Reborn I Refused The Mafia Husband Who Buried Me Alive Chapter 09
This Life Belongs to Me
Dante and Julian don’t give up easily.
The next time they start arguing over which of them knew me first, I finally lose patience.
“I am not marrying either of you.”
Dante folds his arms.
“You said that already.”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because saying no today isn’t the same as saying no forever.”
Julian actually nods.
For once, they agree on something.
I don’t.
Later, I learn what both men gave up when they answered my letters.
Dante had offered control of several armed crews and a strategic stretch of Russo territory if it meant getting me out of the DeLuca alliance.
Julian had offered enough money to make even my father reconsider selling me elsewhere.
Neither deal became necessary once Vittorio stepped in.
But I don’t forget them.
“I’ll repay you.”
Dante looks offended.
“For what?”
“What you were willing to give up.”
Julian shakes his head.
“I don’t want your money.”
“Then you’ll both have to survive the disappointment.”
For the first time in my life, I have no intention of choosing a husband simply because one is available.
Adrian doesn’t accept that as easily.
He keeps trying to end his marriage to Isabella.
The Morettis refuse.
The DeLucas refuse.
And Isabella refuses most of all.
When Adrian tries to force the issue, she takes it to the Commission.
Her complaint is simple.
Adrian spent years pursuing her, married her in front of the city’s most powerful families, then tried to abandon her for her younger sister almost immediately.
This time, Isabella makes sure everyone sees her as the wronged wife.
Adrian finally gets a taste of what it’s like to be trapped inside an arrangement everyone else insists is fair.
I don’t help him.
I have my own life to build.
The information I carried from my first life doesn’t only tell me where wars will start.
I remember which neighborhoods will explode in value.
Which companies will collapse.
Which logistics routes will become essential.
Which businesses will survive the coming conflict.
I start small.
I stop needing Moretti money long before my father stops pretending I’ll eventually come home.
Vittorio keeps calling me in whenever something happens that feels familiar.
Sometimes I know the answer.
Sometimes the future has already changed enough that I don’t.
He learns not to treat me like an oracle.
I learn how to make myself useful without becoming anyone’s property.
The war I remember eventually comes.
But this time, Vittorio is ready.
So is Dante.
The intelligence I gave them changes the opening months completely.
Dante comes back with more territory, more men, and a reputation that makes half the city afraid of him.
He still asks me to dinner.
Julian still sends me ridiculous gifts.
I still refuse to marry either of them.
Adrian’s life goes in the opposite direction.
His attempt to abandon Isabella damages both family alliances.
The Commission eventually sends him north to oversee the most dangerous DeLuca territory along the border.
Everyone knows what it means.
He’s being punished.
The night before he leaves, Lena brings me a message.
“Adrian wants to see you.”
I keep reading the report in front of me.
“He says just once.”
“No.”
Lena hesitates.
“He said he doesn’t know if he’ll come back.”
I look up.
“Tell him I’m busy.”
Lena smiles.
Then she closes the door behind her.
I return to my work.
This life belongs to me.