Chapter 4

I didn't care what shade of purple Ryder's face was turning as I walked away.

I hadn't gone more than a few steps before my wrist was seized again, the grip so tight it felt like my bones would shatter.

Ryder's distorted face was close to mine. "Emilia, you won't even take my money? Who are you trying to impress?"

"A stranger? After I slept with you for ten years, now I'm a stranger?"

He had grabbed me twice today. If Zayn saw this, Zayn would kill him a dozen times over for it.

Or rather, if Zayn so much as smelled another man on me, I wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

"Mr. Conti, we're broken up. Stop making a scene."

I used all my strength to shake him off. "You wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea."

"And don't say I didn't warn you. My husband is a jealous man."

Ryder paused, then let out a snort of laughter, his eyes sweeping contemptuously over my "bargain-bin" dress.

"Husband? Is your broke-ass husband slinging takeout on some street corner, or is he mopping floors like you?"

He seemed convinced I was either lying out of shame or trying my hardest to provoke him. His anger faded, replaced by a smug, self-satisfied expression.

"Alright, stop with the dramatics."

"In three days, the Five Families are hosting a charity gala in Manhattan. That's the real big leagues."

"The Vettoris will be there. I'll take you, show you what real power looks like."

He looked me up and down, frowning in disgust.

"But not in those rags. Go buy a proper gown. Don't embarrass me."

"You can't be on my arm looking like that."

The Five Families' gala?

Zayn had arranged for the Vettori family to host that gala specifically to celebrate my pregnancy.

"I really don't need that, thank you."

Rejected again, Ryder's last shred of patience vanished.

In his eyes, I was ungrateful, pushing my luck.

"Fine! Just fine!"

"Emilia, you've really grown a backbone, haven't you?"

"After a few years on the streets, you think you're hot shit?"

He abruptly pulled his hand back and yelled to his men behind him.

"If she doesn't want to go, then forget it! Tell Carmela to get her best gown ready!"

"I'll take her that day, and I'll let everyone see who the real woman worthy of standing by my side is!"

I had no desire to argue. Zayn was probably getting impatient.

As I left, I glanced back at Ryder, my eyes filled with pity.

"I hope you still have this much confidence in three days."

Stepping out of the restricted area of the airstrip, the cold air filled my lungs, settling the nausea churning in my stomach.

My mind went back to that rainy night three years ago, at the church doors.

I had stood in my wedding dress, waiting not for vows, but for Ryder's cold announcement.

"Carmela's pregnant. The family doctor says it's a boy."

"Emilia, to get the inheritance, I have to marry the Rossi girl. It's a necessary alliance."

He even had the audacity to grab my hand and swear.

"Just bear with me for a year. As soon as I get the Capo position, I'll divorce her and marry you."

In that moment, my heart died.

If he needed a marriage of convenience, then so would I.

That night, I agreed to my parents' arrangement and boarded the flight to Sicily.

In an ancient, dimly lit church in Palermo, Zayn Vettori, the Godfather who made the entire European mafia tremble, knelt on one knee before me.

We completed a simple wedding ceremony.

A year later, I gave birth to Lucas.

Now, I was pregnant with our second child.

If it wasn't to accompany Zayn back here to clean house, I would never have laid eyes on Ryder again.

And I certainly wouldn't have given him the chance to peacock in front of me like a fool.