in here belongs to you? Aunt Chiara said you’re just a whore who lives off my dad! I won’t let you steal from the Vitale family.” His voice rose. “You’re a jerk! You steal things! Aunt Chiara said once you leave, you’re not allowed to come back. If you come back, you’re stealing!” My temples throbbed. “Move.” “No! Put it down!” He lunged at me and grabbed the box in my hand. Suddenly, it tore open. He yanked at the necklace, and the strand snapped. Pearls burst across the floor, rolling in every direction. I froze. My ears rang with my mother’s voice. “Elena, this has been passed down through our family for six generations. Someday, give it to your daughter. If you don’t have a daughter, pass it on to your daughter-in-law...” I had no daughter. I had no daughter-in-law. All I had was this necklace. It had survived in my family for hundreds of years. And now, in my hands, it had been destroyed by my own son.

Elena’s POV Luca stood beside me and muttered under his breath, “You should’ve let go...” My eyes reddened as I stared at him. “I told you. Your grandmother left this to me.” “Do you even know whose fault it is that your grandmother ended up in that nursing facility?” Luca froze, then took a step back. “I don’t know any grandmother. I only know some old woman who keeps wasting Dad’s money and the Vitale family’s assets...” Blood rushed to my head. “Aunt Chiara said she stays in such an expensive room and wastes so much of Dad’s money even though she’ll never get better. She’s nothing but a burden on the Vitale family!” “Say that again.” I roared at him. It was the first time I had ever spoken to him like that. Luca flinched at the sight of me. He bit his lip, then gathered his courage. “That damn old woman, why— Ah!” I shoved him. He stumbled and landed hard on his butt. After a stunned second, he burst into tears. “Dad! Dad!” I stood there, my palm numb. As I watched my son kick his legs and cry on the floor, the words “damn old woman” echoed over and over in my head. A corner of the ruby had already chipped off. I clenched it in my palm, and its sharp edge dug into my skin. The pain cleared my head a little. Marco rushed in. The moment he saw Luca crying on the floor, he bent down and picked him up. “Luca, what happened?” Luca threw himself into his arms, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. “Dad, she pushed me! Make her leave! I want Aunt Chiara...” Marco held him and looked up at me. There was nothing but cold disapproval in his eyes. “Elena, have you lost your mind? You hit a child!” “I didn’t hit him,” I said quietly. “I pushed him.” “What’s the difference?” I looked down at the cracked ruby in my hand and the pearls scattered across the floor. When Luca was born, my mother had dragged herself through her own illness to help me care for him. She made little clothes for him and stayed up night after night looking after him. “There is a difference.” I met Marco’s eyes. “He did something wrong. I was disciplining him.” Marco paused and looked down at the boy in his arms. Luca curled against his chest, his sobs quieter now. “I didn’t do anything wrong... Aunt Chiara said that old woman keeps wasting Dad’s money...” Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you arguing with a child?” He glanced at me. “Chiara handles my personal finances now. She was simply stating the facts from a financial standpoint. Luca overheard her. Stop making such a big deal out of it.” “You know how much she does for this family every day.” His gaze fell on my bleeding palm. Eventually, his voice softened. “I brought Luca here today so the two of you could talk. But about that matter—don’t tell him yet. It might affect him.” I said nothing. I didn’t know what Luca and I even had left to talk about. In the past four years, all the time Luca and Marco had spent talking to me combined wasn’t even half the time either of them spent talking to Chiara. When I was pregnant, someone had slipped medication into my food that could have caused a miscarriage. To make sure Luca was born safely, I endured the pain without any anesthesia and spent twenty days in the hospital. And this was how Luca treated me? I picked up my bag and walked out of the storage room. In the living room, Chiara was crouched in front of Luca, soothing him softly. I walked past them without expression. Behind me, Luca suddenly wailed. “Why is that bad woman ignoring me?” He stomped his foot, furious and hurt. He was used to me coming to comfort him with red eyes after every tantrum. He was used to hearing me say, “Luca, don’t be mad. Mommy’s sorry.” So when I didn’t even look at him, he thought he was the one being mistreated. Marco said nothing. But I could feel his icy stare on my back. Just as I reached for the door, an enraged shout came from behind me. “Stop!”