No Sloppy Seconds Chapter 03
Author: Soda
Ding.
The phone made a sharp sound in the dark prison van.
The notification tone was quick and sudden.
I didn’t even have time to press send.
The preview messages popped up like crazy at the top of my screen.
It was the elite underworld inner circle group chat.
The Syndicate Vanguard.
I was just added to it last night.
Before adding me to the chat, Silas gave me a head-up.
He said these guys were his inner circle, his most trusted soldiers. He told me to play nice.
But the second I got in, I saw Gia. She was already holding court.
Right now, the group is going wild.
They’re celebrating like it’s a damn holiday.
Gia: [The California sun is so perfect! The vinyl records in the main Lincoln are exactly my style. Thank you to a certain someone who claims he’s always busy,but still made time for my childish requests! ]
She tagged the message with a few sweet emojis and a spam of photos.
A dozen couple photos flooded the chat.
They burned my eyes.
The background was the bulletproof Lincoln.
It was supposed to be my exclusive ride.
Gia sat on the leather seat.
She wore my custom haute couture gown.
She smiled so bright.
Silas sat right next to her.
He let her wrap her arms around his neck.
They threw up finger hearts for the camera.
Their faces pressed tightly together.
The last picture was the worst.
Silas was the ruthless Don who made the entire North American underworld shake.
Yet,he submissively rested his head in Gia’s palm.
He looked up slightly.
His face was completely relaxed.
A gentle,adoring smile hung on his lips.
I stared at that pose.
My fingers shook.
Last month,we took wedding photos.
I showed him the exact same pose for reference.
Silas just glanced at it coldly.
He threw the paper back on the table.
“Cleo,I’m busy. Don’t waste my time with this cheesy,childish shit.”
He didn’t actually think it was childish.
He just didn’t want to do it with me.
The replies in the chat flooded in like a tidal wave.
Silas’s best friend and right-hand man: [Perfect match! Honestly,the woman riding in the Lincoln with the Godfather today should be the real Godmother. Some desperate nobody doesn’t even deserve to smell the exhaust smoke of a Lincoln.]
Silas’s cousin: [Haha,don’t be so harsh. She begged and begged for seven years. The Moretti family still has the biological keys to the armory. If Silas didn’t need that,would she even get to be his side piece? She really thinks she’s special.]
Filthy.
Disgusting.
These people were polite to my face.
They called me Miss Moretti in front of outsiders.
But in their inner circle of power,they stomped on me.
They humiliated me for fun.
A wave of pure nausea hit my stomach.
I almost threw up.
My blood turned to ice.
Only rage and heartbreak tangled in my chest.
Then,Silas sent a message.
It pushed me straight into a frozen hell.
Silas: [It’s a celebration. Don’t talk about outsiders. Just tell Gia she looks beautiful.]
Outsider.
In his eyes,I was just an outsider.
A buzzkill.
I was his legal fiancée.
We were supposed to sign the blood oath today.
I even lost a child for him.
He allowed his men to publicly humiliate his bride.
He even joined in with a joke.
He approved of it.
He only wanted to make Gia happy.
Seven years of my youth.
All for the word “outsider” from his own mouth.
I clenched my jaw.
Tears welled in my eyes.
I forced them back.
I’m done.
I deleted the weak text message about canceling the wedding.
I took a deep breath.
I opened the group member list.
My fingers tapped the keyboard with cold hatred.
I fired a message right into the chat.
Cleo: [Two-faced bastards. You disgust me.]
