Born in the Mud, Crowned the Mafia Queen Chapter 08

Born in the Mud, Crowned the Mafia Queen Chapter 08

Dante nodded, calm about it.

I smiled a little. “You love me. But Julfet still lives somewhere in your heart.”

His brow creased, like he was actually thinking it over.

After a moment, he shook his head firmly. “No. Juliet’s my sister-in-law. I respect her. That’s not love.”

“The three of you grew up together. She’s always mattered to you. Am I wrong?”

This time, Dante nodded.

“No matter what, she’s still my friend.”

“That’s not just any friend. If she were ever in trouble, you’d drop everything to help her. Wouldn’t you?”

Dante pressed his lips together and said nothing.

I already had my answer. I let out a soft sigh.

“So the woman you end up marrying is going to have a rough time of it. There’s this untouchable ideal in

your heart, and she’ll only get purer and more perfect the longer she stays there. Nobody else could ever

measure up. Whoever you marry only gets half your heart.”

Dante argued, “That’s not… ”

I cut him off. “Whether you admit it or not, she’s always going to be special to you. What kind of woman

would want a husband like that? You know exactly what this looks like, and you’re still chasing me. Is that

how little you think of me? No woman should have to settle for a man whose heart belongs partly to

someone else, so what makes you think I would?”

My voice went cold. “Do you think all I deserve is a broken, half-empty kind of love?”

My father. My mother. My brother. Dante.

So many people seemed to think that for someone like me, someone who’d spent half her life scraping by at

the bottom, getting even a scrap of love was already a gift. Like that scrap should be enough to make me

grateful forever. So that’s all they ever gave me. Scraps.

But Juliet, raised like a princess her whole life, was born deserving everything. So they gave her everything.

Why did love come with a hierarchy in these people’s minds?

Didn’t an ordinary person deserve something precious too?

I refused to accept that logic.

I didn’t want their charity I definitely didn’t want their pity.

Under my questions, Dante’s face filled with something like shame.

Before he left, he handed me a small box.

“My family’s relocating. Someone found this in a hidden compartment in a drawer while packing. Should belong to that Nathan guy you mentioned. Take a look.”

I opened the box. Inside was a woman’s watch.

A model from a few years back, worth a few thousand dollars. Expensive, back then, for both of us.

Before he died, he’d been secretive about getting me an anniversary gift. I’d asked him about it a few times,

and he’d just say I’d find out on my birthday.

At the time, I’d thought the watch looked expensive, said I liked it, never once thought about actually buying

Tucked in the lining was also a letter, in his handwriting.

The tears hit me all at once.

A gift that was years late, finally making its way back to me through the strangest path.

Dante watched me in silence for a long time.

I fought to hold myself together. Dante asked, “Was he really that great?”

His face was full of confusion.

Then he asked, “Better than me?”