He Loved Me in Secret, Until I Became Someone He Could Never Have Chapter 01

He Loved Me in Secret, Until I Became Someone He Could Never Have Chapter 01

After college, my childhood friend Alessio Rinaldi—Underboss of the Rinaldi Family—asked me to join Rinaldi Holdings, the company he controlled.

He was fiercely protective of his own. His sister, every Family member—he promoted them all openly, without shame.

But with me, he drew a hard line.

When my department praised my proposal, he criticized me down cold. “Full of holes. Nothing worth bragging about.”

When the project director locked in my performance review and pushed for an early promotion, the process died on his desk. “Seniority isn’t a qualification. She hasn’t earned it.”

When coworkers said I was talented, he dismissed it with one line. “With Rinaldi’s resources behind her, anyone could’ve pulled that off.”

I told myself the harsh treatment was because we were something to each other.

Until even Dominic Serra, his most trusted advisor, couldn’t hold back.

“Alessio, Vivienne is clearly more than capable. Why would you put an intern ahead of her?”

Alessio leaned back in his office chair, eyes cold. “Then that only proves she’s worse than the intern.”

Standing outside the door, I stared at the messages from my parents on my phone.

They wanted me to come home and take over.

I clutched the proposal to my arms and turned back the way I came.

I wasn’t waiting for his approval anymore.

And I didn’t want him either.

Back at my desk, I replayed the voicemail my mother had left.

Year after year, she said the same thing.

“Vittoria, leaving you at Grayhaven Station was my fault. We had a traitor inside the Bellandi Family. We could only take one child with us.”

“Your sister wasn’t well, so we thought you’d be okay staying in a public place for a few hours until it was safe to come back for you. But by the time we got back, you were gone.”

My father’s message was shorter. [Your sister died on the road. You survived by pure luck. You’re all we have left now. If you truly don’t want the Moretti marriage, fine. Just come home.]

I flipped my phone face-down on the desk.

I hated them for choosing my sister first.

And I resented that the moment they found me again, they were already arranging a marriage.

As if their long-lost daughter’s greatest value was still to seal a Family alliance. So I refused to return to Port Aurelia.

I wanted to prove something to them.

That without the Bellandi name, I could still build a life worth something.

They respected that, in their way. Left me alone for years.

Shame that five years later, I’d failed at everything. Career, love. All of it.

At the next morning meeting, Alessio tore apart the new proposal. Then his eyes landed on me.

In the past, this was when I’d speak up. “I’ll redo it.”

Today, I just sat there.

He frowned. “Vivienne? What do you think?”

I looked up. “Mr. Rinaldi, this project isn’t mine anymore. I have no opinion.”

The room went silent.

Alessio’s expression visibly darkened.

After the meeting, he cornered me in the hallway. “Where’s the version you worked on last night?”

“What version?”

“Harbor Point. You took it on yourself, didn’t you?”

I met his eyes.

“Taking it on was my choice. Doing my actual job is my responsibility.”

I stepped around him.

That’s when my phone rang.

It was Mr. Bennett, a longtime client.

“Vivienne, you’re still on Harbor Point, right? What exactly did your people send over? I’ve read it three times and I still don’t get it.”

Something tightened in my arms.

This client had requested me from the start. Alessio swapped in a junior team instead, saying the younger staff needed opportunities.

I calmed Mr. Bennett down, hung up, and glanced at the proposal in my hand.

I sighed, about to grab it and go find Alessio.

Then Camilla walked over, coffee in hand. “Vivienne, are you busy?”

She never called me senior. Because she knew Alessio wouldn’t care.

“What do you need?”

“Oh, nothing, I just—”

She stumbled. The entire cup of coffee splashed across my freshly printed proposal.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

Before I could say a word, Alessio’s assistant appeared. “Vivienne, proposal meeting in thirty minutes. Mr. Rinaldi wants the latest version.”

I stared at the coffee-soaked pages. I was suddenly so tired.

Alessio was always like this.

When he needed me, he sent his assistant.

No matter how good my work was, in public he only had criticism. But after hours, he became someone else entirely.

He remembered our anniversaries, my birthday, that I took my coffee black, what time of month my stomach acted up, which singer I loved.

When I was twelve, I mentioned offhand that I wanted to see the ocean. He rode his bike three hours to take me.

As long as it didn’t involve Rinaldi or the Family, he was almost a perfect boyfriend.

But five years of that switch-flipping had worn me down to nothing.