Chapter 23 The End of a Secret Crush
Bella’s POV:
Warm blood flowed into the palm of my hand, and I felt no fear.
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I had to know the truth. I harbored a bold suspicion that Cecilia had drugged me, intending to ruin my life.
Even though the man I had a one–night stand with was the godfather, my husband, after that night, the godfather clung to me. I could have easily divorced and lived freely with my mother.
Cecilia’s face was deathly pale from excessive blood loss when I slapped her hard and roared, “Answer me! Or I’ll let you bleed to death!”
“Bella! She’s already hurt! How can you be so cruel!” Paolo supported Cecilia, trying to take her immediately to the hospital. In his eyes, I had become a wicked woman.
“So what?” Despite her pallor, Cecilia still managed to mock me. She looked at the godfather and continued, “You don’t know, do you? On the days you weren’t home, Bella tangled with countless men! A woman so unfaithful to her marriage deserves to die!”
Her harsh words struck me like a slap in the face, chilling me to the bone.
I trembled with rage, shocked that I had never noticed Cecilia’s ill will towards me all these years.
She spoke to the godfather, words that he would never believe. After all, it was he who had taken my virginity; he knew best whether I had betrayed him.
But Cecilia still uttered these deadly accusations. If it weren’t for Salvatore being the one I met that night, the matter of my lost virginity would never be cleared.
In Salvatore’s eyes, I had become exactly the kind of shameless woman Cecilia described.
I despised Cecilia and was furious that I hadn’t seen through her hypocrisy sooner.
“Cecilia! I was blind to have treated you as a sister, to tell you all my secrets, only for you to use them to hurt me!”
Cecilia probably thought she was doomed tonight, so her words became brutally honest and cutting, “Then you’re stupid, can you blame me?”
I clenched my teeth in silent fury, anger burning within me.
I grabbed her injured spot forcefully, wanting to kill her! But to stain my hands for such a person was not worth it.
I’m not Mafia, nor do I wish to join them; I don’t need to dirty myself with such filth.
Cecilia cried out in pain, but she hit her lin and continued. “You’re already married you have
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Chapter 23 The End of a Secret Crush
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secretly in love with him for four years? You give him hope while hiding the truth. I’m just exposing your hypocrisy to the public. What’s wrong with that!”
She nearly screamed it out.
Facing Cecilia’s twisted fury, I found it laughable.
If Cecilia had any consideration for me, she would never have thought this way. I was so helpless when I was forced into the Leone family; Cecilia knew it all too well.
Oh, you hate me so much, do you? Let the hatred intensify then!
My lips curled into a cold smirk as I stepped towards Cecilia and Paolo, “I like to keep things clear in matters of love and hate.”
Paolo spoke up again, “Bella! What are you doing! She’s already injured!”
I looked at the godfather, then at the remaining crowd around us; most of the onlookers had already dispersed, leaving only a few who weren’t afraid to stay.
The godfather didn’t want to intervene between me and Cecilia; this was my own matter to settle, and besides, he still shot Cecilia for me, a shot that wasn’t meant to kill.
I stepped forward, “You’re so malicious; if I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never realize that I, Bella, am not so easy to provoke.”
My cold eyes fixed on Cecilia, and then I pressed down hard on her wounded arm. Cecilia immediately screamed, struggling, but fortunately, the godfather’s men were clever enough to push Paolo aside and hold Cecilia up.
I looked satisfied at these two men; in this moment, I truly felt the privileges of the godfather’s wife.
“It hurts, doesn’t it? But this pain is nothing compared to your betrayal. You knew everything about me, yet you used it to slander me. Cecilia, I’m not that easy to bully, nor am I that kind.”
With one last push, I pressed down hard on the wound, and Cecilia passed out from the pain.
Her screams stopped, and the scene fell silent.
I looked at Paolo, his face as pale as death, his eyes filled with disappointment. He probably never imagined I could be so ruthless.
Paolo supported Cecilia as they left the bar. In that moment, I knew, my secret crush was thoroughly over.
