When the Don Inherits His Brother's Widow

In the fifth year of my marriage with Luca Salvatore, his older brother, Kendall Salvatore, suddenly passes away. As such, Luca becomes the new Don due to the circumstances.

But the Salvatore family has one condition for Luca—he has to sire an heir with Kendall's widow, Cindy Newton, in order to maintain the marriage alliance between both families.

I refuse to accept that condition. Luca turns it down firmly as well. He even takes my hand and makes a vow right in front of me.

"Xandra, I will never yield to my family. You're the only woman fit to become the Donna of the Salvatore family. Our child can be the only one who inherits my position as the Don in the future."

But gradually, he has been staying up late due to family affairs more and more often. There's also unfamiliar perfume clinging to his clothes.

But today is the day when my suspicions are finally proven to be true thanks to a video sent by an unknown number.

In the video, Luca can be seen accompanying Cindy to a prenatal check-up. As he caresses her baby bump, he says in a tender tone, "You must have suffered a lot, Cindy. Thank you for siring the heir of the Salvatore family."

At that moment, I finally realize that Luca has already broken the vow he has made to me. Hence, I burn down our home and leave without hesitation.

After all, my dad—the Don of the Caprese family—is already urging me to go home and take over the family as the new Donna.

I watched that clip over and over, ten times in total. In it, Luca Salvatore's gaze on Cindy Newton's belly was more sincere than the look he had when he swore his vows to me in the church five years ago.

The screen went dark, reflecting my numb face. At that moment, I had to admit that the man who once swore he would never betray me was gone.

The bedroom door opened. Luca walked in, exhausted. When he saw me, the gloom in his eyes softened instantly. "Why aren't you asleep? Didn't I tell you not to wait up?"

He walked over, leaning in to kiss me out of habit. But I turned my head, and his lips brushed my hair instead.

"I just woke up," I replied lightly. My gaze fell on the faint smear of foundation on his shirt collar.

Luca's hand froze midair, then withdrew as if nothing had happened. He sat beside me and said, "Xandra, I'm sorry. The senior members of the family have been putting pressure on me lately. I've neglected you."

Before, I would've reached out and smoothed his furrowed brows. But now, the scent of Cindy's perfume lingering on him made me sick.

"Is that so?" I stared straight into his eyes.

His gaze flickered for a second but quickly steadied. "Of course. Xandra, trust me. Everything I'm doing is to protect our family. That's why I