A week before the wedding, my fiancé, Hadrian, told me to book eight seats on a bus to the Hamptons.
He said it was the last weekend before the wedding, a trip just for his inner circle.
The destination was the Bellini family’s private beachfront estate. He wanted to go with the people closest to him.
I refreshed the booking page for three days before I finally managed to snag eight seats together.
The moment I paid, a poll popped up in a group chat called “Beach Weekend.”
The question was: Should Mireille come?
Seven votes against. One abstention.
Not a single vote in my favor.
Hadrian was the Bellini family’s underboss. Once we were married, I was supposed to sit beside him at the formal family dinner, share his protection, and be bound by their code of silence.
And now, he had put my invitation to that estate up for a vote.
The people voting included my fiancé, my sister, his childhood friend, and my cousin.
I asked Hadrian if the abstention had been his.
He rubbed his temples.
“It was. I didn’t vote no. That was me trying to spare your feelings.”
He sighed. “Everyone thinks if you’re there, they won’t be able to relax.”
“This is the last weekend before my wedding that’s just for me. Can you just give me this?”
I asked, “Then why did you have me book eight seats?”
His answer came easily.
“You’re a travel editor. You’re the best at this stuff. We can use the extra seat for coolers and bags.”
He added, “I’ll transfer you the money in a minute.”
My sister, Sarah, spoke up from the dining table. “The wedding’s just days away. Don’t make a scene over a few tickets and drag the Bellini family into it.”
I looked down at the screen, at those eight connected seats.
I hadn’t spent three days fighting for them just to hand them over and walk away.
I had just booked a trip for the people closest to Hadrian, a trip that didn’t include me.
The app reminded me there were only ten minutes left to cancel.
But by then, whether the tickets were refundable was the last thing on my mind.
What I cared about was that when his inner circle shut me out, the man I was about to marry hadn’t even cast a single vote for me.
The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 17 Hadrian sold the apartment. During the contract signing, he stopped three times. When the agent pointed to the signature line, he realized he had written the wrong name. *Mireille.* My name was written on the blank paper. He stared at it for a
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 16 “You didn’t mean to hurt her, so you had her plan your route, book your tickets, and then vote on whether she was qualified to enter my circle?” No one answered. He took off his underboss ring and placed it in front of
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 15 He had always thought that by moving to my city, he had ended our long-distance relationship. Only at that moment did he finally see that for seven years, I had been the one pushing the relationship forward all along. That night, he called
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 14 A week later, the Texas railway feature our bureau produced went live to a strong response. Head office decided to spin the Austin route off into its own publication, with me formally appointed to lead it. At the celebration dinner, Cameron raised his
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 13 The next day, one of the cleaners asked me, “Mireille, do you want this expired plane ticket?” I glanced at it. “No.” As the paper ticket fell into the trash, I heard the faint sound of footsteps outside the office. Hadrian hadn’t left.
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 12 Cameron left first. Hadrian caught my wrist, then let go almost immediately when he saw me frown. “You changed your emergency contact to him?” “The company requires a local colleague.” “It could have been me. I can fly over anytime.” “But it was
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 11 “I’m not going back.” “We can postpone the registration and the family dinner for a few more days.” “That’s not the issue.” “Then what do you want me to do?” His voice was low, still holding that same controlled tone he always used.
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 10 “Yes.” “Give me the address.” “What for?” My tone seemed to catch him off guard. When I used to answer his calls, the first thing I always asked was whether he’d eaten. Now all I said was two words. *What for?* “Mireille, don’t
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 09 Three days later, he cornered my editor-in-chief in the lobby of my old office building. “How long is Mireille on leave?” My editor-in-chief looked him over. Hadrian was dressed in a black three-piece suit, his right hand bearing the ring that marked him
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The Underboss Voted No So I Chose A New Life Chapter 08 Hadrian bought a ticket for the next flight back to New York. There was no first class. Only a middle seat in economy on a red-eye. Leo tried to stop him. “You’re already here. Mireille is just waiting for you to go back
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