The Don Waste My Child Chapter 04

The Don Waste My Child Chapter 04

In the hotel.

My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

Someone in the group chat had posted a photo.

Kane was walking through a shopping mall, his arms loaded with shopping bags, Ivy’s parents flanking him like he was already family.

The outline.

The perfect mafia boyfriend.

“Willow. What the hell is this?”

Reyna’s message stopped being polite.

“You just lost a baby. And instead of taking care of you, he’s playing happy family at the mall with her?”

“WTF!”

“I should never invite Kane to my wedding.”

“He is such a jerk!”

My belly ached as I read Reyna’s message.

I remembered everything. From the day Ivy announced her divorce to the day it was finalized, Kane had been in the middle of all of it.

Handling her drunk ex-husband.

Throw him into the Calumet River.

Finding her the best divorce lawyers in Chicago. When her mood dipped, their business trips stretched longer. After meetings, he’d walk her through whatever city they were in. “She needs fresh air,” Kane said. Fresh air, my ass.

Shopping for my birthday, he’d pick something up and say, without thinking—”This would suit Ivy.”

Once, Ivy got drunk. Called him crying at 2 a.m. He went. I went with him. We found her on her couch, mascara everywhere, asking why no man could be as good as Kane.

He made her tea. Held the cup to her lips. “Then next time, you should meet me sooner.”

I stood in the doorway, listening.

“Kane. Don’t you think you two are crossing a line?”

He looked at me. Laughed. “You’re jealous over this? She’s been with the Family since the beginning. The divorce shattered her. What kind of Don would I be if I didn’t look out for my people?”

Every time I pushed, he deflected. Push harder, and he’d tell me to calm down. Stop being paranoid. Stop seeing things that weren’t there.

The worst fight—the one where I almost ended it—was at the Family gala. Grand prize: a couple’s island getaway.

I laced my fingers through his. “If one of us wins, let’s go together.”

I was number six. Ivy was number nine. When the draw started, Ivy bounced in her seat. “Pick me! Pick me!”

Kane was the one drawing. Across the noise, his eyes met Ivy’s. They held. Then he smiled.

“Congratulations—number nine!”

I looked at the number in my hand. Disappointed, but fine. It was just a prize. Then I saw the winning slip being cleared away. The number on it was six.

My number.

He admitted it. No shame. “It’s a small thing. If you want to go, I’ll take you myself. Ivy’s in a bad place right now. Your number just happened to come up. Letting her have it—isn’t that what a good person would do?”

“These little things—how many times are you going to throw tantrums over them? Grow up.”

“No!” I cut him off. “That was mine! You are my boyfriend—what gives you the right to give away what’s mine?”

He turned to walk away. Like I was some hysterical woman making a scene at his event. I threw the number card at his back.

“You want to give things away? Fine. I’ll throw you in too. Kane—we’re done.”

I was already down the hall before he caught up. He grabbed me—spun me around—and the look on my face must have been real, because he stopped. Stopped dismissing me. Wrapped his arms around me.

“Alright. Alright. I’m sorry, Willow. I’ll make her give it back. It won’t happen again.”

I stopped struggling. He nuzzled against me. “I knew it. When have you ever really been able to leave me?”

He promised boundaries. He promised change.

Then at Reyna’s wedding, Ivy announced she’d lost all faith in love. And Kane asked me—without asking—to give her the bouquet. The happiness. The blessing.

This time, it wasn’t just a vacation voucher.

I picked up my phone. Typed into the boiling group chat.

“It’s fine. I’m breaking up with Kane.”