Entangled with the Mafia Don novel Chapter 46

Davina's POV:

The warmth of Devlin's blanket and the soothing herbal tea did little to quell the tempest raging inside me, but her quiet presence was a lifeline. I sat huddled on her sofa, the oversized shirt still clinging to me, a constant reminder of the man who had shattered my world. Devlin sat patiently beside me, her hand gently rubbing my back, waiting for me to speak.

"He... he is engaged, Devlin," I finally choked out, the words tearing from my raw throat. "To Tatiana Sokolov. He was betrothed to someone else, and he just cancelled it. His father told me. Right there, in his kitchen." The memory was a fresh, brutal sting.

Devlin’s hand stilled. Her eyes, filled with a deep, weary understanding, hardened. "The Sokolovs," she murmured, a dark note in her voice. "I should have known. Ezra De Luca doesn't make moves without a strategy."

"A strategy?" I echoed bitterly, fresh tears blurring my vision. "He used me, Devlin. He took me, knowing I was... knowing it was my first time." My voice broke on the last words, the humiliation of that intimacy, now revealed as a calculated deception, burning in my throat. "I trusted him. I actually thought he... he cared." I squeezed my eyes shut, the shame of my foolishness overwhelming. "And his father said it was all part of the debt. That I was just a way to keep peace after Ivan. I was to be a 'payment'." The last word was a broken whisper, laced with profound shame and disgust.

I buried my face in my hands, the truth of my situation crashing down on me fully. The debt, my father's reckless gambling, the club, Ezra's twisted game... Forcing me into this life. I was a pawn, a commodity to satisfy his clients. The realization was suffocating. How could I possibly be so stupid? A man who made my life a liing hell since I met him, why wouldn't he sell me to his future brother in law?

Devlin pulled me closer, wrapping her arm tightly around me. "Oh, honey," she whispered, her voice laced with fierce protectiveness. "He is a bastard for that. A cold, calculating bastard. No man, no matter how powerful, has the right to treat another human being like that."

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