No Sloppy Seconds Chapter 04
Author: Soda
The group chat went dead for a full two seconds.
Then came the notifications.
Silas’s best friend frantically unsent his messages.
He followed up with a pathetic cover-up: [Sorry,wrong group.]
Before I could even laugh,Silas’s name flashed on my screen like a threat.
I pressed answer.
There was no warmth in his voice.
There was only an icy command.
“Apologize in the chat. Now.”
I thought my ears were playing tricks on me.
My chest ached with heavy pressure.
“What did you say? You want me to apologize to the people who just humiliated me?”
“Cleo,stop acting like a feral cat.”
Silas loosened his tie with pure frustration.
His impatience cut right through the phone.
“You’re not a prize,Cleo. You don’t get to please everyone. The guys in that chat are my brothers. We grew up together with Gia. We’ve spilled blood together. It’s normal that they don’t accept you yet.”
“Just say you don’t care in the chat. Move past it. Gia is crying her eyes out right now. She thinks this is all her fault.”
I didn’t say a word.
He lost his patience.
“It’s just a text, Cleo. You won’t die. Gia is different. We’ve always ruined her. Plus, you don’t want my soldiers turning on you before the wedding, do you?”
A wave of pure absurdity washed over me.
My eyes burned red.
I tilted my head back.
I forced the tears down.
She cried,so I was the one in the wrong.
She felt guilty,so I had to humiliate myself to save her perfect little conscience.
“What if I say no?”
I gripped the phone.
My knuckles went white.
“We’re getting married today. Why are you throwing another princess tantrum?”
Silas scoffed.
His voice was full of arrogant certainty.
He knew he owned me.
“Look at what day it is. I don’t have time to baby you. Cleo,if we call off this wedding,your family loses my protection. Without me,you are nothing.”
Seven years of tied interests made him absolutely sure.
He thought I didn’t have the balls to flip the board.
“You’re right,” I interrupted him.
My voice was so calm it terrified me.
“I shouldn’t throw a tantrum right now.”
“Good. I want to see you at the chapel back door in half an hour.”
He hung up.
He sounded satisfied.
The dial tone buzzed in my ear.
The noise shattered my final illusion of him.
Back when he loved me, he never made me bend to his schedule.
One whisper from me about feeling sick?
He’d postpone a hundred-million-dollar weapons shipment.
No questions asked.
I’ve seen him love me. I know the standard.
That’s why his lazy excuses today are a sick joke.
Seven years of companionship and sacrifice meant nothing.
To him,I was just a chip he could play anytime.
I turned around.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
My wedding dress was stained gray by the exhaust.
There were only three hours left before the nine o’clock vows.
I didn’t cry.
I barely breathed.
I raised my right hand.
Slowly and firmly,I slid the heavy diamond ring off my ring finger.
It was engraved with the Valenti family crest.
It was the symbol of the Godmother.
Silas Valenti, I’m done playing your Godmother. You can keep the title.
Clack.
I tossed the ring onto the cold nightstand of the hotel suite.
It made a sharp,echoing sound.
I ripped off the heavy wedding dress.
I changed into sleek,all-black casual clothes.
A black getaway car pulled up silently at the hotel back door.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The window rolled up slowly.
It shut out the noise of the city.
It shut out that ridiculous wedding completely.
The entire North American underworld royalty was walking into the hall.
The ceremony was about to start.
Right at that moment,I turned off my phone.
I vanished from their world completely.
