After Boyfriend Made Couple Videos with My Best Friend,He knew I was the true heir

On the day we were supposed to swear our blood oath, Marco Greco didn't show.

I opened the app and saw the couple video he'd posted with my closest confidante exactly one minute ago.

The two of them in a tailored suit and a wedding gown, kissing on a sweeping green lawn behind some estate that wasn't ours. They looked exactly like a couple.

With a trembling hand, I tapped the like button.

The next second, Marco called.

"It was just a dress shoot I was helping her with. Don't read into it."

Telling me not to read into it. Again.

But this was the 108th couple video they'd filmed together.

"Sure. You two make quite the pair."

Marco went quiet for a moment, then said in an innocent voice,

"Babe, what's that supposed to mean? Those videos are all fake."

"You know I've never gotten along with the woman who shares your social circle. You know that, don't you?"

"I only helped her out for your sake."

My voice caught. "But today was the day we agreed to seal it. I waited for you a long time…"

He clicked his tongue and cut me off, careless and offhand.

"We can swear the oath any day. Why are you being so petty? Jealous of your own confidante now?"

"Be good. We'll talk when I get back."

The call ended, and it felt like my fist had landed in cotton.

But I'd heard her clearly, right there beside him, cooing his name in that sweet little voice.

I drew in a deep breath.

The oath could be sworn any day.

But Marco, the man I bind myself to doesn't have to be you.

…

I dragged my numb body home, back through the quiet streets of the territory he ruled only because I'd handed it to him in the dark.

Marco still wasn't back.

I sat down in the entryway and pulled up Gianna Romano's profile.

The couple videos of her and Marco. I'd watched them more times than I could count.

In them they laughed and teased and played, tender and sweet together.

The laughter echoed through this empty, silent house. A clock ticked somewhere down the hall, too loud.

Like a curse wound tight around me, impossible to shake.

All at once I felt like I didn't quite recognize this Marco anymore.

He'd never claimed our bond to anyone, anywhere, all because he said he didn't like being flashy, that he wanted to build his crew first, earn his respect before drawing eyes.

There wasn't a single photo of the two of us in the house, all because he said he didn't like having his picture taken, that he hated being on camera. A man in his world, he said, learned to leave no trace.

I still remember when we'd first gotten together. I bought a camera, wanting to capture our everyday life.

But the moment I aimed the lens at him, he frowned.

He swung his hand in anger, and the camera fell to the floor, the lens shattered, the whole thing ruined.

We didn't speak for a long time after that, and from then on, we never took another photo together.

I loved him.

I carefully remembered everything he liked and disliked.

I respected every one of his wishes.

And what I got in return was him flaunting his devotion with someone else,

him taking sweet couple photos with someone else.

And that someone else was the woman I'd trusted closest to me…

The sound of the door opening came, and my heart seemed to stop for an instant.

Marco was home.

"Adriana Valente? Why are you sitting there?"

His tone was gentle as water, as if nothing had happened at all.

I didn't answer.

He pressed on, patient. "Are you hungry? I brought dinner home for you."

He gave a little shake of the paper bag in his hand, the restaurant's logo printed on it.

A restaurant I'd mentioned many times, one I loved.

But we'd never gone together.

Because Marco always said he was too busy, always said we'd go some other time.

Something flashed through my mind, and I asked him, my voice shaking. "This restaurant, who did you go with?"

He froze for a beat, a flicker of guilt crossing his eyes. One hand rose, and he cracked his knuckles, slow, deliberate.

"Gianna said she wanted to shoot some footage…"

I tugged at the corner of my mouth in a bitter smile, my fingertips gone numb.

Again.

Going on dates like a real couple, all under the excuse of filming content.