Never Offend the Hidden Don Chapter 04

Never Offend the Hidden Don Chapter 04

Victor started appearing everywhere, forcing his way into our lives.

Isabella thought he meant well.

To her, he was an old friend showing concern.

But I saw the truth: he wanted her, and he didn’t bother hiding it.

The arguments began.

She said I was too sensitive and suspicious.

She said I was becoming the same arrogant rich boy who bullied people with his power.

I said she couldn’t see Victor’s intentions and had no idea what boundaries were.

The cracks kept spreading.

Then came our engagement party.

Victor got drunk and kissed Isabella in front of everyone.

The anger I had suppressed for months destroyed every bit of reason in me.

I was never a good man.

Anyone who touched my woman had to pay.

I ignored Isabella’s pleas, rushed over, and beat him until his leg snapped.

After the incident, my parents once again had to clean up after their useless son.

But I was young and reckless then.

I refused to settle or apologize.

I even swore I would kill that son of a bitch.

The one who disappointed me most was Isabella.

She paid for Victor’s lawsuit and insisted I should answer for what I had done.

Fine. I did.

I paid for years of stupid love.

Before I went to prison, Isabella didn’t come to see me.

She only had someone send me a letter.

She said she’d wait for me and told me to behave myself in prison.

Less than a month later, I heard the news.

She and Victor had gotten their marriage license.

“A clean ending…” I repeated the phrase slowly.

The corner of my mouth moved, but it wasn’t really a smile.

“Isabella, that ending was written seven years ago.”

She froze.

“Take the money back.” My tone stayed even. “I don’t need it. I chose the life I have now, and I can make my own money. As for the past…”

I paused. “It’s over. You made your choice and built your life. I built mine. We were even a long time ago.”

Isabella stared at me, as if she wanted to find even one trace of disguise, resentment, or anger on my face.

She found nothing.

Her fingers slowly loosened around the bank card. “You… really changed, Enzo.”

I smiled faintly. “People change.”

After a long hesitation, Isabella still asked me to take her home.

On the way back, the rain began to fall again.

When we passed through the narrow, wet alleys of the old neighborhood, she walked slowly.

The air smelled of rain soaking into old brick, mixed with the warm scent of stew drifting from someone’s kitchen.

“Enzo.” She stopped suddenly.

Her voice sounded thin in the rain. “Do you regret it?”

I answered calmly, “No.”

She turned to look at me, her eyes complicated.

“I was an adult.” I kept walking, my tone flat. “I had to answer for what I did.”

“Answer for it? Don’t you think the price was too high? Just because of one moment of anger, you broke Victor’s leg. You spent seven years in prison, lost…”

She swallowed. “Lost your fiancée. And you went from heir to a powerful family to this.”

She didn’t finish, but I knew exactly what she meant.

I remained silent.

The alley was quiet, with only the rain and our footsteps between us.

My silence seemed to soften her.

She pulled the bank card from her handbag again and tried to force it into my hand.

“Take it. Stop saying those stubborn things. Please, okay?”

I didn’t take it.

The card brushed my fingers and fell onto the wet pavement.

She froze.

Then she bent down, picked it up, and shoved it at me again, harder this time.

“Enzo, look at yourself. You eat at street carts. You wear old clothes washed thin. You live in a leaking attic room. You drive more than ten hours a day for that little bit of money.”

“How long are you going to keep pretending you’re fine just to protect that pitiful pride?”

Her breathing grew uneven.

Her chest rose and fell as her eyes locked on me, like she wanted to burn a hole through my face.

“Do you know that with your situation now, you’ll barely find a decent girlfriend? Who would build a life with a broke man like you?”

I looked at her flushed cheeks and the thin shine of water in her eyes.

Once, that kind of look would have softened me.

It would have pulled me under.

Now there was only peace in my chest, not even a ripple.

I was about to speak when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I took it out.

The screen lit up with a message.

[Honey, preschool’s almost out. Don’t forget to pick up our baby.]

The sender was saved as Babe.

My thumb paused on the screen before I could reply.

Isabella’s gaze had already landed on the message.

Time seemed to freeze.

The agitation on her face, the anger, and that condescending pity all drained away like a tide, leaving only shock and disbelief behind.