Loading promotion info...
I Rented the Mafia Don to Ruin My Cheating Fiancé
Novelix
new
Completed
"Last Valentine's Day, I bled out on a hotel floor clutching my baby's ultrasound while my fiancé covered his childhood ""sister's"" eyes so the sight of my blood wouldn't upset her. Then I opened my eyes — two days before Valentine's, all over again. This time, I'm not begging. I'm texting the one man I swore I'd never speak to: Killian Vance, Don of the Vance family, and the arranged fiancé I ran away from six years ago. ""One million dollars. Be my Valentine. Deal?"" He answers in three seconds: ""Wait for me. Flying back tonight."" He didn't want the money. He's been waiting six years."
Chapters (3)
第1章
My boyfriend's childhood "sister" paid him a million bucks to be her Valentine — and when I show up at their hotel suite, she shoves me down the stairs and he covers her eyes so she won't see the blood.
"Don't look, baby! All that blood — it'll scare you!"
They walk away wrapped around each other. I'm left in a pool of my own blood, clutching the ultrasound photo of the baby I just lost. Nobody calls 911. Nobody comes back.
Then I open my eyes.
I'm in my apartment. It's two days before Valentine's Day.
I grab my phone with shaking hands. I scroll to the one name I swore I'd never text again — Killian Vance. The Don of the Vance family. Mob royalty. My ex-fiancé from the arranged marriage I ran away from six years ago.
I type fast.
"One million dollars. Be my Valentine's date. Deal?"
Three seconds. Three seconds and my phone buzzes.
"Wait for me. I'm flying back tonight."
---
I stare at the screen. My hands won't stop shaking.
This time, I'm going to burn their whole world down.
I book the earliest D&C appointment I can get.
Chris Hale and I have been together six years. We were supposed to get married in June. In my last life, this baby was our miracle. Our double blessing. The Valentine's gift I was going to surprise him with.
Now I know better. Now I know he was never mine.
In the hospital hallway, I run straight into him. And her.
Nina Lark is glued to Chris's side, her pale little face tilted up at him like a Disney princess. Then she sees me, and something ugly flickers behind her eyes before the innocent mask slides back on.
"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I didn't know you were sick too. I've been so selfish, dragging Chris here with me."
Chris flicks her nose. His eyes are pure syrup.
"Don't say that, sweetheart. You're fragile. Of course I'm gonna take care of you." His voice hardens when he glances at me. "Bella's fine. She's always faking something for attention."
I don't answer. I just walk past them.
I've lost fifteen pounds since I got pregnant. I can't eat. I can't sleep. Chris hasn't noticed a thing — because he doesn't see me. Every ounce of his attention belongs to Nina.
Before I sign the paperwork, my doctor hesitates.
"Bella, sweetheart… you've been through hell trying to keep this baby. Are you absolutely sure? "
"Last visit, we were finally starting to get worried about the pregnancy again. The baby has been hanging on by a thread for months. If we wait much longer, you could lose the baby anyway, and it could put your life at risk."
She glances at the empty chair next to me.
"Where is he? Why isn't he here?"
I laugh, and it comes out broken.
"Oh, he's here. He's downstairs. Checking his childhood best friend into a private suite."
Her face changes.
"You said you were going to tell him the good news."
"I was."
I look down at the paperwork in my hands.
I fought like hell for this baby. Every time the doctors told me I might lose the pregnancy, I did whatever it took to hold on.
My fingers tighten around the pen.
"But I'm done fighting."
She doesn't try to stop me. She calls in a nurse to sit with me through the whole thing.
As they wheel me toward the OR, I hear her voice sharp in the hallway:
"That girl sneezes twice and he's here in an hour. His fiancée has been in and out of this hospital for months trying to keep their baby alive, and he hasn't asked one damn question."
I close my eyes.
Yeah. That's what love looks like. That's what not-love looks like. Turns out the difference is loud as hell once you stop covering your ears.
The procedure goes fine. I get dressed, discharge papers folded tight in my hand, ready to walk out and never look back.
Then a hand grabs my elbow from behind.
Chris.
"Bella. What the hell are you holding?"
第2章
He yanks me so hard I almost hit the floor.
I shove the discharge papers deep into my coat pocket before he can see them. He doesn't even notice. He's too busy scowling at me like I'm the problem.
"Forget it. Whatever." He rolls his eyes. "Bella, seriously — where's your class? Where's your basic human decency? Nina's admitted upstairs and you're just gonna leave without saying hi?"
"She can't keep food down. Go home and make her some of that chicken soup she likes. Bring it back tonight."
I straighten up. I give him my sweetest, coldest smile.
"Chris, good soup takes love. You love her so much — why don't you make it yourself?"
His face twists.
"How many times do I have to explain this? Nina's been sick since we were kids. I have to look after her. There's nothing between us. She's pure, she's innocent — and you're jealous of a girl like that? God, that's evil."
His grip on my wrist is a vise. I can't shake him off.
He drags me down the hallway like I'm a piece of luggage. People stop and stare. I can feel their eyes crawling all over me. I've never been so humiliated in my life.
Nina's private room looks like a five-star hotel. There's a tray of gourmet food in front of her — light, clean, perfect for a delicate stomach. She's smiling into her phone.
"Thank you SO much, Mrs. Hale! Your cooking is unreal — Chris will make sure I eat every bite, I promise!"
Six years I dated Chris. I visited his parents' place plenty of times. Every visit I scrubbed their kitchen, folded their laundry, refused to let them lift a finger. I wanted them to love me.
Mrs. Hale never once cooked for me.
But I did overhear her once. Complaining to Chris in the kitchen.
"Bella's a nice enough girl. Just… you know. Not one of us."
第3章
Mrs. Hale didn't dislike me.
She just loved Nina more. Nina was the girl from the right neighborhood. The right family. The one she'd watched grow up. The daughter-in-law she'd already picked in her head.
Back then I swallowed it and kept washing dishes. She told me my cooking was too salty. I didn't want her thinking I couldn't even rinse a plate right.
Chris pushes me down into the chair next to Nina's bed. He tells me to feed her. Then he runs downstairs to get her favorite soup from some bougie deli.
I stand up to leave.
Nina's eyes flick to the door. Then to me. Sugar back on.
"Bella, sweetie — Valentine's Day is in two days. What are you and Chris doing?"
She tilts her head, all shy.
"You don't know yet? I hate being alone on Valentine's. Chris worries about me. So every year he keeps me company. But don't stress! I pay him rent every year. Ten grand. Strictly business!"
She giggles.
"So even though you're — you know — older, and kinda plain, and a little boring — you don't have to worry about him cheating!"
Five years of Valentine's Days. Every single one, Chris was "working late." Or "on a business trip." He always promised to make it up to me. He never did.
Last life, I only found out the truth because I stumbled on their texts.
Ten grand every Valentine's Day. Rent for her Valentine's boyfriend.
Chris never cashed a single check.
He bought her roses. Baked her cakes. Set off fireworks on the beach. Took her up to rooftops to look at stars.
His phone had hotel receipts. Suites. Presidential suites. Multiple nights.
I'm sure they were just watching the glow-in-the-dark clock on the wall.
I've had enough. I turn to walk out.
Then Nina hears Chris's footsteps in the hall. Her smile sharpens.
She sweeps the food tray straight into my lap. Boiling hot porridge, all over me. A few drops splash onto her sleeve for the cameras.
The burn goes bone-deep. The fabric of my shirt melts into my skin. I can already feel the blisters forming.
Chris slams through the door. His eyes lock on Nina's sleeve. He shoves me — hard — and I go down on the linoleum.
"Bella! What the hell is wrong with you?! Apologize to Nina! NOW!"
