There's No Afterlife for Love

I've been married to Salvatore Falcone for seven years.

He's a mafia Don who drills raw terror into everyone's minds. While I'm the Donna whom he has announced to the world, in truth, I'm just a mistress who serves as his human shield that can warm his bed on the side.

Salvatore has betrayed me countless times over the past seven years.

The first betrayal occurred when he took my ring off on our first wedding anniversary and gave it to one of the escorts in the clubhouse on a whim.

The second betrayal occurred when I collapsed in the kitchen out of exhaustion. Instead of saving me, Salvatore blamed me for not preparing the hangover tonic for him in time, so he had someone dump iced water onto me to wake me up.

The third betrayal occurred when I suffered from massive bleeding when I was five months pregnant. When I begged Salvatore to go to the hospital with me, he told me that he was keeping Valentina Caruso, his childhood sweetheart, company while her cat was getting fixed.

For 2500 days, I swallowed all of my grievances, agony, and tears.

Last night, at the banquet of our seventh wedding anniversary, Salvatore had taken Valentina's hand and sat her down on the Donna's throne that was meant to be mine.

At that moment, everyone looked forward to seeing me humiliate myself.

This was the 101st time he betrayed me.

After the banquet was over, Salvatore didn't even bother looking me in the eye. He just said icily, "Don't forget that you're only a mistress to me despite our marriage."

At the crack of dawn, Salvatore wakes up with a hangover. He tosses his soiled shirt at me out of habit.

"Wash this shirt immediately. I'm going to wear it tonight."

As I gaze at him, I caress my belly, which is slightly swollen.

"Sorry, Mr. Falcone. This is no longer my duty."

Salvatore most likely has forgotten that we've signed a contract when we first got married. The clause states that we will get divorced seven years later.

Today is the third day before our contract comes to an end.

I toss the marriage certificate and the pregnancy report into the shredder on the spot.

In three days, my unborn baby and I will disappear from Salvatore's world permanently. This time, I will never look back.

Salvatore Falcone froze, then anger lit his eyes.

He strode forward and grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "What the hell is wrong with you, Alessia Santoro?"

I ignored the sharp pain in my jaw. Instead, I lifted his shirt and tossed it onto the floor.

Salvatore's eyes darkened instantly. "Looks like you want another trip to the basement."

The basement was dark and damp. It was filled with snakes and spiders that slithered across me whenever I woke up.

Any hint of disobedience meant being locked down there. Sometimes it was for three days. Sometimes it lasted for a