My Rival Bragged About Her Don Husband, But He Was My Secret Husband Chapter 08

My Rival Bragged About Her Don Husband, But He Was My Secret Husband Chapter 08

I’d only met Margaret once.

That was the day we signed the marriage paperwork, three years ago. She’d come over trying to play the mother in-law card, launching into some speech about how I’d need to conduct myself now that I was married-

The Moretti family people had pulled her away before she got far.

A true, unredeemable fool. That was my assessment, and so in three years I’d never gone to see her once.

Selena spotted me the moment I walked in and her smile got wider. She steered Margaret straight toward me.

“Ava, you know who this is, right?”

“Julian’s mother. And she’s agreed to let us get married.”

“Oh? Does Julian know?”

I looked at her with honest curiosity.

Margaret’s face went stiff.

“Your marriage to Julian was rushed into by the older generation. And in three years, you’ve barely set foot in his home. You’ve never appeared at a single event beside him. You’re a deeply inadequate wife.”

She paused.

“Julian hasn’t said so directly, but I’ve seen it. Why do you think he ended up with Selena? That’s all your fault.”

She reached over and patted Selena’s hand.

“This is the kind of wife he needs.”

She straightened slightly. “The Moretti family’s position has changed considerably. I think it’s time this alliance came to an end.”

More stupid than I’d imagined. No wonder she raised a son like Julian.

The people around us who knew about the marriage started casting surprised glances.

Selena lowered her eyes, trying to look modest. But she couldn’t hide the smile.

I gave a quiet laugh.

“Do you know how the Moretti family built itself up?”

Margaret frowned.

“We built it on our own-”

“You built it on the Costanzo family.” I said it plainly. “The East Coast docks. The freight lines up north. The casinos. All of it – Costanzo connections.”

Margaret’s expression went through several changes.

“What are you saying?”

After my mother died, my father had retreated and moved most of the operations into the shadows. When I took

over three years ago, there were people inside the family who wanted to test me, so I had to focus everything on eliminating those threats, which meant staying even quieter on the outside.

But the core people in this world all knew: the Costanzo family was dormant, not gone. Now that the internal troubles were fully settled, I had nothing left to hide.

My presence, unguarded and unhidden, was its own signal.

The senior family men in the room understood immediately. They started coming over one by one to greet me.

“Old Costanzo raised a hell of a daughter. There isn’t a man in this room who could match you.”

One elder clapped me on the shoulder.

“Half the people in this room owe your father a life debt.”

He glanced at the two women with something like contempt.

“He may be gone, but none of us will let anyone walk over you.”

I smiled and greeted each of them in turn.

Margaret’s mouth had come open.

Selena’s smile had finally frozen solid.

They understood now: how enormous power I held behind me.

Another man spoke up, one Margaret had been carefully toasting all evening. He shook his head, tone distinctly unimpressed.

“How did you end up with Julian of all people?”

“With the Costanzo family behind them, and that’s still the best they could manage.”

I swirled the wine in my glass.

“Uncle Corte, young men make mistakes. I’ll be more careful going forward.”

The Moretti heir arrived fashionably late, visibly flustered, and came over to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ava. My aunt doesn’t really understand how these things work.”

I looked at him without much feeling.

“If you don’t understand how things work, you shouldn’t leave the house. Don’t you think?”

Margaret’s face alternated between pale and flushed.

Selena had crumpled the skirt of her dress without noticing.