His and Her Unspoken Secret

In the seventh year of being in love with the Don, George Grimaldi, I said yes to his proposal.

Inside a top-tier luxury bridal boutique, I stood in front of the mirror wearing the first wedding gown of my life. I looked at myself again and again and couldn’t stop smiling. Behind me, he watched in silence for a long moment.

Then suddenly, he spoke, “Oh, right. We can’t get married for now. I’m married to someone else.”

For a second, I thought I had misheard him. However, my entire body went stiff. The color drained from my face.

“Josie is a benefactor of my family,” he explained casually, like he was talking about the weather. “My father insisted I register with her. But don’t worry. She won’t affect our relationship.”

My ears rang. It took me a long time before I could finally process his words.

“So you’ve been lying to me for seven years?”

He frowned, as if I were the unreasonable one. “I wasn’t lying. I just forgot to tell you. This is my fault. If you don’t mind, we can still hold the wedding as planned—the gown, the ring, the honeymoon. You’ll have everything you deserve.”

I lowered my gaze. My hand drifted down and rested gently against my lower abdomen. There was something else here, too—a secret I had planned to tell him today.

Those few sentences hit me like bricks. The pain was so sharp I almost couldn’t stay on my feet.

“But you’ve never mentioned it once in the seven years I’ve been with you…” I tried to steady myself, but my voice still trembled.

For seven years, he had cherished me and protected me. When he looked at me, it felt like I was the only woman in the world. I had never doubted him or imagined that behind all that devotion, there was another woman.

George Grimaldi let out a low laugh. “Because it wasn’t important.”

Then, he stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His possessive kiss fell against the side of my neck. Once, those kisses made all my fears disappear. Now, they felt like needles piercing my skin.

He leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Bella, we don’t need a piece of paper to prove what we have.”

We didn’t need a piece of paper to prove what we have? Did I not need a name, a legal status, or a title? Was all I had to be his hidden mistress?

Two teardrops slid down my face before I could stop them. They fell straight onto the back of his hand.

I shoved him away and stumbled into the bathroom.

“Do you have to react this way?” he said as he followed me in, holding out a handkerchief. “Josie’s parents were shot and killed protecting my father, the old Don. They left her all alone. It was my father who insisted I marry her, for the sake of her future. I’ve settled her down