The Ex’s Wedding Gift

Three years into my marriage with Dominick, Gia, his stepsister, sent me a video clip out of nowhere.

I tapped on the video, only to find Dominick tying his stepsister to the bedpost with the tie I had given him.

His stepsister lay naked under him, addressing him intimately.

After getting their freak on, they shared an embrace, and Gia cozied up against Dominick and uttered, “I don’t like the ring you bought me. Give it to Luna, and tell her it’s a birthday gift from me.”

The next day, I sat in an upscale restaurant and stared at the vacant seat across the table.

Suddenly, the Underboss wheeled a massive cake toward me.

“Don Costa was called away on urgent business. He sent me to deliver your birthday gift.”

The box contained his stepsister’s discarded reject.

My phone buzzed with new pictures from Gia. Dominick was at the hospital with Gia for a check-up.

Without a fuss, I signed the divorce papers and made preparations for a wedding.

“Donna Costa, whose names should I put down as the bride and groom?”

“Dominick and Gia.”

A week from now, I would show the world the kind of filth the supposed solemn Don had been rolling in with his stepsister.

“Gia Costa? Isn’t Gia the Don’s sister? How can they possibly get married?” One subordinate exclaimed.

“They aren’t siblings by blood,” I said in a flat tone.

Gia was his stepsister. No one expected Gia to find her way into Dominick Costa’s sheets.

I stared at the empty chair across from me, my heart in the pit of my stomach.

Holding a pen, I scrawled my signature on the document right in front of me and handed the divorce papers to the subordinate.

“Tuck this sheet in with the recent expense claims.”

Dominick had always been generous with me, signing off on my spending without so much as a glance.

With his name on the divorce papers, things between us would be over before he knew it.

Before strutting out of the restaurant, I dumped the roses and ring into the trash can right in front of the Underboss.

The Underboss uttered, “Donna Costa, surely, there’s some sort of mistake—”

“Frankie, know your place.” My voice was icy.

“My relationship issues with the Don are not your concern. If I catch wind of any gossip, I’ll see to it that your limbs be removed.”

Frankie clammed up. Given Dominick’s years of favor, I was second to him in the family. No one had the nerve to challenge me.

As I was walking out of the restaurant, heavy snow fell outside the window, and snowflakes drifted onto my palm.

It was snowing when Dominick told me he loved me for the first time.

Back then, he wrapped a red scarf around my neck and leaned in to press his lips onto mine.

“Holy cow! Check that out!” A burst of exclamations nearby pulled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and saw my name written across the biggest billboard in the city.

[Luna Bianchi, I will always love you until the day I die.]

“Oh, my God! I really envy the girl by that name. As if being rich isn’t enough, her husband is impossibly devoted too!”

“I know, right? I don’t think there is any woman as lucky as her.”

“I’d kill for that. Oh, Lord, grant me a man just like him.”

The women on the streets lifted their heads, their expressions dreamy as they stared at the billboard.

Only I, the subject in question, averted my gaze.

My phone rang.

It was a new message from Gia.

The image displayed Dominick sound asleep by her hospital bedside, his grip tight on her wrist.

“I hope you have a wonderful birthday today.”

It was just another one of Gia’s attempts to get a rise out of me. Still, I kept my cool and simply texted back, “I did.”

How could I not? I was about to leave a man who wasn’t worth my time to start a new chapter.

I took a cab, and along the route home, one display board after another lit up.

From massive shopping centers to small businesses, every illuminated sign was plastered with loving messages directed at me.

By the end of tonight, the whole of Riverton would know that a woman named Luna Bianchi was loved.

My mobile screen flickered. The notification was not from Gia, but Dominick.

His voice was husky as if he had just woken up. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

I fell silent for a moment before saying, “It was alright.”

Dominick chuckled. “I guess it’s not enough to get me off the hook. I honestly had an emergency tonight, Luna.

“There was trouble within the family, and it concerned the lives of many. I trust that you’re sensible enough to understand that.”

That was so typical of Dominick. The words, supposedly affectionate, came across as a threat, forcing me to comply.

“I got it. Don’t let me keep you from your business. I’ll just head to the mall for a little shop.” I looked out the car window, my voice nothing more than a whisper.

Pleased with my response, Dominick ended the call and wired a million bucks to my bank account, along with the message to spend everything before coming back.

It was rather overbearing yet doting of him.

He appeared to adore me. If I hadn’t discovered his affair with his stepsister, I would have believed his lies for the rest of my life.

Yesterday, Gia, his stepsister, sent me a risqué video clip.

Out of curiosity, I tapped on the clip for a peek, only to view the face of my husband, Dominick.

He tied Gia to the bedpost with a necktie.

Stark naked under Dominick, Gia breathed raggedly.

They murmured terms of endearment to each other like it was second nature, and the way they acted together made it obvious this wasn’t their first rodeo.

My gaze fixated on the purple tie—the one I’d given him for our third anniversary.

He used my gift to him to bed another woman, and the woman had to be his stepsister.

It was the most absurd thing ever.

I remembered the day of our third wedding anniversary. To make the night unforgettable, I slipped into the new lingerie I’d bought.

When I stepped out of the shower, the room was vacant with only a note on the table.

“Family business. Don’t wait up. Get some rest.”

Fighting back the hurt, I waited from dark until morning light. At last, he waltzed in through the door close to noon.

I pounced on him excitedly, only for him to push me away. “Not today, sweetie. I’m a little exhausted.”

At the time, I didn’t think much of the matter since he had no reason to lie to me.

My faith in him crumbled the moment I received the video.

Dying for answers, I tapped into the family’s intelligence network to locate the source of the video and found the address at a hotel.

Once outside the hotel room, I could hear the heavy thumping and labored breathing from the other side of the door.

“Dom, who’s better in bed? Me or her?”

“That’s got to be you, baby. Luna is absolutely lifeless in bed. She’s reserved, unlike you.”

“Am I just a casual fling or cheap booty call to you? I don’t like either, Dom.”

“No? Why don’t you be my wife on the side then?”

“What if Luna finds out about us? She’s quick to catch on.”

After a pause, Dominick burst out laughing. “Luna will never find out. She can’t outwit me.”

He spoke with certainty and confidence.

…

Lifeless in bed?

Was that a reason for him to cheat?

All words were lost in me right there and then. I didn’t even have the strength to question him.

Having lost the will to jump on them, I left the hotel in a daze.

Later that night, I saw Dominick with scratches on his neck, supposedly the masterpiece of a cat.

It was utterly ridiculous, and I was past the point of asking.

“It’s your birthday tomorrow. Why don’t I have the whole day with you?”

That was what he said then. When the day came, it was clear that he’d broken his promise once again.

As I snapped back to reality, the cab pulled up outside my residence.

I numbly opened the car door. Out of the blue, I caught sight of a familiar car parked not too far away, and out walked two figures.

Dominick pinned Gia against the car windows and took her lips.

Under the dimming moonlight, the image of their kiss grew intense.

This was my first up-close, live view of my husband's infidelity.

Despite bracing myself for the truth, I couldn’t have anticipated the heartache when I witnessed the moment with my very own eyes.