Forced To Be The Mafia King's Bride (by Oma Green) novel Chapter 159

Dante's POV

I ducked, but fury exploded in my chest like a grenade going off.

I closed the distance between us in three strides. She tried to run, scrambling backward with panic written all over her face, but I was faster. My hands closed around her arms, firm but careful not to bruise.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

She fought me like a wild animal, twisting and pulling against my grip.

"Let me go! You're a liar! A fucking liar!"

Shock rippled through me, momentarily drowning out the anger. "Liar? What are you talking about?"

"I don't want you to touch me!" She was sobbing now, still fighting. "You lied! You promised!"

Pain filled my chest at her words. This was supposed to be our night. Our beginning. And instead, she was looking at me like I'd destroyed her.

"Gianna." I forced my voice to stay level even as every rejection felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.

"Calm down and tell me what the hell you're talking about. Now."

She kept struggling, kept cursing through her tears, and watching her fall apart gutted me in ways I didn't know were possible.

"Gianna!" I gave her a small shake, just enough to break through her panic. "Calm down, or I'll make you calm down. Tell me what this is about before I lose my patience completely."

"How could you?" She stopped struggling, but tears streamed down her face, and the look in her eyes, betrayal mixed with devastation, made me want to tear apart whoever put it there.

"I trusted you. I believed in you. And you, you ripped my heart right out of my chest."

Confusion washed over me. I tried to cup her face, but she jerked away.

"I haven't broken any promises I made to you. So what is all this about?"

"Why today of all days?" Her voice rose, thick with unshed tears. "Out of all the days in the world, right after making vows to me, you ran into her arms."

"Whose arms?" Genuine bewilderment flooded through me. "Gianna, what are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me!" She screamed it in my face, tears streaming faster now. "I saw you fucking Selene in your office!"

The words punched all the air from my lungs.

Oh God. She saw.

Understanding hit me with devastating clarity. She had seen Selene on top of me and thought I had betrayed her. On our wedding day. She believed I'd broken every promise I'd made.

And the worst part? I couldn't entirely blame her for what she thought she'd seen.

"Gianna, belle, it's not what you think."

She wrenched herself from my hands, and I let her go, giving her space even though every part of me wanted to hold her closer.

"Are you really so wicked that you would lie?" Her voice cracked. "I saw you both. She was naked, riding against you."

"You're right about what you saw." I kept my voice steady. "But there's more to the story."

When it ended, she didn’t react right away. Shock crossed her face, then confusion. Understanding followed. Guilt came last, enough to make her eyes squeeze shut for a moment.

She looked up at me, tears still streaming down her face, but now they were different tears. "Dante. I'm so sorry. I thought."

I turned away from her because looking at her hurt too much. The anger had burned itself out, leaving only disappointment and pain behind.

"You thought I was the worst kind of man. That I would betray you on our wedding night. That I would break every promise I made to you in front of God and everyone we know."

She followed. "I saw her on top of you and I just."

"And you didn't think to talk to me about it like an adult?" My voice rose despite my attempt to control it. "You didn't think to ask for my side before assuming the worst? Instead, you decided to break my head open?"

She reached for me.

"No, Gianna." I stepped back, creating distance because if I touched her right now, I didn't know what I'd do. The hurt ran too deep.

"You don't trust me. You're always so quick to think the worst of me. And it hurts more than you could possibly understand."

"Dante."

"If you don't trust me, then what are we doing?" The question hung heavy between us. "Tell me. Because no relationship, no marriage, can survive without trust. And you just proved you don't have any faith in me at all."

"You're a man, Dante." Her voice trembled, defensive. "And men are known to cheat. Statistics don't lie. So when I saw."

"I'm Dante De Luca." I cut her off, my voice echoing off the wall. "Not some random man you read about in statistics. When I make promises, I keep them until my final breath. I told you that you were mine. That means something to me. Everything to me."

"I'm sorry." She moved toward me, desperation making her movements frantic. "Please, forgive me. I'll do anything to make this right. Anything."