He Chose His Ex, I Chose Vengeance

y Giovanni Moretti, he publicly d

x, Sofia, had amnesia after a car crash, her memory

edding dress to play the pa

i estate, watching him dote on her and rebuild their past, a

ovanni had the cure for her am

e love of his life. He was confident I was his property, that I would

miliate me. Fine. I would use hi

ly, Don Domenico Moretti. "Your brother said I am your

pte

ella

brother's girl, a convenient lie whispered just loud enough for the whole Famil

ed on the other side, their whispers a dull hum through th

tic. Now, a cold dread w

ent. Sofia Mancini, Giovanni's ex, the one he n

d reset to five years ago, a time whe

de without a second tho

trained composure. He stood before me, not looking

off," he said,

, cold and dark as a winter night, were fixed on me. He was the true power here, his presence a heavy

'off'?" I asked,

shock could be fatal," Giovanni explained, his gaze s

as going to live in a five-year-old f

as barely a whisper.

ology in his eyes. Only irritation. "Isabell

y," I shot back, a spark of an

sts waiting outside, then at his brother. A

or anyone near the door to hear, "Isabella

oman he was supposed to marry. A guest. His brother's companion.

art of a loving boyfriend to another woman. I was left alone

s a mon

th of watching Giovanni dote on Sofia, taking her to all ou

l me it was temporary. "Just until she's bett

All

rsation on the evening news about a Sicilian family renowned for ancie

my ribs. A solution. A w

, I ran to find Giovanni. His study door was slightly aj

, his most trusted soldier. "The Don is l

hitched.

cilians have the medicine. It could f

nni's voice, low and laced with a sel

"I have it. It's

d stunned. "Then why

used to," Giovanni confessed, his voice thick with a twisted kind of

t about Isabella? You think she'll j

ave me. She has nowhere else to go. I'll give Sofia the cure eventually. After

apped. He was indulging. He was savoring a dream at the expense of my

hrough my veins. I pressed my hand against the wall to keep from collapsing, my fingers di

n my mind. It wasn't an act of necessity. It was real for him. Our entire relationship, our

nails had broken the skin, tiny beads of

n my pocket. A te

eling down. I'll be with her. Remember,

the

coldness didn't just numb me. It hardened me. The grief

ould play

ted to use his brother's name as a shield for h

contacts. I scrolled past Giovanni's

all button. I took a deep,

ring, his voice a low,

" I said, my voice

ffice

ing behind him like a sea of fallen stars. He was everything his brother was not: patient, silent, lethal.

e time. "I ha

gesturing for

on," I began, the words tasting like ash. "

before it was gone. He steepled his fingers, his gaze intense. "

"And solidify your family's alliances. A marriage between

in the room the ticking of a grandfather clock

s voice a silken threat, "do yo

"Because for the past two years, you've kept a p

nce, while looking for a pen. A candid shot of me laughing in the garden, a photo Giov

redatory smile touched his li

sentence. "We will be married. But understand this, Isabella. Ther

one cage for another, perhaps a more gilded, more

rstand,

frame casting a shadow over me.

t is

ssive growl, "I want Giovanni to be the one to carry you to th