The Principessa's Final Lesson

I glared at Marco and let out a cold, humorless laugh.

"Are you sure you want to replace me?"

"I'm sure. And Isabella, don't try to guilt-trip me with our six years. When the love is gone, it's gone. The one I love now is Ava. Not only is she younger and sexier, but her networking skills make you what you are—a useless figurehead. You're holding me back, Isabella!"

Listening to his shameless speech, a bitter, angry laugh escaped me.

I’d heard the stories—power corrupts, success changes a man—but to see it unfold before my very eyes was still a staggering blow.

I could still hear the words of that kid from the streets, the one who held me with adoring eyes and promised me a lifetime. In the blink of an eye, that boy had vanished, replaced by a shameless snake.

My laughter seemed to needle him, his expression souring.

"What's so funny? Am I wrong? In two years, I took over half of Brooklyn. And what did you do? As the 'lady' of the club? You can't even cook a decent meal. Ava is the kind of woman a man like me needs."

"So, consider yourself out, Isabella. We're through. Get the hell off my turf and get your shit out of my apartment. Now."

I expected a wave of sadness, a crushing ache in my chest after being so cruelly discarded by the man I once loved.

But now, all I felt was a searing regret for my own blindness. For wasting my love—and my family's vast resources—on an ungrateful viper.

"Out? Through? Heh, Marco, you'd better not live to regret this."

I gritted my teeth, my gaze fixed coldly on his still-handsome face as I uttered the words calmly.

"Oh, who do you think you're threatening, Isabella? You really think he can't live without you?"

"Don't worry, Marco has me. His empire will only get bigger, and his life will be even happier!" Ava cackled, nestled in Marco's arms like a venomous bloom, as the crowd of sycophants and opportunists chimed in.

"That's right! Ava brought in huge clients for the club this past year. She's earned her place here!"

"Exactly! What did she contribute while she was off in Italy? She should've been kicked out long ago!"

"Ava and Marco are a perfect match. Some people just don't know when to quit, coming back here just to be humiliated!"

My disappointed gaze fell on Leo, the head of security, a man I had personally trained.

"Leo, if I hadn't spent countless nights training you, you'd still be brawling in some back alley for scraps, wouldn't you?"

To my surprise, he felt no guilt. He just sneered back at me.

"So what? I earned my place. Get it through your head: Marco sent you away because he was sick of you. Ava's the boss's lady now. I'm just playing it smart."

I then looked at Sal, the man who ran his books, whose family I had single-handedly saved from loan sharks.

Even Sal looked at me with cold disdain.

"Isabella, look, you helped me once, I admit it. But I work for Marco. I have to look out for my own future, and that's with him and Ava. Sorry."

Seeing that no one in the room would stand with me, Marco looked at me smugly.

"How much longer are you going to stand there and embarrass yourself?"