Tired of Being Second in My Mafia's Boyfriend Heart

Candice’s words kept replaying in my head, each time like a stab to the heart. He’s with me, watching fireworks. He doesn’t care about you anymore. The shock of hearing her voice on the other end of the line had frozen me in place, but it shouldn’t have. Maybe deep down, I had always suspected something. There had always been something between them—whispers I chose to ignore, signs I was too blind to see.

For years, I had convinced myself that Candice was just his childhood friend, nothing more. After all, that’s what Lewis always told me. But the way they looked at each other, the lingering touches, the inside jokes that I was never part of… It was all there, right in front of me. And I didn’t want to believe it.

I was so desperate to hold onto the idea that Lewis loved me—that I was the one who had his heart. But now? Now it was clear. She wasn’t just in the background. She was in the spotlight.

"Call him again," one of the kidnappers growled, snapping me out of my daze.

I looked up, my vision blurry from unshed tears. The two men stood over me, their faces hidden behind black masks. They were growing impatient. I could feel it in the way they loomed closer, their body language tense. But what was the point? What good would it do? Lewis didn’t care. I was alone.

“I told you,” I said, my voice trembling. “He’s not coming.”

The shorter one sneered, his hand tightening around the phone as he thrust it toward me again. “Try anyway.”

I hesitated, my fingers barely able to move as I took the phone from him. My heart raced, though I couldn’t say whether it was from fear or heartbreak. The dial tone felt like a countdown, each ring pulling me deeper into the realization that this was real—that the man I loved had abandoned me.

Finally, the ringing stopped. But instead of Candice’s voice, this time it was Lewis.

“Lewis, I—” I stammered, fighting through the lump in my throat. “Where are you right now? Please—"

He cut me off with a sigh. “Look, I’m in the middle of something important. I don’t have time for this.”

Something important? I blinked, stunned by how casually he dismissed me.

He interrupted again, impatience leaking into his tone. “If it’s about your birthday, I’ll make it up to you later. I forgot to tell you so don’t wait for me anymore. I’m handling business right now, Stephanie. Don’t call me again.”

The line went dead.

I sat there, staring at the phone in my lap, my mind struggling to process what had just happened. He’ll make it up to me? That’s all he had to say? He didn’t even care enough to ask where I was, to ask if I was okay.

The icy truth wrapped itself around my heart. My breath hitched, and I fought the overwhelming urge to cry.

The kidnappers exchanged glances, growing more impatient with every second that passed.

“You heard it. There’s no point in keeping me here.”

For a moment, they both stood there, their faces hidden behind masks of indifference. The shorter one pulled out his phone, his thumb scrolling quickly through the screen. He frowned as something caught his attention, then turned it to the taller one, muttering something under his breath.

The phone’s bright screen flashed in front of my face, and there it was—the final nail in the coffin of whatever fantasy I had clung to. A viral post. Lewis and Candice. Candice, his so-called “childhood friend.” The two of them sitting on a blanket by the sea, watching fireworks light up the night sky. Their faces were lit with the warm glow of the explosions, smiling, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Fireworks. He had told me he was handling business. And here he was, with her. Candice.

The taller kidnapper scoffed, tossing the phone onto the nearby table with a sneer. “Looks like we got the wrong girl.”

The shorter one shrugged, his voice thick with annoyance. “She’s useless to us.”

I didn’t flinch when they started untying the ropes around my wrists. My entire body felt numb, my mind in a fog, too broken to react to anything around me. They yanked me to my feet, dragging me across the cold concrete floor toward the door.

I didn’t struggle. What was the point? Lewis wasn’t coming. The man I thought loved me had left me here to rot, all while he watched fireworks with another woman. The woman he really cared about.

They shoved me into the back of a car, the door slamming shut behind me. The ride felt endless, the sound of tires against the road blending into the swirling thoughts in my head. Then the car screeched to a halt.

The door opened, and rough hands dragged me out, my knees hitting the gravel road beneath me with a painful thud. They didn’t bother saying a word before they sped off, leaving me alone and cold on the deserted roadside.