Ivy’s POV
My friends stared at like I had completely lost my sanity when I confessed that I had slipped away from Caleb’s penthouse before dawn, leaving nothing but a handwritten farewell note on his silk sheets.
"So now that I’ve delivered that final goodbye, he’ll probably cut his losses and forget I ever existed. anwhile, I’m drowning in misery worse than before I stepped foot in his territory," I finished, feeling my chest constrict with the weight of my own words.
"Madonna mia, Ivy! Listen, what went down between you two was brutal, but honey, you don’t just stumble across a Don who flips your entire universe like that every day," Gemma shot back, her voice sharp with frustration as she gestured with her wine glass.
"Anyone with functioning eyes can see what you two have is pure dynamite! The way that man devours you with his stare, sweetheart, he’s completely obsessed with you!" Ruby jumped in, her bracelets jangling as she waved her hands dramatically.
"So you’re really planning to hold this grudge against the head of the most powerful family in the city forever?" Nora pressed, leaning forward with concern etched across her face.
"I honestly don’t know if I’m capable of letting it go," I admitted, the words tasting bitter as I thought about the Thorne empire and everything that ca with loving its ruthless leader.
"rda, Ivy! I’m pissed that I have to say this, but Finn might actually be onto sothing," Zoe muttered, rolling her eyes as she took another sip of her drink.
"What the hell are you talking about?" we all demanded simultaneously, our voices echoing through the private dining room of the upscale restaurant.
Zoe launched into the story about her dinner with Caleb and Xavier at the famiglia’s exclusive restaurant, describing how Finn had been pushing her to see that Caleb could be the great love of my life, the only man capable of making truly happy in this dangerous world we inhabited. She had already filled in on the details, explaining how she had pretended to go along with Finn’s sche just to watch him squirm and beg for her help. She was also irritated that Finn was clearly playing ssenger between himself and Caleb, feeding information back and forth between the inner circle.
"Maybe Finn hit the nail on the head, considering how completely wrecked you are after dropping that goodbye bomb, facing the cold reality that it’s actually finished now," Zoe continued, swirling the wine in her glass. "Maybe you should give him another shot, but only after you make him crawl through broken glass for it."
"Ivy, n in our world are walking disasters! They screw up spectacularly because they’re used to solving everything with bullets and bloodshed. But I think you two can rebuild this thing. You just need to make him grovel until his knees bleed," Gemma declared with wicked satisfaction, her eyes gleaming with the kind of cunning that ca from years of navigating mafia politics.
"Look, Caleb is hotheaded and under crushing pressure from rival families and internal threats. What he did was reckless and stupid. But I know him inside and out, he never repeats the sa mistake. And it’s written all over his face in permanent ink that he’s crazy about you," Nora said firmly, squeezing my hand. Her husband was one of Caleb’s capos, so she understood the pressures of leading a criminal organization. "I seriously doubt he’s going to wave the white flag because of one goodbye note. Caleb fights tooth and nail for what matters to him, especially when it cos to protecting his territory."
"Think about it, you could try seeing his perspective. In that mont, every single piece of evidence pointed to you being guilty of stealing from the family coffers. Flip the script. What would you have done if soone told you he was betraying the famiglia and all the proof was stacked against him?" Ruby challenged, forcing to really consider the brutal realities of our world.
"You’re absolutely right. I would have thrown punches first and asked questions later," I said, allowing myself to consider for the first ti that maybe, just maybe, I could find it in my heart to forgive the Don of the Thorne family.
"Honey, I know you better than anyone, you’re incredible and your heart is enormous. You’re going to forgive him. Actually, you’ve already started forgiving him, or you never would have shown up at his fortress," Zoe concluded with knowing certainty. My friend could read like an open book. "Plus, he and Max have this incredible connection, and you have to admit that counts for sothing major in a world where blood loyalty ans everything."
I nodded, unable to argue with that truth. In the mafia world, family bonds were sacred.
"Do you genuinely love him, Ivy? Is this love worth fighting for, worth the danger that cos with being the woman of a Don?" Gemma asked, locking eyes with and searching for the real answer.
"Yes, I love him more than I ever imagined I could love another human being. He’s incredible with , incredible with my son. He protects us like we’re his most precious treasure. Damn it all to hell! I want him back!" I finally confessed, accepting that I was ready to forgive the most powerful man in the underworld.
"Well, ladies, let’s drink to that revelation!" Nora raised her glass high. "But now, we need to plan the absolute torture he’ll have to endure to earn you back and learn never to cross you again."
I found myself grinning at her words. We clinked our glasses together and made our toast. We spent the next several hours scheming, cackling with laughter, and by the end we had constructed the perfect revenge plan that would make even hardened mafia soldiers squirm.
"So there it is, girls! Caleb is going to learn his lesson the hard way. And his little crew of capos will pay the price too, especially Finn. I’m positive they’re all conspiring together to help their Don," Zoe said with absolute conviction.
"We can’t trust a single one of them. We’ll pump them for information while making them suffer," Nora concluded with satisfaction.
"Oh, it’s easy for you two, you already have your n wrapped around your little fingers. But for us three, it’s going to be brutal. Even worse for since I haven’t even gotten to first base with my target yet," Ruby complained, sending us all into fits of laughter.
"Girl, you’re supposed to make him suffer, not run away from him. Think of it like training a guard dog, good behavior earns rewards, bad behavior gets punishnt," Nora was practically crying with laughter.
"Exactly the point, ladies. We’re going to drive these dangerous n absolutely insane, have them begging for scraps," Zoe’s eyes were gleaming with mischief. "And once Ivy forgives that Don, we’ll all have them exactly where we want them."
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