Novels by Mina Kore

Aria’s POV I woke up before Romano, that alone felt like an accomplishment. Usually, he was already awake by the time I opened my eyes, either reading reports beside me or gone entirely. This morning was different, he was still asleep, fast asleep. The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting soft streaks across his face. His hair was slightly messy, one arm resting lazily across the mattress where I had been sleeping only moments ago. For someone people called ruthless… He looked surprisingly peaceful. I smiled to myself. Very carefully, I reached over and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead. His eyes opened immediately. “So much for letting you sleep,” I laughed. “You were touching me.” “I moved one piece of hair.” “Exactly.” I rolled my eyes. “You have trust issues.” “I have survival instincts.” “I prefer my version.” He reached for my wrist before I could climb out of bed and gently pulled me back toward him. “Five more minutes.” “R

CHAPTER 45 – Two Enemies Thomas’s POV People rarely betrayed me overnight, it started much smaller than that. A missing sentence. A delayed report. An omitted photograph. One tiny inconsistency that meant nothing on its own but became impossible to ignore once it repeated itself often enough. I had learned that lesson years ago. Which was why I found myself sitting alone in my office long after midnight, surrounded by surveillance reports that should have been identical but weren’t. I laid them out across my desk one after another. Romano leaving the Ciel headquarters. Romano meeting investors. Romano returning to the estate. Routine. Predictable. Except the timelines no longer matched. On Monday, there was a forty-minute gap. Wednesday, an hour. Friday, nearly two. No explanation, no mention of alternative routes, no photographs, nothing. I leaned back in my chair. Interesting. I called Luca on the phone for him to come to my office. He stepped into my office alm

Aria’s POV By the time Romano and I arrived downstairs, everyone else was already waiting. Enzo stood beside the fireplace with a glass of wine in his hand. Valentina sat comfortably on one of the sofas as though she had lived in the mansion for years. The moment she saw us, she smiled. “There you are.” Romano didn’t even acknowledge her. Instead, he looked at me. “Are you hungry?” I laughed softly. “A little.” “Good.” He rested a hand lightly against my back as we walked into the dining room. I noticed Valentina watching the small gesture. … Dinner started peacefully enough, for exactly five minutes. Valentina reached for the bread basket before smiling at Romano. “Remember when you insisted on making breakfast for me?” Romano didn’t even look up. “No.” “You burned the toast.” “I’ve burned toast for many people.” Enzo chuckled. “He did.” I looked at Romano. “You cook?” “Occasionally.” “He nearly set the kitchen on fire once,” Enzo added. Romano sighed. “

Thomas’s POV Something was missing. I read the report again, then a third time. The dates matched, the locations matched, the surveillance photographs were all there, but the timeline didn’t. I looked up slowly. “Luca.” He stepped into my office carrying another file. “You wanted to see me?” I slid the report across the desk. “You were to assign someone to watch Romano yesterday.” “I did.” “Who?” “The yard guard.” “For how long?” “Almost six hours.” I tapped the report with my finger. “Then explain why there’s a three-hour gap.” Luca lowered his eyes to the paper. “We lost them.” “You?” I almost laughed. “Lost Romano Ciel?” “They switched vehicles.” “And?” “It took me time to find them again.” I leaned back, studying him. Luca had worked for me long enough to know I hated excuses, especially weak ones like the one where he lost Aria because of a silly sexual pleasure but I let that slide, at least I’ll get her for myself now. “I won’t let it happen again.”

Aria’s POVI tried convincing myself the photograph didn’t matter, people had pasts and Romano had never hidden that Valentina existed; he had told me they dated, so why couldn’t I stop thinking about that picture?The questions followed me all morning until I decided fresh air might help.It didn’t.I had barely walked out of the café with my coffee when someone called my name.“Aria.”I looked up.Thomas.He looked genuinely surprised to see me.“What a coincidence.”“I’m starting to think coincidences don’t exist anymore.”He smiled faintly.“Fair enough.”An awkward silence settled between us.“I won’t keep you,” he said. “I actually wanted to apologize.”I frowned.“For what?”“For everything.”He sighed.“I know I’ve made things difficult for you.”I didn’t answer.“I cared about you once.”“Thomas…”“No, no let me finish.”His voice stayed calm.“I accepted that you’ve chosen Romano.”I searched his face for sarcasm but there wasn’t any.“I genuinely hope he makes you happy.”“

Aria’s POV I knew something was wrong the moment I walked downstairs. Nobody looked at me directly, the maids stopped talking the second I entered the dining room, two guards quickly hid their phones. I frowned. “What?” One of them forced a smile. “Nothing, ma’am.” It definitely wasn’t nothing. I reached for my own phone and unlocked it. The first notification appeared before I even opened anything. Trending in Milan. Another. Romano Ciel’s fiancée surrounded by controversy. My stomach tightened as I opened the article. There were photographs of me from years ago, pictures of me leaving university, pictures taken outside Luca’s family home, pictures of me going out with my male friends in Uni at the time. Even a cropped photograph from a charity gala with a headline that read: WHO IS THE REAL ARIA? The article claimed I had been engaged multiple times, that I was using Romano for money, that my identity had changed several times to date several rich families in Milan