9 Chapter 9 " No ... impossible , " he whispered , shaking his head . " It's a lie . Isabella , this is a punishment , isn't it ? I was wrong . God , I was so wrong ! " At that moment , the large screens in the banquet hall flickered and came to life , hacked . Dante's own voice echoed through the hall , a recorded conversation playing on a loop . " I'll just deceive her this one time . Just let me have a little more fun at my club , and then I'll marry her . " " Find me some wilder ones ! Three a day ! " It was the recording of him and his men . Dante , panicking , signaled wildly for his men to shut it down . In that instant , a memory slammed into him - the doctor's urgent call , begging him to come sign the papers . To save their child . And he had hung up , sneering , " Who the fuck even knows if the kid is mine ? " " Isabella ... " Dante fell to his knees , his face a mask of anguish and regret . It dawned on him - that wasn't just their child . It was the last bond between them . He frantically called the hospital , finally learning that I had collapsed in the emergency room that night from blood loss , that I had nearly died . He could no longer contain his grief . A raw , animalistic cry of pain tore from him , echoing through the silent hall . The guests , once respectful , now watched with open mockery . Some snickered quietly at the sight of the once - mighty Underboss brought so low . Dante clutched the glass bottle , his right hand striking his own face in a brutal slap . Half his face . turned red and swollen from the force . His parents , their faces ashen , tried to shut down the livestream , but Dante shoved them away . " Don't touch it ! No one turns off the cameras ! " This is my fault . All of it ! I'll repent right here , in front of God and everyone ! " He paid no mind to his swelling face and knelt squarely before the camera , " Isabella , I know you're watching , I am damned ! I shouldn't have used such a pathetic excuse to hurt you ! " I was a complete asshole , but Isabella , I truly love you , I can't imagine a life without you ! " Isabella , come back ! The Moretti family needs you as my wife ! I love you ! I've forgotten all those other women ! I only remember us . For the sake of our families , please , come back ! " 9 Chapter 9 I scoffed . This belated , pathetic repentance was cheap . Without me , he had been living it up , as if nothing had happened . Even after I blocked Carina , she sent me taunting messages from burner phones . She would tell me how many times she and Dante had slept together in a day , or how he had unlocked new positions that were extra thrilling . Or how he had left her exhausted and bedridden for three days . She even described in lurid detail how she had drained him dry . If he had just been honest and broken up with me before sleeping with a hundred other women , I wouldn't have thought him a scumbag . I wouldn't have regretted loving him . But he didn't . He chose to humiliate and disgust me . For six years , I had been so blind . Dante was still weeping to the camera , but I had no desire to watch his performance . I took Siobhan out for a meal at Boston's finest restaurant . But Siobhan wouldn't let it go , relentlessly slamming Dante even as we ate . When she mentioned he had cried so hard he'd nearly passed out , I just felt numb . What was the point ? The outcome was obvious . His public apology had earned him nothing but a tidal wave of online abuse and a formal inquiry from his own family . Even Carina was caught in the storm , vilified from all sides . But Carina felt no shame . Instead , she saw an opportunity . She picked up her soiled gown and approached Dante with a smile . She knelt before him , confessing her love with deep emotion . " Dante , my love , she whispered , kneeling beside him . " Isabella ran away . Let me take her place . She never loved you - she killed your child ! This proves she was never worthy of you ! " Dante , lost in his private hell , looked up and saw her . The tenderness he once felt was gone , replaced by an icy rage . " You fucking whore ! " he hissed , his band clamping around her throat . " This is all your fault ! If you hadn't crawled into my bed , none of this would have happened ! " " If I had known Isabella knew the truth , I would have had a thousand chances to make it right . Now , I don't even know where she is ? Carina's eyes bulged from the pressure , but he refused to let go . The livestream , overwhelmed by the violence , was abruptly shut down . < 9 Chapter 9 Comment