My Ex Wants Me Back, But I’m The Don’s Wife

Two years after I married New York's Don, Colter Moretti, my ex-fiancé, Nico Falcone, decided he wanted me back.

The roar of engines was a declaration of war as a convoy of black, bulletproof cars descended upon my private estate. Soldati unloaded crate after crate of “gifts”—jewelry, designer gowns, an antique piano.

He stood proudly before his car and announced, "Bella, I told you. The only reason I was with my brother's widow was that he died unexpectedly. The Falcone family needed the heir she was carrying."

"Now that the child is born, I've fulfilled my promise to the family. I'm back to marry you!"

Lounging by the pool after my post-natal yoga, I didn’t even bother to open my eyes.

He frowned, his tone becoming condescending. "I know you're upset, but you're a Romano. You want for nothing! Can't you show a little compassion for a grieving widow?"

"I know it was selfish to make you wait two years, but I'm back now! In three days, we'll be married. I know you still care about me. Otherwise, why would you wear such a revealing bikini just for me?"

The sheer audacity of it made me laugh. "Guards, throw him out!"

What a joke. I’d just given birth to the Moretti heir, and my husband, Colter, had been urging me to take our son to visit my parents. Instead, I run into this clown.

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1

Nico Falcone leaned against the door of his limited-edition sedan. He slid off his sunglasses, revealing sharp brows, deep-set eyes, and a mocking smile.

"I get it," he said slowly. "You're playing hard to get."

"You have your pride; I have my patience. I know you flash those claws at any man who gets too close, but you’d never let anyone truly disrespect you."

"Unlike you, Daisy is gentle and kind. If someone bullies her, she just suffers in silence."

"She needs someone to protect her." His feigned sentimentality made my stomach churn.

"Isabella, even when I marry you, that doesn't mean you can use my affection as an excuse to bully her."

"In my heart, Daisy will always be as important as you are."

Two years ago, those words would have shattered my heart. But now, they just sounded pathetic.

"Nico, what on earth makes you think I've been waiting for you?" I asked calmly.

His expression froze.

"Did it ever occur to you that I'm already with someone else?"

Nico stared at me for a few seconds, then burst out laughing as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world. "Impossible!"

"We've been engaged since childhood. The entire New York underworld knows you're my woman. Who would dare touch you?"

He advanced on me, his gaze sweeping over me like I was his property. "Honestly, you're beautiful, but you have a hell of a temper. Who else but me could ever tame you?"

A complete egomaniac. That was the real Nico. I sneered inwardly.

"Isabella, even though I've been with Daisy, I've kept an eye on the Five Families," he continued. "Since your father retired, the Romano family has been in decline. No one would dare marry a woman cast aside by the Falcones."

"Besides, what else are you going to do? Cling to your faded reputation until you're old and gray?"

A small smile played on my lips. In his mind, I was still the little girl who needed his protection.

We had grown up together, and for as long as I could remember, everyone considered us a couple.

At our university graduation, he’d proposed to me in front of everyone, cementing our union as a celebrated alliance between our two families. But the night before our engagement party, he got his late brother's widow pregnant behind my back.

When I confronted him, he didn't even try to deny it. He just said, matter-of-factly, "My brother is gone, and Daisy is heartbroken. She needs a child to solidify her position. Just give me two years, Bella. As soon as the child is born, I'll marry you."

Hearing that, my heart turned to ice. I threw the engagement ring into the Hudson River and cut off all contact with him.

That same year, the Moretti family hosted a grand banquet where the heads of the Five Families sipped champagne and carved up their territories. I was cornered by two women from rival families, who openly mocked me for being humiliated by Nico and his brother’s widow.

It was then that the Don of the Moretti family, Colter Moretti, strode into my life. He placed a steadying hand on the small of my back, his sharp gaze sweeping across the ballroom. "Isabella is my fiancée. Anyone who disrespects her, disrespects the Moretti family."

No one dared to meet my gaze after that, let alone insult me.

Later, he took me to an empty terrace and asked me to give him a chance to turn his lie into a reality.

I agreed.

Nico’s voice pulled me back to the present. "Anyway, even though you've been avoiding me, I know you're just mad."

He pointed to the black sedan parked at the end of the driveway. "I gave you that car the year we were engaged. If you really wanted to be done with me, you would have sold it long ago."

"But you didn't. You've even kept it in pristine condition."

"I know you still love me, Isabella."

"You've been waiting for me."

His smug confidence was so ridiculous I almost laughed. I had barely set foot in my father's house since marrying Colter. My father was the one who’d been taking care of that car.

Besides, it was a classic Alfa Romeo. Why would I take my anger out on an innocent vintage car?

He took my silence as an admission and smiled triumphantly. "Don't worry. In three days, I'll throw you the grandest wedding New York has ever seen!"

I couldn't be bothered to waste another breath on him.

I grabbed the garden hose by the pool, twisted the nozzle, and blasted him with a powerful stream of water. "Get out of my sight, Nico!"

He was soaked from head to toe. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his expensive suit was ruined, but he was still smiling. "There she is. Still as fiery as ever. I knew you still had feelings for me!"

He opened his arms wide, as if savoring the moment. "I promise, I will never betray you again, Isabella."

"You and Daisy—the two most important women in my life."