In the middle of the night, the vibration of my phone pulled me out of sleep. The room was dark and quiet, and when I glanced at the time, it was already 1 a.m. As expected, the other side of the bed was still empty, cold and untouched.
I reached for my phone and unlocked it. Several new messages had come in. They were all from Viviana.
[Dante is just so hot!]
[I wanna eat him up while he's sleeping!]
There was also a photo attached.
In the picture, Dante was asleep, his head resting on a soft pink cartoon pillow. His hair was slightly messy, his expression relaxed, his lips parted just enough in a way that used to make my heart skip a beat without me even realizing it.
For a moment, I simply stared at the image, my emotions strangely distant.
When the "typing…" indicator appeared at the top of the chat, Viviana reacted quickly. She deleted the messages almost immediately, as if trying to erase the evidence.
Then she sent a playful emoji of a cat begging for forgiveness.
[Oops! I meant to send those to my bestie, but accidentally sent them to you.]
[I was just joking around, don't be mad! Dante's already asleep anyway.]
I knew exactly what she expected. She probably thought I would lose control, that I would call her in anger like I used to, demanding explanations, making a scene.
But this time, I didn't feel the urge to react at all.
Without replying, I simply blocked her. Then I put my phone down and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened.
Whether she was pretending or being serious didn't matter anymore. It had nothing to do with me now.
The next morning, they arrived at the counting house together.
Viviana, still playing her usual role of being fragile and delicate, suddenly stumbled as she walked, her steps unsteady as if she might fall at any moment. Her face turned pale, her expression filled with exaggerated fear.
Without hesitation, Dante rushed forward, scooping her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing. He carried her straight into his office, his concern obvious and unhidden.
Viviana blushed slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned into him. But as she passed by me, she turned her head just enough to shoot me a smug, triumphant smile.
One of the other associates leaned closer to me, lowering her voice as she whispered, "Can you believe her?"
"She doesn't even know how to run a basic ledger, let alone handle real Family business. How has she been the Don's personal courier for half a year?"
She paused before adding carefully, "Do you think… he's actually into her?"
I was busy replying to messages from Lydia Carbone, my attention mostly elsewhere. Without thinking too much, I simply nodded and said, "Maybe."
The word had barely left my lips when I heard Dante's voice behind me.
"Serena, come with me."
I turned around and found him standing right there, his expression cold and distant, his gaze unreadable.
No one in the counting house knew that we were married. Dante had always insisted on keeping the union invisible inside the operation, separating blood from business in the eyes of anyone beneath capo rank.
So to everyone else, I was just another trusted keeper of the books, nothing more.
At work, he always kept his distance from me, as if we were complete strangers.
I remembered once having a high fever, so bad that I could barely stand. I had gone to him, hoping he would at least take me to the clinic.
But he had brushed me off coldly, worried about how it would look to the others. He told me to go home and rest instead.
