The Soldier I Married Is the Don’s Heir Chapter 05

The Soldier I Married Is the Don’s Heir Chapter 05

The comments gloated again.

[LMAO. Michele’s happy with his son, but he can’t stand Estate. A greedy woman like her will never marry into the Vadala family.]

[Estate’s already notorious in New York. ]

[What Michele really wants is Aurora. Aurora’s like a swan.]

I understood. This was a dinner set up by both the Conti and Vadala families.

They just wanted to humiliate me in public and make me break ties with the Don’s heir. I couldn’t run from it, and I didn’t want to.

“Let me change first.”

I didn’t dress up. I just went downstairs in the same dress I wore to work.

The Vadala dinner was at a seaside estate on the North Shore of Long Island.

The banquet hall was lit up, packed with New York’s elite.

The second I stepped through the door, I felt countless eyes land on me. Curious, disdainful, and more than anything, excited to watch me crash.

“That’s the girlfriend Rocco acknowledged?”

“What girlfriend? I heard she secretly fall in love with a soldier. Who knows how many men she’s stringing along.”

“She probably doesn’t even know Rocco. She’s just shameless. Soon as she heard the surname Vadala, she latched on.”

I ignored the whispers and walked straight to the dessert table. I took a croissant and a small slice of mousse cake.

Real butter and fresh cream really did taste better than the expired discount desserts I used to buy from the supermarket.

I didn’t avoid anyone’s gaze.

Eat first. Then I’d have the strength to deal with these people.

Before long, Aurora walked over with a glass of champagne, surrounded by a group of socialites.

She was wearing a haute couture gown tonight. Her willowy figure was dazzling under the crystal chandelier.

“Dear, I don’t care where you usually mooch food. But watch your manners at an event like this.”

Luca frowned too.

“Who let her in? Don’t embarrass us here. Get out. Now.”

I didn’t move.

Aurora covered her mouth and laughed.

“I get it. Estate never lifts a finger unless there’s something in it for her. You’re here tonight to fight me for Rocco, aren’t you?”

I blinked.

The comments explained for her.

[Aurora just sealed the marriage alliance with the Vadala family! That’s what you call a match between equals. Estate? She doesn’t qualify.]

[Everything in the Vadala family will be Rocco’s. Aurora will be the wife everyone envies. She’s so kind.]

I thought it was ridiculous. When I was building a life with Rocco, she was still scheming with Luca about how to keep me alive on cheap vegetarian meals.

So I answered directly.

“Yeah. I’m here to fight for Rocco. I heard he had it rough for over a decade. I doubt he’d like people who nickel-and-dime their own sister over meals.”

Aurora’s smile froze.

The laughter around us died instantly. A few socialites exchanged glances, and their expressions toward her turned strange.

“What are you talking about?”

She grabbed my wrist through clenched teeth and dragged me toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

I frowned and shook her off.

The second we reached the window, Aurora suddenly let go and threw herself backward.

She dropped to the floor and pointed at me with a scream.

“Estate, you pushed me on purpose? No matter how unhappy you are, you can’t ruin Rocco’s dinner!”

I lost my balance and crashed into someone’s arms. The banquet hall went dead silent.

The comments flashed past my eyes.

[Estate’s playing the victim again! She’d throw away every shred of dignity just to get close to Rocco.]

[Don’t worry. The one Rocco will really fall for is Aurora. Only an fool would pick Estate.]

A second later, a pair of hands reached out to me.

“Come on. Get up.”