Left My Mafia Husband, Fell In love With His Rival

The day Elena decided to leave Vincent was their fifth marriage anniversary.

As she listened to the furious slapping of skin against skin, his deep voice that would've, at one point, lit up her entire day coming out in groans, she knew he had no love for her in his heart anymore.

How else could he be sleeping with an unknown woman when she was stuck in the hospital fighting for their unborn child's life?

Cold tears streamed down her face in response to the suffocating pain she was feeling, her teeth chattering and goosebumps trailing down her arm. The flimsy hospital gown she had on did little to shield her from the cold weather, as she protectively cradled her little bump.

The last two years had been a rocky one. Battling for her husband's attention with his so-called best friend was already tiring.

She couldn't add this to the pile.

So with bloodshot eyes, Elena turned to walk away quietly, dialling the number she'd been hesitating to for days:

"I know you want to bring Vincent down. Do you want to join hands with me?"

****

The moment she got back to the hospital, Elena immediately asked to be discharged.

"Mrs. Lopez. I advise you to stay one more day." The nurse pressed for a second time as she packed her bags but Elena refused.

No amount of treatment could take away the pain she was feeling.

Her feet were numb from the cold as she hadn't bothered to pull on her boots earlier, and she felt the pain from the blisters that had formed beneath them. Still, it wasn't as painful as the ache in her chest.

Five years. Why would Vincent throw five years down the drain?

"I'd like to go home now." She replied in a small shaky voice.

And with a deep sigh, the nurse checked her out.

Within a few minutes, she was out of the hospital and on her way home with her two guards who by then had returned from their short break.

Waiting for the car to pull up, for a minute, she considered calling her husband to let him know that she'd been discharged but thought less about it.

It wasn't like he'd care anyway.

When he wasn't busy with his best friend, Claire, he was with another woman.

She'd been stuck at the hospital for a week due to a severe infection, fighting for her life... also to save their unborn child, yet he didn't bother to visit once, claiming to be out of town for business.

A familiar ache, one Elena had become accustomed to for months, flared up within her. It would be a lie to say she hadn't seen it coming; their marriage was barely hanging by a thread.

The car screeched to a stop as one of the guards announced.

"Mrs. Lopez, we've arrived."

Moving to step out of the car, her eyes caught sight of a black lacy underwear peeking from beneath the driver's seat.

Elena's heart dropped as they widened in realisation.

How long had this been going on? Who exactly was this mistress?

With a heavy heart, she carefully picked it up, tucking it into her bag as she got out.

As soon as she walked into their home, she instantly knew that Vincent had been lying when he said he was out of town.

He had a habit of leaving his coats hanging on the rack whenever he returned every day, so the rack was filled with coats.

On the dining table were two recently used glasses and an empty bottle of wine.

Didn't he say work might take longer than planned? She'd blindly believed him, knowing how spontaneous his job was.

He wasn't just anyone but the leader of the mafia in their region. It was all a lie.

How could she have been so foolish?

Not bothering to wait for him to get back, she headed for their room, washing away the grime smell of disinfectant from the hospital before lying on her bed to sleep.

Yet it didn't come easily.

Elena forced down the lump in her throat as her heart raced, thumping loudly against her chest.

How could Vincent treat her this way? She was with him when he was just an ordinary gang leader, and now that he had risen to the top, she was nothing?

Her pregnancy was unplanned and gotten during one of his drunken trolls but she had thought a child could mend their growing rift.

How wrong was she...

Exhaling loudly, she closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to pull her in when her phone beeped.

It was a post Claire had tagged her in. A picture of Vincent grinning so brightly as she placed a kiss on his cheeks with the words

'Find a man who'd love you right.'

She let out a bitter laugh.

How ironic.

He'd also left his mistress to spend time with Claire.

How could a man shuffle between three women?

Irritated, she dumped the phone on her bedside table, staring into space until sleep took her. By the time morning came, it was a call from Vincent that woke her up, and out of habit, she hurriedly received it.

"Hello?"

"Elena." His deep voice filtered from the phone. "Are you feeling better? I'll try and make it back today. You're still at the hospital, right?"

A scoff escaped Elena's lips, unable to believe that he was still keeping up the act. All she said in reply was a detached "No." Then ended the call to prepare for work.

As an artist, she had a big exhibition coming up and was behind schedule. It was the only thing that could take her mind off everything anyway so she planned to work herself to the bones.

But even at work, she found it hard to concentrate. The post had spread like wildfire, and it was all her colleagues spoke about.

Vincent was only a popular rich businessman in the eyes of everyone and they believed Elena was lucky to be his wife. So they were all curious about his relationship with the woman in the picture.

Elena's chest tightened at the unwanted attention.

She wanted to be left alone to wallow in her self-pity, but it seemed impossible.

On the other end, Vincent kept bombarding her with calls out of guilt and switched to texts when she ignored them,

'You sounded so cold on the phone earlier; are you alright?' 'Elena, what is going on?' 'Are you sulking?' He sent text after text and she was going to turn off her phone when the last one caught her eye.

'I sent you a surprise package.'

A surprise package? The last time he surprised her was a year ago and that was a luxury bag for forgetting her birthday.

She was wondering exactly what he would have sent this time, when a delivery man walked into the gallery and straight up to her.

"Mr. Lopez asked that I deliver this to you, ma'am."

It was a food tray. One she craved two weeks ago yet it only made her feel more sad as she stared at the peanut-flavoured tray.

Elena's lips trembled, she could feel her heart sinking further.

Her phone beeped again.

'Did you receive my gift? You can stop being angry now.'

The grief she'd been trying to contain, flooded her mind.

Had he ever paid attention to her? How many more years did they have to spend together for Vincent to remember that she was deathly allergic to peanuts?

Claire was the one who loved peanuts.

'Are you sure this is for me? And not for your wonderful best friend?' She typed back, her response dripping sarcasm and proceeded to throw the tray in the trash until her gaze caught a small white note sticking out the side.

Her curiosity piqued. She flipped it open only to feel gut-wrenching pain at the words that met her eyes.

'I miss having you above me, Claire. '

What?

The identity behind the soft moans that complimented her husband's groans last night…

Elena inhaled sharply, her breath getting caught in her throat at the realization.

Claire was the mistress.