Max. A
16 Published Stories
Max. A's Books and Stories
Betrayed Bride, Mafia Princess Rises
Mafia At my ten-week ultrasound, I was supposed to be celebrating the future of the Falcone family. I was Isabella Falcone, wife to the most powerful Don in the south.
But when the nurse called my name, the man who stood up beside his pregnant mistress was my husband.
In the sterile silence of that waiting room, he chose her. He later confessed he was being blackmailed by her family—a weakness that was a death sentence in our world. That night, he moved his mistress into our home, into my bedroom, and locked me away like a prisoner in the staff quarters. He wasn't imprisoning his wife; he was guarding an asset. He needed the legitimate heir I carried to save his crumbling empire.
His betrayal was absolute when his own mother and my adoptive parents arrived while he was away. They forced me to sign divorce papers, then told me they were taking me to a clinic. His mother pulled out a gun and pointed not at my head, but at my stomach.
"We're terminating this complication," she said coldly.
As they dragged me from the house, my world went dark. But through the haze, I saw a fleet of black cars blocking the gate. An army of men poured out, led by a face I had only ever seen in a photograph. Days earlier, locked in my room, I made a single phone call to the only man more powerful than my husband: my biological father, the head of the Chicago Outfit. And he had come to collect his daughter. Divorcing the CEO: He Never Wanted Me Until I Left
Modern For three years, Estella Mccarthy was the wife Alden Molina never wanted.
She wore the ring. She attended his family dinners. She smiled beside the Wall Street billionaire whenever their marriage contract required it.
And foolishly, somewhere along the way, she fell in love with him.
Alden never did.
The night they were supposed to have dinner together, Estella waited alone until his assistant finally texted her.
“Mr. Molina will be staying at the Four Seasons tonight.”
Not even a message from her husband himself.
That was the night Estella asked for a divorce.
Alden barely took her seriously.
“If you’re trying to get my attention, there are easier ways to do it.”
Then she rescued a half-starved stray cat and brought it home.
Alden froze her supplementary credit cards.
At a Molina family dinner, his mother looked straight at Estella and declared,
“A marriage that fails to produce an heir is nothing more than a depreciating asset.”
Estella waited for her husband to defend her.
Alden kept cutting his steak.
So she smiled and replied,
“As talented as I am in an operating room, conception still generally requires the husband to show up.”
That shut the table up.
But Alden still didn't understand.
He didn't understand when Estella moved out.
He didn't understand when she left her engagement ring behind.
He didn't understand even after he dragged her into his car for a “family emergency”—then dumped her beside a subway station in freezing rain the second a billion-dollar business crisis became more important.
By then, Estella wasn't heartbroken anymore.
She was done.
Back at the hospital, a curious resident asked why no one had ever met her husband.
Estella took one calm sip of coffee.
“He died.”
The resident nearly dropped her mug.
“What happened?”
“Sudden illness. He was an accountant. Very quiet man.”
In one conversation, Estella Mccarthy turned one of Wall Street’s most powerful CEOs into a dead accountant.
It was the most peace her marriage had given her in three years.
And the Molinas had made one other mistake.
They had spent years treating Estella like a gold digger who should be grateful Alden married her.
They conveniently forgot why the marriage existed in the first place.
The Molina family had come to her.
They needed priority rights to the priceless medical patent Estella inherited from her late parents.
She hadn't married Alden for his money.
His family had married him to her for what she owned.
Now the brilliant surgeon they never respected wants her name back, her freedom back, and every cent the law says belongs to her.
Alden Molina always believed his wife would stay.
Until she left.
And suddenly, the woman he never wanted became the one woman he couldn't let go. Sold To The Ruthless Alpha Heir
Werewolf At thirteen, Delphie was sold to Alpha Everet Scott as a bargaining chip, right after her mother was brutally beaten into a coma to protect her.
To keep her alive with his pack's healing spring, Delphie became Everet's unacknowledged Omega, enduring seven years of relentless bullying and his cold, unpredictable possessiveness.
When her first Heat approached, she planned a desperate escape, only to stumble upon a plot to assassinate Everet.
She fought off the attackers to survive, but when the dust settled, the person clapping in the shadows was her mother.
She wasn't in a coma. She was perfectly healthy.
"Your suffering was a necessary sacrifice."
Her mother revealed that Delphie's seven years of misery, the beatings, the humiliation—even the assassination plot tonight—were all meticulously orchestrated by her.
Delphie was never a daughter to her. She was just a highly trained piece of bait, designed to bind Everet to her so her mother could use his power for her ultimate revenge.
Before Delphie could even process the betrayal, her mother drugged her and threw her straight into the assassins' trap alongside a poisoned, dying Everet.
"When you wake up, you will be the star of the show."
As Delphie sucked the deadly silver toxin from Everet's chest to keep him alive, feeling the Mate bond seal between them, her tears finally dried up.
If she was destined to be a pawn in her mother's deadly game, she would become the player who flips the board. One Night With The Cold CEO
Romance Faye spent three months of secret commissions to buy a limited-edition watch for her boyfriend's anniversary.
But when she keyed into his apartment, she found the red-soled heels she had just gifted her best friend, Penelope, kicked carelessly on the floor.
Through the crack in the bedroom door, she saw them tangled in the sheets, with her boyfriend murmuring that Faye had no idea what she was missing.
Devastated, Faye got blackout drunk and accidentally woke up in the bed of Julian Carlisle—Penelope's ruthless, billionaire stepbrother, who coldly offered her a check to buy her silence.
As if that wasn't humiliating enough, when Faye returned home, she found her own mother and brother comforting a fake-crying Penelope.
Her mother even took the diamond necklace meant for Faye's upcoming 21st birthday and fastened it around Penelope's neck to make up for Faye causing a scene.
"Faye Hayes, you will apologize to Penelope right now, or you won't get another dime from this family."
Faye stared at her mother, the betrayal freezing her blood. She was the one who had been cheated on, yet her own flesh and blood were treating her like a liability.
Why was she always the outcast, stripped of everything while her abusers played the victim?
The last frayed thread of hope for her family's love died in that instant.
Instead of apologizing, Faye walked right up to Penelope, grabbed the diamond necklace, and violently ripped it from her throat.
It was time to stop begging for affection and start burning it all down. His Regret Means Nothing When You're the White Wolf
Werewolf I spent years poring over ancient medical texts, working tirelessly as an Omega healer just to prove myself worthy of my fated mate, Alpha Jaxon.
But he treated me like dirt, preferring the company of my best friend, Beta Serena.
They even made a cruel bet in the dining hall, using my sacred mate bond as a jealous joke to win a rare dessert.
The ultimate betrayal came during a critical emergency surgery.
Serena's hand trembled, dropping a silver scalpel that sliced an Elder's vein and nearly killed him.
Instead of holding her accountable, Jaxon used his Alpha Command to force me to my knees.
"How could you make such a rookie mistake? You almost killed the Elder, Chloe!"
He wasn't blind. He knew exactly what happened.
But he deliberately blamed me to protect his perfect Beta's reputation, sacrificing my hard-earned career and letting the council publicly humiliate me.
I had dedicated my entire life to soothing the beast inside him, and Serena was the loyal girl who used to defend me from bullies.
I couldn't understand how the two people I trusted most could sacrifice me without a second thought.
But as I looked at their cold, unapologetic faces, the heavy iron chain of our mate bond finally snapped deep within my chest.
I calmly handed in my resignation, rejected the Alpha, and packed my bags.
It was time to leave this toxic pack for good, and awaken the ancient White Wolf bloodline dormant in my veins. Secret Wife is A Hero
Romance I was Asset 7, a "ghost" kept in a high-security facility with no memory and paralyzed vocal cords. My only value was my silence, making me the perfect disposable tool for the world's elite.
Everything changed when I was sold to Culver Lancaster, a media billionaire drugged with a dangerous synthetic aphrodisiac. His staff needed a woman who couldn't talk, couldn't sue, and didn't exist in any official directory.
They scrubbed my skin raw like a piece of meat and threw me into a dark penthouse with a man who had lost his mind to the drug. Culver didn't treat me like a human; he choked me against a door and used my body as a shield against his own madness. When I tried to run, his security hunted me down with dogs, and Culver threw me into a freezing wine cellar. I spent days in total darkness, starving and dehydrated, lapping dirty water off the floor just to stay alive.
I lay on that cold stone, wondering why my life had become a series of cages and scars. I couldn't even scream to let the world know I was dying. How could a man claim to protect me while treating me like a disposable object?
But when Culver finally came to the cellar to feed me, I didn't surrender. I bit him hard enough to draw blood, watching the shock in his eyes as I communicated the only way I could.
Now, I wear the silk uniform and the velvet mask he bought for me, playing the role of his obedient "Shadow." Culver thinks he owns a broken girl he can lock in a velvet panic room, but I'm a weapon who just found her target. Every kiss is a reconnaissance mission, and I'm going to burn his empire to the ground. The Unfortunate Card of Lies
Modern For ten years, I waited for my childhood sweetheart, Adonis, to marry me. But every year, our future was delayed by a ridiculous family ritual where he had to draw a "Fortunate" tarot card. For three years, he drew the "Unfortunate" card, enduring brutal penance that left him scarred and broken. I believed it was fate.
Then, on the fourth year, I saw him draw the Fortunate card. My heart soared. We were finally free. But in a swift, practiced move, he swapped it for an Unfortunate one, choosing more suffering. I was frozen in shock.
Later, I overheard him confess to his cousin. He' d been swapping the cards for four years. He couldn't marry me yet because of his assistant, Ariel. She' d threatened to do something drastic if he left her. He said he owed her.
My world shattered. Every lash he took, every moment of pain I shared, was a lie. A charade performed for another woman. He had chosen his guilt for her over his love for me.
He even accused me of monstrous cruelty based on her lies, shouting, "I can't believe I wasted ten years on someone so vindictive. Apologize to Ariel. Now."
That was the moment I knew the man I loved was gone. So, I left. I flew to Hong Kong and married another man.
But just as I found my new beginning, Adonis burst in, his eyes wild with regret, begging me to come back. And right behind him was Ariel, her face twisted with madness, a gleaming knife in her hand. Her Mute Heart, His Burning Betrayal
Modern My name is Arlie Stevens, and I was a mute girl who grew up in the shadows of the Rust Belt. My street art was our daily bread, and Bowen McClure was my protector, my first love, and my voice.
But the boy who once fought off bullies for me decided to climb the social ladder by getting engaged to a ruthless corporate heiress, Kassandra Woodard.
On their engagement night, Kassandra falsely accused me of ruining her gown. Bowen, my Bowen, publicly whipped me as punishment to appease her family.
He told me it was to protect me, a necessary evil.
Then he locked me in my room.
As the party's fireworks lit up the sky, I smelled smoke. The apartment was on fire, and the door was locked from the outside.
Through the flames, I heard Kassandra's voice, "Bowen locked her in. He wanted her out of the way."
He didn't just abandon me; he tried to burn me alive.
But I survived. And when a broken, guilt-ridden Bowen finally found me years later, begging for forgiveness after destroying the woman who orchestrated it all, I had only one thing to say to him. He Healed Her Broken, Brilliant Heart
Modern For seven years, I was his secret. His brilliant, naive Elodie. Last night, he held me and called me his future.
Today, his sister, my best friend, showed me the pictures from his engagement party.
My life's work, a revolutionary bio-printed kidney, was meant to save his dying fiancée. But then I overheard his real plan. If my research failed, he had a backup.
"She's got a nice pair of kidneys," he told his friends. "Perfect match."
He'd secretly filmed our most intimate moments, blackmail to force me onto the operating table. I wasn't his love. I was his insurance policy. A spare part.
He thought he had me cornered. He underestimated his "naive little scientist."
So I faked my death and disappeared.
Five years later, I'm back, my name on the cover of every scientific journal. And he's about to find out that the woman he tried to butcher is now the one who holds his entire world in her hands. His Family's Poison, Her Sweet Revenge
Modern The sterile scent of a hospital clung to me, even in my own sun-drenched room.
Today was the presentation, the day my life was supposed to begin.
Instead, it ended.
Memories, sharp and brutal, flooded back: me, confidently presenting my skyscraper design.
Then, the fatal error: File Not Found.
My mother, Eleanor, fussing over my desk the night before, "accidentally" deleting everything.
My father, Richard, dismissing my tears, "Listen to your mother. She knows what's best."
My brother, Liam, smirking, "A skyscraper isn' t as important as Mom, is it?"
Later that night, Eleanor offered a thick, green smoothie.
"A special health smoothie, just for you."
I drank it, trusting her.
Minutes later, the tightening throat, the hives, the desperate fight for air.
Anaphylactic shock.
I was severely allergic to kiwi, and the smoothie was full of it.
As my vision tunneled, I saw my family.
They weren't calling 911.
They were comforting Eleanor, who sobbed into my father' s shoulder.
Liam shook his head, "She' s always so dramatic."
And then, nothing.
Until now.
Waking up here.
I saw the date on my phone.
It was Wednesday morning.
The day of the presentation.
Cold, hard clarity settled over me.
They hadn't just sabotaged my dream; they' d tried to kill me to control me.
And now, I was back.
Back to build a new blueprint.
A blueprint for their ruin. Love, Lies, and Digital Death
Sci-fi For ten years, I was Ethan Vance, the Silicon Valley "fixer," the "soul mediator" everyone trusted to clear digital ghosts and optimize karma.
Then Kevin, my girlfriend Sarah' s adopted brother, showed up with his charming lies and half-price "digital shaman" tricks, stealing my clients and my reputation bit by bit.
My downfall culminated in a botched "karma optimization" where the client died a gruesome digital death, Kevin vanished, and I was framed for his sabotage.
The mogul' s enraged family and my disgruntled former clients, convinced I was a greedy fraud, beat me to death, unable to scream the truth about Kevin' s betrayal.
But then, I opened my eyes, and I was back-standing in a luxurious smart home, the day before my life crumbled, the tech CEO handing me a data chip, Sarah and Kevin by my side; this time, things would be different. His Cold Disgust, Her Pain
Fantasy The cold moonlight painted shadows across the floor, doing nothing to warm the chill that had settled deep in my bones as I knelt before my husband, Valerius.
Just a year ago, he had promised me forever, swearing he' d always be my shield. Now, he looked at me with cold disgust.
"Explain this," he demanded, tearing open my nightgown to reveal the withered flower branded into my shoulder – a symbol of shame, a mark of the lowest.
Tears welled, blurring his furious face. I couldn' t tell him the truth, a horrific secret I' d sworn to keep to protect him.
He shoved me away, calling me soiled, then laughed cruelly, refusing to "dirty his hands" on me, before storming out, slamming the door on everything we were.
Driven by desperation, I tried to carve the mark off, nearly taking my life before my maid, Clara, stopped me, suggesting a brutal herbal remedy instead.
The agony was blinding, but I endured it, for him, for us, for the love I yearned to reclaim.
With a raw, weeping scar where the brand once was, I found him, hoping to see a flicker of the man I knew.
He stared at my wound, then laughed, a short, ugly sound. "A scar is just as ugly as a brand. It proves nothing."
My hope shattered, he delivered the final blow: he was marrying my cousin, Isabella, in a week.
The physical pain from my scar was nothing compared to the gaping wound he' d torn in my chest, leaving me an empty void. A Perfect Lie
Modern The house was eerily silent, the kind of quiet that sinks into your bones.
Ethan searched every empty room, calling her name, but only the silence echoed back.
Then he saw it on the kitchen island: a divorce agreement, her elegant signature a final, chilling statement.
He raced to all their special spots-the bookstore, the café, the park where he proposed-but she was nowhere.
Finally, he arrived at the art studio he' d built for her, a sanctuary poured out of his millions, only to find it as desolate as his heart.
Her drafting table was bare, canvases gone-everything that made it hers, vanished.
He remembered her warning, words brushed off as a lover's insecurity: "I don't tolerate betrayal. Even once, and I'll vanish completely."
He' d laughed then, sure he' d never give her cause.
But the words now echoed, a haunting judgment.
Thousands of miles away, the woman who was once Ava whispered, "From now on, there is no Ava. Only Olivia."
A news article flashed on her phone: "Real Estate Mogul Ethan and Architect Wife Ava: A Perfect Partnership."
Perfect, she scoffed, a bitter laugh in the quiet taxi.
It had all been a perfect lie, and she, the architect who built dreams, was about to meticulously dismantle his. The Barren Wife's Billion-Dollar Secret
Billionaires My husband, Mark, and I had built a life on a promise: dual incomes, no kids. For our freedom, our shared dreams, he even urged me to get a hysterectomy. I agreed, believing it cemented our bond.
Years later, he brought home two “orphans,” Kevin and Kate. They were small, dark-haired, and oddly resembled Emily White, his high school flame, now a rising exec in my own company. I played the loving mother, pouring my heart and billions into them for eighteen years.
Then, at their fake graduation party—a party for a future they weren’t remotely qualified for—Mark cornered me. With a smug grin, he demanded I sign over my entire multi-billion dollar empire to Kevin and Kate. Emily White glided over, divorce papers in hand, her voice dripping with venom: “Thank you for taking care of Mark and *my* children. It’s time for our family.”
My parents’ pleas and warnings were ignored as I signed away everything. I watched my life unravel, my legacy stolen by the people I cherished most. The children I raised, his own blood with Emily, mocked me. As I lay bleeding on the asphalt, victims of their orchestrated “accident,” Kevin even kicked me, “Stupid old bitch.” Kate laughed, “Thanks for the money, Mom.”
Dying, the betrayal was unbearable, a sharp, cold satisfaction mixed with burning rage. Why? How could they? The injustice screamed, a silent vow forged in darkness.
Then, light. I woke up. Back at that dinner table, years ago, where Mark first uttered the word “hysterectomy.” This wasn’t a second chance. This was my turn. My eighteen-year revenge began now. The Woman He Called a Puppy
Romance Our engagement felt like a fairytale, complete with a gleaming diamond and seven years of shared history.
I believed Michael and I were building our future, hand in hand.
But at the annual gala, the illusion shattered.
Michael was on the dance floor, not with me, but intimately whispering to his intern, Jessica.
Moments later, in his car, I found a diamond necklace – not for me, as he coldly snatched it away.
“That’s not for you,” he said, his voice flat.
From then on, the disrespect spiraled.
He threw Jessica's misplaced scarf at me, denigrated my dream wedding dress, and abandoned me for her petty dramas.
My health issues were met with harsh insults and dismissed as “bad manners.”
While he flaunted Jessica online, I was expected to cater to her bizarre demands, like making special chia seed pudding for her made-up “episodes.”
Each blow chipped away at my belief.
How could the man I’d dedicated seven years to treat me with such casual cruelty?
Was I truly so disposable?
The overheard truth pierced deepest: “Love Sarah? Not really. But she’s been around like a puppy…”
No more.
The tears dried.
I cut my wedding dress into ribbons, packed my bags, and left him a note: “We’re done.”
He could chase, she could scheme, but my patience was exhausted.
My life, finally, was mine again. You might like
Betrayed by My Boyfriend, Claimed by the Mafia Boss
Krystal Catherine loved Marco with all her heart.
Until she discovered that he had betrayed her with her own sister.
Instead of defending Catherine, her family blamed her for standing in the way of their happiness. To them, she was nothing more than an unwanted daughter who had ruined the love story between Marco and the sister they had always favored.
So Catherine gave them exactly what they wanted.
She gave up Marco. She gave up the family that had never truly seen her as one of their own. Just when she thought her life couldn't get any worse, her parents sold her for twenty thousand dollars to an old, ugly man who had already been married once.
Catherine thought her life was over.
Then a stranger appeared and offered her a way out.
His name was Lorenzo.
He offered Catherine a contract marriage.
He needed a wife.
She needed protection.
It seemed like a simple arrangement, and Catherine never expected it to change her life forever.Because she didn't know who Lorenzo really was.
To the world, Lorenzo was a ruthless billionaire and the heir to one of the country's most powerful business empires.
Behind closed doors, he was far more dangerous.
He was the heir to a Mafia dynasty, a man who controlled an empire built on blood, fear, and absolute power.
When Lorenzo offered Catherine a marriage of convenience, she accepted without hesitation.
He needed a wife.
She needed protection.
Neither of them wanted love.
At least, that was what they told themselves.
But after Catherine became Mrs. Romano, Lorenzo's rules began to change. He wanted to know where she went, who she spoke to, and which man dared look at her for too long. The more Catherine tried to keep their marriage strictly business, the more possessive Lorenzo became.
He no longer wanted a temporary wife.
He wanted Catherine completely.
Then Marco finally realized he had made the biggest mistake of his life and came back for her. He expected Catherine to still be the woman who waited for him, forgave him, and accepted whatever affection he was willing to offer.
But Catherine was no longer that woman.
The daughter her family discarded had become the wife of the most dangerous man in the underworld.
And Lorenzo Romano would burn the world down before he let anyone take his wife away. Rejected by the Son, I Chose the Don
Rabbit On my wedding day, my father sold me to the Chicago Outfit to pay his debts. I was supposed to marry Alex Moreno, the heir to the city's most powerful crime family. But he couldn't even be bothered to show up.
As I stood alone at the altar, humiliated, my best friend delivered the final blow. Alex hadn't just stood me up; he had run off to California with his mistress.
The whispers in the cathedral turned me into a joke. I was damaged goods, the rejected bride. His family knew the whole time and let me take the public fall, offering me his cousins as pathetic replacements-a brute who hated me or a coward who couldn't protect me.
The humiliation burned away my fear, leaving only cold rage. My life was already over, so I decided to set the whole game on fire myself. The marriage pact only said a Carlson had to marry a Moreno; it never said which one.
With nothing left to lose, I looked past the pathetic boys they offered.
I chose the one man they never expected.
I chose his father, the Don himself.
Contract With The Devil: Love In Shackles
Dorine Koestler I watched my husband sign the papers that would end our marriage while he was busy texting the woman he actually loved.
He didn't even glance at the header. He just scribbled the sharp, jagged signature that had signed death warrants for half of New York, tossed the file onto the passenger seat, and tapped his screen again.
"Done," he said, his voice devoid of emotion.
That was Dante Moretti. The Underboss. A man who could smell a lie from a mile away but couldn't see that his wife had just handed him an annulment decree disguised beneath a stack of mundane logistics reports.
For three years, I scrubbed his blood out of his shirts. I saved his family's alliance when his ex, Sofia, ran off with a civilian.
In return, he treated me like furniture.
He left me in the rain to save Sofia from a broken nail. He left me alone on my birthday to drink champagne on a yacht with her. He even handed me a glass of whiskey—her favorite drink—forgetting that I despised the taste.
I was merely a placeholder. A ghost in my own home.
So, I stopped waiting. I burned our wedding portrait in the fireplace, left my platinum ring in the ashes, and boarded a one-way flight to San Francisco.
I thought I was finally free. I thought I had escaped the cage.
But I underestimated Dante.
When he finally opened that file weeks later and realized he had signed away his wife without looking, the Reaper didn't accept defeat.
He burned down the world to find me, obsessed with reclaiming the woman he had already thrown away. Burned by Poison, Saved by the Devil
Gale Kaaya My cousin Hailey paid a dock worker to assault me just to ruin my engagement.
To survive the military-grade aphrodisiac she poisoned me with, I stumbled into a walk-in freezer and threw myself onto the only source of cold I could find-a man paralyzed by unnatural hypothermia.
It was a desperate, primal exchange of my heat for his ice just to keep my heart from stopping.
But when Hailey threw open the heavy iron door, leading my fiancé and the entire Bolton family to witness my "shame," her triumphant grin instantly vanished.
She hadn't caught me with a low-life thug.
She had caught me straddling Demetrius Maddox, the ruthless Iron King of Chicago.
The air in the room dropped to absolute zero. My grandmother screamed in horror, and my father turned the color of ash.
Hailey, blinded by jealousy, tried to double down. She pointed a manicured finger at the deadliest man in the city and called him a "nameless muscle" I picked up to defile the family name.
She didn't realize she had just signed her own death warrant.
I didn't cower. I realized this was the only chance to survive the family that wanted me dead.
I walked up to the Devil himself, my body still humming with the poison, and looked him in the eye.
"Kill me, and the cold inside you wins," I whispered, knowing he was dying from the inverse of my own poison. "I am the only doctor who knows how to cure you."
Demetrius tightened his hand around my throat, his dark eyes assessing my worth.
"Prove it," he growled.
I turned back to my trembling cousin and signaled the enforcer to hand me the whip. From Jilted Bride To Mafia Empress
Xiao Wang For seven years, I was the architect of my fiancé's criminal empire and the strategist behind his every move. I was Dante Gallo’s unofficial Consigliere, his partner in everything but name. Tomorrow, I was finally supposed to marry him and take my place as the queen to his throne.
But on the eve of our wedding, a single text message sent by mistake detonated my life. It was a photo from Dante, showing a platinum wedding band on his hand. The message read: “Married this morning. She’s safe now.”
My gaze fell to the engagement ring on my own finger. It was the identical band, just smaller. The engraved initials ‘D.I.’ didn’t stand for Dante and I. They stood for Dante and Isabella—his childhood sweetheart. My entire relationship was a lie; I was just a shield to protect his one true love.
He dismissed my discovery as a "tantrum." Then, his new bride began taunting me, sending a picture of them tangled in bedsheets with the caption: "Loser." They expected me to break. They thought I would shatter.
They were about to find out just how wrong they were. I forwarded the picture to Isabella’s fiancé, a man far more dangerous than Dante. "Your fiancée is in Suite 8808 at the Grand Hyatt," I told him. "I'll meet you downstairs. We're going to crash their party." 
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