The Crippled Don's Savage Queen

I ignored the text and shoved my phone back into my pocket.

"Mr. Falcone, I'll take you to another hospital."

By the time I had taken Lorenzo for his check-up and driven him back to the Falcone estate, it was already evening.

As soon as I reached my own front door, I saw Dante's car blocking the driveway.

"You froze my card?" he demanded the moment he saw me. "How am I supposed to find the best lawyer for Valentina?"

I found it laughable.

"What does Valentina's trouble have to do with me?"

Dante looked at me in disbelief.

"Isabella, we're about to get married! Valentina is my family, which means she'll be your family too!"

"She's lying in a hospital bed, in too much pain to sleep. How can you say something so cold-blooded?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"I'm cold-blooded?"

"Dante, do you have any idea how many people died because of that shootout Valentina started?"

Dante's face stiffened for a moment before he waved his hand dismissively.

"Their families have already been compensated."

"Valentina is just childish. She was acting on a whim and didn't think it through."

He frowned, speaking to me in a lecturing tone.

"As my wife, you should be tolerant of her, not bickering over every little thing."

Tired of his twisted logic, I tried to push past him.

"I'm not marrying into the Caruso family."

Dante grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight it felt like he might crush the bones. His eyes burned with fury.

"Isabella, don't push me! Marrying you doesn't mean I'm abandoning Valentina!"

"Then let's not get married." I calmly shook his hand off.

Dante froze.

Then, as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world, he started to laugh coldly.

"Not getting married?"

"Isabella, I saw it all. Your Rossi family just booked the most luxurious hotel and even hired a new wedding planning team."

"If you don't marry me, who are you going to marry?"

Just as I was about to speak, his phone rang.

Valentina's cloying voice came through the speaker.

"Dante, I want to drink the limited-edition champagne from that cellar in the south of the city."

Dante immediately softened his voice to soothe her.

After hanging up, he snatched the identical bottle of champagne—a gift from Lorenzo—from my hand.

"At least you have some heart, remembering Valentina likes this."

"Alright, I'll give you two days to cool off."

"Think carefully about how you're going to apologize to me, and how you're going to make amends to Valentina."

"Otherwise, I won't be showing up on the wedding day."